Corrected W2

[teen persuasion]

DH's employer forgot to include the cost of employer provided health insurance on the w2s, so issued a corrected one today.  I was already working on our taxes just today, and had forgotten that he'd mentioned expecting a new w2.  I edited the w2 info in Turbotax, which mentioned that a corrected w2 should be labelled "Corrected" somewhere.  This is not.

The change does not affect our tax return in any way, but I'm wondering if DH's employer has just reported everyone's wages twice (i.e., two w2s ) by not marking it as "Corrected".

Should I be concerned?

[TheOtherMe]

If the employer sent the information to Social Security twice, yes, you should be concerned if the W-2 was not marked corrected.  The correct way to issue the corrected W-2 is to mark the corrected box.  Dad should probably check with employer to see if information has been reported twice to Social Security.  Otherwise, everybody will be receiving a love letter from the IRS in about 18 months or so.

[teen persuasion]

Where would the corrected box be?  There's so much info on the 4 copies that it's just possible that I've missed it, but I can't seem to find a place for a corrected box?

Payroll is done thru ADP - shouldn't they know the correct way to do things?  

[mwcpa]

A corrected w-2 would be noted as a w-2c.  More than likely the corrected form was not really a corrected form and just reissued with the new data that has zero bearing on your 2012 tax.

[teen persuasion]

That's what I'm hoping; is there any way to tell?

A little consistency in the layout of the various forms would be nice.  My w2 from paychex looks completely different from DH's ADP one.  Labeling boxes w/ numbers and letters helps, but I still have to search when they are not in logical order: d, c, e/f, b, a, 1...20   vs    a, b, d, 13, 12, 14, 15, c, e, 16, 17, 18, 1-11, 19, 20.

[bean29]

His employer probably had not filed the forms with the fed gov't yet Deadline is 2/28/13 for paper and 3/31/13 for e-filed forms I think. So technically they are not correcting the Fed info.

Sent from my MB855 using proboards

[mwcpa]

"That's what I'm hoping; is there any way to tell?"

W-2(c) looks like this.... www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2c.pdf (go to the second page)

W-2 (and one allowed by the SSA and the IRS) look like this and contain similar data (box numbers... but layouts may be different depending on the software company) www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2.pdf (go to the second page)

do not check the box saying the W-2 was corrected, it probably was not... one of the flaws with the "box," it cannot answer every question... unless a human programs it.... the value of a pro, can think on their feet and look it up and not only spit out what was programed in (not that the box is bad for all cases.. it's just limited)

[teen persuasion]

Thanks for all your information, everyone.  I've learned a lot about the subtleties I never knew existed.

Mwcpa - I'm only using the "box" as a method to e-file.  I usually do my return on paper first, and then run things thru TT.  IFF TT agrees w/ me do I accept their results and e-file.  I really hate the Q & A format - I'm never sure until I can review it at the end exactly how TT is listing things.

Of course, this year I've reversed the process - no one can get their hands on a paper copy of the 1040 instruction booklets until the IRS sends them out.  They were promised to arrive yesterday at the library where I work, but no such luck.  I know the book is online, but it is unwieldy to use that way due to its size.

Onward to filing FAFSAs for the college kids.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Feb 25, 2013 23:40:51 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

That's what I'm hoping; is there any way to tell?

A little consistency in the layout of the various forms would be nice.  My w2 from paychex looks completely different from DH's ADP one.  Labeling boxes w/ numbers and letters helps, but I still have to search when they are not in logical order: d, c, e/f, b, a, 1...20   vs    a, b, d, 13, 12, 14, 15, c, e, 16, 17, 18, 1-11, 19, 20.

Amen, sister! This drives me batty. And it adds to the potential for human error. I don't know why the IRS hasn't made everyone use the same format.

[TheOtherMe]

I file using Turbo Tax.  I do not go through the Question and Answer format or whatever they call it.  I know what is on my tax return and just "visit" those sections.  So much of what could be on a tax return is of no relevance to my own circumstances, I just find it a waste of time to go through every single section of Turbo Tax.