I got retirement bonus check while still an employee, but no taxes were taken out, why do I need to fill out the SS-8 form which is required on your TurboTax program?

[needhelp]

I did not receive a 1099 for the retirement bonus, but I was still an employee so there is no question about being an employee or independent contractor.  I'm simply trying to pay taxes on the bonus.  Is there no where on the TurboTax free file that allows you to add money for which no taxes were taken out and it doesn't fit the criteria on your form?

[Opus 17]

Exactly what money did you get?  From your employer?  Was it placed into a retirement account or paid to you in cash?  If you did not get a 1099, was the amount added to your W-2 wages?

[needhelp]

It was paid in a check, but was NOT added to my W2 wages.  They told me 1099s had already been sent out and they could not do one, but I could claim it on my income tax and say I never received a 1099.  However, I am unable to do this online.

[Opus 17]

What you need is to add it to your W-2 wages and pay the employee half of social security and medicare but not the self-employed half, and you don't need form SS-8 (but you do need form 4852 substitute W-2.)

If this was on a 1099, there is a checkbox on a listing of special circumstances for "this was on a 1099 but it should have been on my W-2" that would trigger the right form.  I would start in the "other income" or "miscellaneous income" section for other cash income not on form 1099, and see if there is a similar box there for "this was wages from my employer but not on my W-2".  Someone else may know how to enter this correctly, or I can try and research it later tonight.

[needhelp]

Thank you Opus 17.  I did check the checkbox as you indicated above and that's what brought me back to the SS-8.  I tried to go through with the income section and it still said I needed to fill out the SS-8.  Now when I go back in to my account I can't get to it, but I will try what you said once I figure out why I can't  find the pages I need on my account.  Thank you for your help.  I will come back on if I can't get it to work.  Thanks!

[Opus 17]

It's not "this should have been on a W-2" that you need to indicate, it's "this should have been added to the W-2 I already reported" which is a slightly different problem and solution.  Possibly you could report it in the W-2 interview as "tips" not reported in box 1.  That should also result in the same tax, but again, I would need to research it.

[needhelp]

OK I went back into the report income portion.  I did as you said and entered the amount as income not reported on a W2 and it  added it without a problem, however, now I am showing double what I had entered.  When I go in to update it only shows a single amount under miscellaneous income, but in the total section it shows it as doubled.  I am on the wait line on the phone to talk with someone but i'm considering just deleting the whole thing and doing a paper form.  I've already done it that way and  had put it on schedule 1 as other income.

[Opus 17]

If you entered in the 1099 interview, delete it there.  Or the program could have doubled it I don't know.  If you can install turbotax on your own computer instead of using the online program, you can download your partially completed file to your computer and finish up there.  when using the program installed on your own computer you can directly view and edit all the forms and worksheets; find double entries etc.

[Opus 17]

Did you run the whole interview? I think you might have stopped early.  Go to other income not reported on a W-2. Skip household employee and disability. Click yes for extra wages, and click employee compensation.  Enter the same name and EIN as on your W-2, from the employer that paid the bonus. Then select reason code H, even though you did not actually get a 1099-MISC form.  This will create the correct form to pay your share of social security and medicare tax.