Last year I used TurboTax to pay federal and NY state income taxes and was hit by a penalty by NY state because I didn't report the right wages. This despite following the TurboTax instructions faithfully and reporting what was listed as State wages on the W-2. I am trying to avoid that happening this year, but I can't find a way to make TurboTax do anything differently than last year. I would appreciate any help!
My situation: W-2 Box 1 and Box 16 (state wages) are the same. There is an amount in Box 12 reflecting how much I paid into an optional retirement plan. Box 3 (social security wages) is equal to Box1 + Box 12. Does NY want me to report and pay taxes on the Box 3 wages instead of what TurboTax is doing (using Box 16)? This is nowhere in the guided questions or Help. If so, is there a way to force TurboTax to use the correct wages?
