The amount my former employer entered in the W-2 form's Box 16 (State wages) is wrong, but they're not going to fix it. How should I report the correct amount?

[David Whistler]

The employer no longer works in my state, so they don't have employees knowledgeable on what income is taxable here.  Should I just enter in TurboTax the amount I know it is supposed to be, or is there a different place to enter a correction?

[rjs]

What state did you work in for that employer?

What is wrong with the amount in box 16?

[David Whistler]

I don't want to give out personal information (my state).  I am not asking for anyone to determine whether I am right that the amount in Box 16 is wrong.  Suffice it to say that the federal government does not tax certain income, and my state does not tax it either, but the former employer entered that income as taxable by the state (and withheld state taxes too, which I will get refunded).  I just need to know how to go about entering the correct amount on the tax forms in TurboTax.  Thanks.

[ThomasM125 · Accepted solution]

You can change the state wages on your W-2 entry to the amount you believe is correct. However, the state may adjust your tax return based on the amount reported to them from the W-2 form. Often, they will process your return and then some months later they will send you an invoice for taxes due if the income reported to them is more than what you reported. They may go by what is reported to them regardless of what your explanation is and they will demand you get a corrected W-2 to change things.