From your dashboard, go to “Forms.”
Click on “Forms” and the following screen will appear.
Select the W2(s) for which you would like to generate a W-3.
Next, click “Generate 1096/W-3.”
The following screen will appear, and you’ll decide if you want to print onto a Pre-Printed IRS form or a Blank Sheet with a watermark or not a watermark. First, we're going to print without a watermark onto a blank sheet. To print forms without a watermark, you'll need a *Print Access Code or you'll need to pay for Self-Print in the Helper. *A Print Access Code is only necessary for 2025 forms to print. Previous years' forms will print without it and without a watermark.
Scroll down and click Continue.
You'll see your unwatermarked copy and click print icon in upper right.
Click Print in lower left corner, and your form will go to your printer.
Now, we're going to print a watermarked copy to another blank sheet.
Scroll down and click Print Forms.
Next, click print icon in upper right. You'll notice your print preview shows the watermarked copy.
Click Print in lower left corner and your form will go to your printer.
Volia. You've printed watermarked and non-watermarked copies of your W3s.
Tip: eFilers can send W-3 forms directly to the SSA without paper forms or printouts. More time saved!
Why can’t I file my watermarked plain ink copies?
Certain tax form sheets are scanned through automated equipment that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to process red ink.
For your copy A and W-3 forms, the SSA requires pre-printed forms with machine-readable flint-red OCR dropout ink.
You may face significant penalties and long delays for sending plain ink copies that fail to scan. Adams Tax Forms Helper watermarks these black-ink copies to help you avoid penalties and fines.