topic Re: 401k W-2 Reporting in Retirement tax questions

401k W-2 Reporting

TERICKSON79 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:16:52 GMT

Employer has deducted our 401K contribution from our pay, but has been late on many payments. This is a whole other issue!

My question is, do they report on our W-2 what was withheld? or do they report on our W-2 what was actually funded into our accounts?

Re: 401k W-2 Reporting

DoninGA — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:20:35 GMT

The amount of your contributions to a 401(k) account are reported on your W-2 in box 12 with a code of D

Re: 401k W-2 Reporting

MrsE79 — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 17:56:51 GMT

Yes but my question is, if my employer hasn't made the contributions to my retirement account yet does the 401k reflect contributions withheld from my pay? Or contributions funded to my retirement account?

Re: 401k W-2 Reporting

DoninGA — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 18:16:19 GMT

@MrsE79 It is the employer's responsibility to report your contributions accurately on the W-2. So that none of your contributions will be included in the gross wages box 1 of the W-2.

Are you saying that you made contributions to the 401(k) and some of those contributions are not being reflected in box 12 of the W-2 and are being included in your gross income?

If so, then you need to get a corrected W-2 from your employer so that your gross wages are being correctly reported on the W-2 and your 401(k) contributions are also correctly reported.

Re: 401k W-2 Reporting

Opus 17 — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 20:00:26 GMT

Technically what is happening is called a salary deferral. You defer your salary, and the employer deposits the money into the 401k for you.

Suppose you get paid on the last day of every month, and your December 31 salary is reduced by your agreed deferral. Your W-2 for the year should reflect what you were actually paid, including the deferral, even if the employer doesn't make the deposit until January.

If your employer is delaying your deposits by more than a couple of week, it's time to contact your state employment regulator -- it sounds like they are on the edge, and running into trouble, and need a government regulator to look into their business details. You might also want to think about ending your 401k deferrals, taking your full paycheck on payday, and then contributing to an IRA or Roth IRA. We can discuss those options (which depend on your salary and family situation) if you want additional info.