OMB No. 1545-0008 is the control number the Office of Management and Budget assigned to the W-2 and W-3 family of wage-reporting forms under the Paperwork Reduction Act. If you see it printed in the upper-right corner of a W-2, it means OMB reviewed and approved that form for collecting information from the public. The number also carries a legal consequence: federal law ties specific protections for the public to its presence, and without a valid control number, an agency cannot compel a response to an information request.
Which Forms This Number Covers
A common mix-up is assuming this control number applies to Form 1040. It does not. Form 1040 and its schedules carry a separate number, 1545-0074.1Federal Register. Submission to OMB for Approval and Request for Comment for Form 1040 and Schedules The 1545-0008 collection covers the wage-reporting forms employers use to report earnings and withholding to the Social Security Administration and to employees.
The forms grouped under this control number are:2Federal Register. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review
- Form W-2, the Wage and Tax Statement most employees receive each January showing annual earnings and tax withholding.
- Form W-2c, the Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, used to fix errors on a previously filed W-2.
- Forms W-2AS, W-2GU, and W-2VI, the territory-specific versions for American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Form W-3, the Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, which employers send to the SSA with their W-2s.
- Forms W-3c and W-3SS, the corrected and territory-specific transmittals.
All of these forms display OMB No. 1545-0008 because they sit inside a single approved information collection. A different IRS form showing another four-digit suffix after “1545-” belongs to a separate collection with its own OMB approval.
What the Number Means and Where It Comes From
The Paperwork Reduction Act, enacted in 1980 and substantially revised in 1995, requires every federal agency to get OMB approval before collecting information from the public. The stated purpose is to minimize the paperwork burden on individuals and businesses while ensuring the data the government collects is actually useful.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3501 – Purposes Before the IRS can use a form like the W-2, OMB must agree the form is necessary, that the same data can’t be gathered a less burdensome way, and that the estimated time to complete it is reasonable.
The control number itself follows a set format. The first four digits identify the agency and bureau (1545 designates the IRS under the Department of the Treasury), and the last four identify the specific collection.4Digital.gov. A Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act Once approved, the number must appear on the form.
Approval doesn’t last forever. OMB clearances expire and must be renewed periodically. The most recent extension for OMB No. 1545-0008 was approved in October 2023 without changes to the collection.5Reginfo.gov. OMB Control Number History
The public has a formal role in the renewal process. Whenever the IRS seeks to renew or modify a collection, it publishes a Federal Register notice and accepts comments on whether the forms are too burdensome, whether the time estimates are realistic, and whether the data is truly needed. Those comments can be sent to the IRS’s Paperwork Reduction Act staff at pra.comments@irs.gov.6Federal Register. Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request on IRS Taxpayer Burden Surveys
Why the Number Matters Legally
The most practical consequence of an OMB control number is the legal shield created when one is missing. Under 44 U.S.C. ยง 3512, no person can be penalized for refusing to respond to a federal information request that lacks a valid OMB control number.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 US Code 3512 – Public Protection The same protection applies if the agency fails to tell you that a response isn’t required unless the form displays a valid number. This defense can be raised at any point during an administrative proceeding or court case.
In practice, this rarely comes up with mainstream IRS forms like the W-2 because the IRS keeps its approvals current. The protection matters on the margins. If you receive an information request from a federal agency and the form shows no OMB control number, you have a statutory right to disregard it without penalty. The IRS itself acknowledges this rule on its own compliance pages.8Internal Revenue Service. OMB Control Number 1545-2208
Privacy Protections for the Information Collected
Because W-2s carry Social Security numbers, home addresses, and detailed earnings, the information collected under this OMB approval sits under several overlapping privacy rules. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires federal agencies to protect records about individuals and prohibits disclosing those records without written consent unless a specific statutory exception applies.9U.S. Department of Justice. Privacy Act of 1974
The IRS is also bound by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, which requires it to maintain a security program covering every system that handles taxpayer data, including encryption, access controls, and regular audits aligned with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidance.10Internal Revenue Service. 10.8.1 Security Policy At the point of collection, the IRS must tell you what legal authority it has to ask for the information, why it needs it, and how it will be used.11Internal Revenue Service. IRS Privacy Policy
For employees, the larger day-to-day risk with W-2 data isn’t the IRS. Criminals target employers to steal W-2 records in bulk and use them to file fraudulent returns. If your employer notifies you of a W-2 data breach, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file and requesting an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS, which adds a six-digit code that must appear on any return filed under your Social Security number.