topic Re: IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1 in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1

jackkgan — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:52:43 GMT

I am IHSS live-in provider. Hence wages box 1 and box 2 are zero, though boxes 3, 4, 5 and 6 have values. I uploaded the W2 from my computer.

1. Please confirm if these steps are still correct that were suggested last year:

Enter value from Box 3 to Box 1 which is 0 in the W-2. Should I still do that or should I enter 0?

2. Box 12a in W-2 has value but is empty in the uploaded values by Turbotax. Should I follow previous suggestion below?
- [ ] Leave Box 12a blank in Turbo Tax
- [ ] Go to “ Wages & Income → W-2 → Uncommon Situations”
- [ ] Select: “Nontaxable Medicaid waiver payments / Difficulty of Care payments”
- [ ] Then answer: “ALL of Box 1 is Difficulty of Care income”
- [ ] Since Box 1 = 0, this confirms no taxable wages

3. Box 15 in in W-2 has CA but is empty in the uploaded values by Turbotax. Should I follow previous suggestion below?
- [ ] Leave Box 15 blank as “the state boxes must either all be filled in or all be left blank. Without the ID, all blank is the correct”

4. Box 14 has 2 entries : QUALOT with value in Amount, but no category. Turbo Tax is prompting me to enter category ,
- [ ] Should I choose ““Other (not classified)” ? or something else?

Re: IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1

AmyC — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:27:00 GMT

1 & 2. Yes, for the federal portion, you should be able to follow those steps to get the correct income and credit.

3. As for the state, you will need to correct any import issue. Yes, all blank or all state information should be filled in. Since the federal and CA do not tax IHSS when you live with the recipient, it can be blank for the state information.

4. Box 14 has an overtime selection where you can enter your Qualified OT. Since the income is not taxable, it would not qualify for the OT deduction so you can omit the entry completely. Box 14 is informational and not required.

Re: IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1

jackkgan — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 06:35:51 GMT

Thank you so much @amy ! Please confirm whether e-file will not be allowed due to $0 in box 1.

Re: IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1

DaveF1006 — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 18:52:45 GMT

If you enter "Zero" in Box 1 of the W2, it will be rejected. Some people enter a "1" instead, which creates a valid wage amount and should let you e-file.

This usually won’t impact your tax return unless you have other income and that $1 happens to push you into a higher tax bracket, which is rare.

@jackkgan

Re: IHSS Live-In Provider with zero in Box 1

jackkgan — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:18:18 GMT

Thanks so much! I heard that's old Turbo Tax bug which has been fixed now.. I am not sure, we can test it out. 😊