Form 8889, line 9. My contributions thru cafeteria plan go here. Do cont's from my company also go here? Co. cont's have never been incl'd in box 12, code W on W-2. Why?

[kirren1]

Box 12, code W on my W-2 always has the amount I contributed to my HSA, pre-tax. It has never included contributions my company made to the account.

The amount for code W is supposed to go on line 9 of the HSA form 8889. On form 8889, it says this line is for "employer contributions". I know this includes my pre-tax contributions, but is it also supposed to include contributions from my company? If not, is there somewhere I'm supposed to put contributions my company made, or does the IRS not care about this?

Thanks

[BMcCalpin · Accepted solution]

Your understanding that the amount on your W-2 in box 12 with a code of "W" should include both your employer's contributions and your contributions through a payroll deduction plan is correct.

This amount should appear on the TurboTax input screen "Let's enter [name] HSA contributions" on the first line (see screenshot below), as well as on line 9 of the 8889.

You should ask your employer why they are not adding their contributions to box 12 with the code of W, as clearly instructed by the IRS instructions for the W-2.

If it turns out that they have been putting their contributions in box 14, then you can work around this problem for this year by going back into the HSA interview and proceeding to the screen entitled "Did your employer tell you about any other contributions?" (see the screenshot below).
 
Click "yes" (ignore the previous year comment), and enter the box 14 amount here where the arrow points. Note that you may have to ask the employer what the amount is, if it's not in box 14 or not easily recognizable.

In addition, you need to ask your employer if they removed their contributions along with yours from Wages in boxes 1, 3, and 5 on your W-2. That's right, HSA contributions are not subject to federal income tax, Social Security taxes, or Medicare taxes. If they're not doing this, you're paying too much SS and Medicare taxes.

Encourage them to report the entire amount in box 12 with a code of "W", and to also remove the total amount from all three Wages boxes.

[kirren1]

Thanks so much for your super helpful answer!