What does W-2 Box 13 Retirement Plan mean?

[bryanjkay]

I imported my W-2 into TurboTax, and it looks like it matches the printed form I received from my employer, except for Box 13. In the import, TurboTax showed Retirement Plan as checked. On my printed form, it is not checked.

I have a 401K with my employer, but I did not make any contributions in 2016.

[KenH1]

The "retirement plan" box will be "checked" by your employer if you had the opportunity to contribute to an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401k.  The only purpose of that box is determining if your IRA contributions are deductible.  

Stick with the imported data (box IS checked).  It shouldn't make a difference unless you contributed to a traditional IRA (separate from your 401k).

[bryanjkay]

Thank you for your quick reply. To help clarify my situation: I have a 401K that I have contributed to in the past, and I could have contributed in 2016, but chose not to. So, if Box 13 Retirement Plan indicates my eligibility, it sounds like Box 13 Retirement Plan should have been checked. (As of now, I have not contributed to my IRA for the 2016 tax year.)

This leads me to questions and concerns like:

- Where does TurboTax import my W-2 from?

- If TurboTax gets it from my employer, that suggests there was a correction, because the form I have is different. If so, shouldn't I have received a corrected form? I know somewhere in the return process there is something to click if I got a corrected W-2, but I didn't receive one.

- In case it matters, there is a verification number on my W-2. TurboTax indicates this is not common. The verification number, whatever it's for, matches between the TurboTax import and my printed form.

[KenH1]

You are always eligible to contribute and deduct your employer-sponsoered 401k.  The retirement plan box helps determines how much you of your IRA (IRA, not 401k) that you can deduct.  The retirement plan box won't matter AT ALL if your income is within these limits: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/2016-ira-contribution-and-deduction-l..., if you are planning on making an IRA contribution, but are concerned that it may NOT be deductible (due to the retirement plan box), then you should contact your payroll/HR department to verify which W2 is the correct one.  If it's the printed one, then delete the imported W2 and reenter manually (without that box checked)

[KenH1]

two edits

[bryanjkay]

Thank you very much for your help, TurboTaxKenH. Before entering the W-2 manually, I tried deleting and re-importing, and box 13 and nothing checked anymore. Not sure why. I made sure everything matched between the printed form and the entry in TurboTax and filed.

Thanks again. When it comes to things like taxes, I don't like to guess.

[KenH1]

You're welcome! Glad it worked.