To clarify - it is not on my W2. My situation is a little unique in that I am the employee of a national lab affiliated with my university. They pay for my health insurance through fee remissions, which is why they show up on my 1098-T rather than a W2. I am certain that this fee on my box 5 was for health insurance. The insurance is definitely a benefit of employment though - if I was not employed, it would not be paid for. (This is not a fellowship or grant either). In past years when I was employed through the university directly, the health insurance was still a tax-free benefit of my employment, and was not on the 1098-T or the W2. I believe that it only showed up differently this year because of the national lab affiliation.
