I have a question regarding my W2, Box 1,3,& 5 amount is exactly less what i had contributed to my 401K (Box 12) and Health insurance (Box 14), Is it correct?

[vicky_4084]

Does BOX 1,3, and 5 amount should be reported after subtracting employee contribution for 401K and HSA? Also, Does BOX 14 sould include both employee and employer contribution towards health plan?

[ghost · Accepted solution]

"Does BOX 1,3, and 5 amount should be reported after subtracting employee contribution for 401K and HSA?"
No, only HSA (box 12, code W) is subtracted from W2 boxes 1, 3 and 5. A 401k contribution (box 12, code D) is subtracted from W2 box 1 only.

"Also, Does BOX 14 sould include both employee and employer contribution towards health plan?"
I expect it's employee contribution but you should ask your employer for this answer.

[JosephJ]

Your pretax medical insurance premiums are hit with Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes, also known as FICA taxes. These include the Social Security tax and the Medicare tax. Therefore, when you get your W-2, your box 3, income subject to Social Security taxes, and box 5, income subject to Medicare taxes, will include your pretax health insurance premiums. For example, even though your box 1 income went down to $45,500 because of your premiums, box 3 and box 5 will still show $50,000 of income.

This conflicts with what the ast response and my Payroll department shows box 1 excludes both 401k and HSA contributions. Same for box 5 which only includes 401k NOT HSA. My total gross is actually not on my W2 according to my payroll I would need to add the HSA and small company pre-tax health credit to Box 5 for total gross compensation.

[AliS]

Inquire with your employer at your earliest opportunity.  It is possible that they will find it necessary to provide you with a corrected W-2 and a detailed explanation of how they completed box 14.

Please review this basic information regarding the boxes you have asked about.

• Box 1 (Total Wages & Tips)

• Box 3 (Social Security Wages, this is Box 1 plus box 401K contributions)

• Box 5 (Medicare Wages, this is the same as box 3)

• Box 12 is used to report Health Insurance Information .  For detailed information on Box 12 and the codes used, please see this link.

• Box 14 is used to report additional information from your employer.  For more information on Box 14, click here.