I am a resident of Idaho. I work in Washington State. There is no state income tax in Washington. My employer withholds a percentage to cover Idaho State taxes from my pay. I received my W2, and the Idaho wages in box 16 do not match my federal wages in box 1. It matches my SS and Medicare wages in boxes 3 and 5. I think this is an error in reporting by my employer. According to instructions I find on the Idaho Tax website and state controller website. My wages for box 16 should match box 1, not another amount since I lived in Idaho full time. Here is an excerpt from the State Controller: (Emphasis mine)
Tax Status: A deduction is listed as one of the following three Tax Status’.
Pre-FICA – The deduction is subtracted before calculating the employee’s FICA, Federal Tax, State Tax and Unemployment amounts. It is not included in any taxable gross and is not included in any wages reported on the W-2.
Pre-Tax – The deduction is subtracted before calculating the employee’s Federal and State Tax amounts. It is not included in the Federal and State Taxable Grosses. This deduction is included in the Social Security and Medicare Wages on the W-2, but not the Federal and State Wages.
Blank – If the field is blank for a deduction, the deduction is included in all taxable grosses and all wages on the W-2.
Also on the Idaho State Tax Commission website page with instructions for filling out the W2, it clearly states that box 16 should match box 1.
