question about W-2

Feb 26, 2013 5 Replies

I'm having trouble figuring out my w-2, so I'm hoping someone can help me. I've asked my HR department, but the way things are setup, there's no human-human interaction and the information I get by filing a request through the support website is non-helpful and leads to even more frustration rather than clarity.



My w-2 ytd earnings has several items. a. salary exempt b. award c. business expense reimbursement d. restricted stock e. group term life



On the ytd deductions, I have f. pre-tax medical g. pre-tax dental h. pretax vision i. health spending account j. ltd k. 401k l. group term life



Q1. How is the medicare wages box computed? I can't seem to be able to figure out the correct combination of (a) through (l) that would apply.



Q2. I have no idea what went into c. I travel a lot for work and get reimbursed, but this is a tiny fraction of that total, so I'm not sure what it does or does not include. Do I need to worry about keeping records for it? If If I'm unable to get an answer from my HR dept about what this includes, would I need to report this as income and pay taxes?



Thanks for any help.



Anoop


I think I figured this out: (a + b + d + e) - (f + g + h + i)

This one still remains.

Anoop

You include the amount in Box 1 of the W-2 as wages on your return. Have you been able to reconcile that number with your YTD numbers? It should be Medicare wages plus k.

How they determined c is a mystery they will have to solve for you, but it doesn't affect your return if it's not reflected in the W-2 boxes.

Phil Marti VITA/TCE Volunteer Clarksburg, MD

Plus k, Minus k, all very similar.

LOL. Potato, potahto. Thanks for the catch, Art.

Phil Marti VITA/TCE Volunteer Clarksburg, MD

Correct Box 1 is medicare wages minus k.

I'm still waiting to hear back from my HR/payroll folks about the reimbursed business expenses. It has been more than 2 weeks and I even sent a reminder.

For now, is it safe to just ignore that while doing my taxes?

Thanks, Anoop

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