"The difference is what my employer gave as "free money" to my HSA but only to a limit based on matching our contribution. " I don't understand what you mean by this. Are you saying that the employer gave you after-tax dollars to put in your HSA? If so, that would go on line 2, but this is an unusual arrangement. This means that this "free money" was included in Wages in Boxes 1, 3, and 5 on your W-2 and is not in the code W amount in box 12.
No. They didn't include the amount in my gross for the paychecks where matching occurred. To be honest, when I said "free money", I meant "match contribution" up to $500 with my company. That amount is missing from box 12W. They insist that matching is not suppose to be part of that number but previous employers I've had included it. And since it's not part of my gross for the paycheck, I'm confused. So, that's the reason for this question to begin with.
Your explanation is exactly how I understand it. So, it's not me then.
