NYS 414h NYS rejects

[Alice Zinnes]

I am in the list that is subject to tax.  But if the dollar amount is both in Box 12 and Box 14 I am being taxed twice.

[Alice Zinnes]

I made pre-tax contributions to my retirement account out of my salary but my college didn't contribute anything.  That's why there's a number in Box 12 and no number in Box 14.

[Alice Zinnes]

If I have to print my forms, what forms do I print?  With all the worksheets, etc. there easily could be 50 or more pages.  Can I just print the actual Forms and Schedules?  Would I also need to include all the Schedules from my federal taxes?

[SusanY1]

In Box 12, it is subtracted from your federal income, but not always from state.  Are Box 1 and Box 16 different?  If so by an amount similar to the pre-tax contribution?   (There can be other things in that difference, so it may not be exact). 

If Box 16 is less than Box 1 by the contribution amount (or roughly), then it's likely it's just adding it back for NY purposes - which is what I would expect it to do.  

If you don't mind, you can send me a "scrubbed" version of the data in your return (replaces all personal info with placeholders) by going to Tools, then Tax Tools, and selecting "Send File to Agent" in the pop up box.  

That will give you a six digit code that is safe to post here and will allow me to see the numbers to see if I can make any sense of them. 

If it's taxing you twice this way, then I think the return will have to go by mail.  If it's only adding back to the NY taxable income the amount then it's not - but that only works out right if the Box 16 number was adjusted (which is typically how it works, but there are always situations that aren't typical.)

[SusanY1]

New York does not require a copy of your federal return.  The easiest way to get the right set of forms for mailing (minus any extras that aren't necessary) is to print from the Print Center (and not the filing screen).

Print Center is located in the Tax Tools menu on the left side of the program.  In Print Center there is an option to select "All official forms for filing" and then you would just select the New York return only.  It will look similar to this:

[Alice Zinnes]

Box 1 and 16 are the same, though they are both much less than Box 3.  Box 1 (or 16) + Box 12 = Box 3.  I'll see if I can send you the redacted form.

[Alice Zinnes]

There are no Tax Tools in the pull-down menu under Tools.  Is there another way I can send you the scrubbed  form?

[SusanY1]

If Box 1 and Box 16 are the same, then the adjustment that is being made when the entry is made in Box 14 appears to be correct - it's adding the pre-tax (federal) deduction back to the NY income (where it's not deductible.)   

The difference between Box 1 and 3 is where we see that contribution (and likely other things) deducted from your federal income, as the deduction doesn't "count" for social security tax purposes.    

For the scrubbed file - does your program have an "Online" menu instead?  Send tax file to agent is located there in desktop versions of the program. 

[Alice Zinnes]

Thanks. I see how to print the NY forms only,

[Alice Zinnes]

Yes, it does have Online.  I just sent you the form.

[SusanY1]

Can you post here the six digit code that pops up when you select Send File to Agent?  

[Alice Zinnes]

850718

Sorry.  I knew I was supposed to do something else!

[Alice Zinnes]

I was working with Expert Technician Susan Y1 last night and her shift ended before she was able to resolve my problem of TurboTax rejecting my NY W2 because of Box 14.  I have submitted my forms at least 7 times, and tried all kinds of notations in Box 14 but nothing works.  Finally I sent my form to Susan Y1 but she didn't have time to tell me what I should do.  My official W2 has nothing in Box 14, I assume because my public university does not pay anything for my retirement.  My Box 12 does have an E code with a number, because I do contribute to my retirement.  She was thinking I should put the amount in Box 12 into Box 14, but doing so doubles my tax liability.  What should I do?

[BillM223]

@Alice Zinnes

I am taking a look at your sanitized return, please give me a bit...

[BillM223]

"Box 1 and 16 are the same, though they are both much less than Box 3.  Box 1 (or 16) + Box 12 = Box 3. "

This is correct, because the box 12 entry with a code of E is an elective deferral, that is, it is removed from Wages in Box 1 but not 3 or 5.

The code DD amount is also a deferral, but it is removed from Wages in boxes 1, 3, and 5, so it's not easy to notice this.

"IRC 414(h)"

Alice, do you have any reason to believe that you made contributions to a 414(h) retirement plan? Since the code E shows that you have made contributions to a 403(b), we know that you have made "normal" retirement plan contributions.

It is possible for a government plan to also allow you to make "pick-up" contributions to add to your plan in the guise of your employer making the contribution (this can affect whether or not these contributions are subject the FICA taxes).

But it's not required that the plan allows this.

So the real question is "Did you make any pick-up contributions under 414(h)?"

If you did, then your employer would have put this entry into Box 14 (because the W-2 Instructions do not allow 414(h) contributions to be in box 12) as a reminder (and if you entered either of the two NY IRC 414(h) categories), your NY state income would have been correctly adjusted.

However, it is not clear to me that you made any 414(h) contributions, in which case, not even the word "Other" should be there. That is, in this case, there should be nothing in box 14 at all, about this entry. Having an "Other" with no amount could be enough to cause the e-file to fail.

So, if you haven't already, please speak to your payroll department and ask if you made any 414(h) contributions, and if so, what was the amount (because this needs to go into Box 14).

If you discover that there is an amount that you contributed to the 414(h) plan, then which category you pick depends on whether your employer removed the contributions from Wages in box 1 or not. If the employer removed the 414(h) contributions from Wages in Box 1 (i.e. "pre-tax), then you will choose the category of "NY IRC 414(h) subject to NY tax". If your employer did not remove the 414(h) contributions from Wages in Box 1, then you would use "NY IRC 414(h) NY tax exempt" (after-tax). Your choice will determine whether or not the contributions are added to NY state income.

OK? So you have two choices: delete the Other entry or get the amount of the 414(h) contributions and enter it in box 14.

Come back and tell us when you find out which it is.

P.S. as a former programmer of tax software, it would not shock me if the people who wrote the software to create the W-2s inserted something in Box 14 for every W-2 from your school, whether you made contributions or not...a human being, of course, would realize that this didn't matter, but software like TurboTax has to stop the return and find out why you had one box 14 entry and not the others.