Which document reports an employee's annual wages?

The W-2 Form is the document that reports an employee's annual wages. This form is issued by employers to their employees at the end of the tax year and includes critical information such as the total wages earned, the amount of taxes withheld, Social Security wages, and Medicare wages. The W-2 is essential for employees when they prepare their tax returns, as it provides the necessary earnings information and tax withholdings to accurately calculate their tax obligations or refunds.

In contrast, the W-4 Form is used by employees to indicate their tax withholding preferences to their employers, the tax return is a comprehensive report filed with the IRS detailing an individual's income and taxes owed or refunded, and a pay stub is a document that details an employee's earnings and deductions for a specific pay period. Therefore, while all these documents relate to an employee's wages and taxes, the W-2 is specifically focused on reporting annual wages.