TurboTax Incorrectly calculating PFL for CA

[ohshooot]

Thank you!

I’ve done that, but what do I type here? It greatly changes my tax liability

[DaveF1006]

To clarify, did you receive a 1099G for this income or did you report this income elsewhere in your return? If you reported this income other than a 1099 G, you need to report it and subtract it from Ca income.

[ohshooot]

i didn't have a 1099-G

All i have is a W2, on which my Box 1 (wages , tips, other comp.) is different than my Box 16. State wages , tips, etc. by the amount labeled  "PFL" in Box 14 (other). 

There is another amount in Box 14 (other) labeled VPDI, which is 10x smaller than the PFL amount.

I"m wondering i should type any of these amounts into the screenshot i had above

Thanks in advance for your expertise and help!

[Cat64]

Hello,

I checked with my employer and the Paid Parental Leave I received was paid through a 3rd party, Matrix Absence Management, but it was paid through my paychecks from my employer.  I didn't receive a separate W2 from Matrix.  I only received one W2 from my employer.  My W2 didn't show anything separate for the Paid Parental Leave, but I do see it separated out in my pay stubs for Paid Parental Leave.  Should I have not marked this as "Paid Family Leave" when doing my taxes?

I really hope I didn't do this incorrectly because I'm going to need to amend my return. 

Thanks,

Catherine 

[BillM223]

@ohshooot 

"1) If my W-2 from my employer has an amount marked  (VPDI) in Box 14, can i type that into the "PFL" box that decreases my CA tax (increases refund) even if i don't have a W-2 from the insurer?"

No, VDPI is a premium, not PFL.

"2) The amount marked "PFL" in box 14 of my employer W-2 is the exact difference between box 1 and box 16, so does that mean that the california portion of my taxes is calculated from the box 16 number, meaning that PFL amount has already automatically been deducted from the federal  income tax basis to create the CA state income tax basis, does this sound right?"

No, but the confusion is understandable. Box 16 on your W-2 (state Wages) prints on line 12 on the 540...and then is never used again on the CA return. Really - look at the form .

PFL is considered a form of unemployment, so it is taxed on the federal return (so should be in Box 1 on the W-2, at least). In some states like California, PFL is not taxed on the state level. So in this understanding, box 16 should be smaller than box 1 by removing the PFL from federal income.

But as I noted, payroll people can put anything in box 16, and it doesn't affect the return.

Because CA taxes HSA contributions, it is common for the Box 1 amount to be net of the HSA exclusion while Box 16 has the HSA contributions (the code W amount in box 12 on the W-2, that is) added back to the Box 1 amount. This is a common reason for the two boxes to vary. However, since Box 16 (line 12 on the 540) is ignored, all the various automatic adjustments on the CA return end up handling it correctly.