Form W-2 - Errors That Could Prompt a Notice
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There are many reasons you could have received a notice regarding your Form(s) W-2 Wage and Tax Statement. The most common reasons are listed below:

  • The form was never entered into the TaxAct® program and the income was not reported elsewhere on the return.
  • Entry error:
    • Example of a transposed number: The number that should have been entered was $21,123; instead the user entered $12,123. This would have caused a difference of $9,000 in underreported taxable income.
    • Example of an omitted number: The number that should have been entered was $21,123; instead the user entered $2,123. This would have caused a difference of $19,000 in underreported taxable income.
  • The form imported from a previous year’s tax return, but only the payer’s information was transferred. The user did not enter the information for the current tax year.
  • If more than one form was entered and the ownership of each form was not indicated properly, there may have been an Excess FICA credit incorrectly appearing on Schedule 3 (Form 1040) Additional Credits and Payments, Line 9. You would have seen a Yellow Alert regarding the ownership of each Form W-2.
  • There was an amount reported in Box 12, but the incorrect code was selected from the drop-down.
    For example, the Code should have been "D" for elective deferrals to a 401(k) plan; instead Code "A" was selected causing an Excess FICA credit to incorrectly appear on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), Line 9.
  • There was an amount reported and entered in Box 14; however, it should have been reported elsewhere in the return. Note. Amounts entered in Other Box 14 fields in the TaxAct program do NOT get transferred elsewhere in the return. It is the user’s responsibility to enter them in the applicable section of the return.
  • Employer-provided dependent care benefits were not entered in Box 10 (or the amount was entered incorrectly). This may have caused your Child & Dependent Care Credit to be miscalculated on Form 2441 Child and Dependent Care Expenses.
  • The incorrect state was selected from the drop-down in Box 15 which may have prevented the state withholding in Box 17 from being applied to the applicable state return.
  • The “Retirement Plan” box was not checked in Box 13 which may have overstated the amount you were eligible to contribute to a Traditional IRA. The IRS may now be disallowing a portion of your IRA contribution deduction.

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Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.