in the simplest situation, say you took $100K salary of which $24K went into a 401K so $100K for box 7. but as for the w-2 it could be box 3 or 5 (more complicated situations where certain items add to medicare wage reporting)
the IRS simply says line 7/8 should be
Enter on line 7 the total compensation of
all officers paid or incurred in the trade or
business activities of the corporation. The
corporation determines who is an officer
under the laws of the state where it is
incorporated.
Enter on line 8 the total salaries and
wages paid or incurred to employees
(other than officers) during the tax year
