Box 16 and 17 W2 issue

[slava524]

Hello,  I know this has been previously asked but I wasn't clear on all the steps to solve this.  Please HELP!

I live and work in NJ only.  Have 2 W-2s that have NJ in box 15, blank Employer State ID, blank in box 16, and FLI amount in box 17.  I then have another row of these with state wages and state income tax withheld.  When this loads into Turbo Tax, the program tells me that box 16 can't be blank. If I enter the same state wages as in the other row of box 16, won't it double my NJ income?  I read that FLI (for NJ) should be entered in box 14, even if it's listed by employer in box 17. HOWEVER, do I then just remove this row all together and only leave stage wages and income tax withheld?  OR should I just enter $0 in box 16 corresponding to FLI?  I found that when I do either of these options my NJ tax refund increases SIGNIFICANTLY, which makes me worry that it's wrong.  HOWEVER, if I LEAVE  and add wages to both rows (i.e. by State wages and by FLI), I noticed my state wages were DOUBLED by Turbo Tax on Form NJ 2450 (it's not common to have this form but I do as it seems I overpaid the UI/WF/SWF).  In any case, I am VERY concerned.  I was one click away from filing...  PLEASE HELP.  I am sure I am not the only one puzzled by this.  THANK YOU!

[SteamTrain · Accepted solution]

Just eliminate the entire box 15-16-17 line for the NJ FLI on the software form...and put that $$ amount in box 14 instead.  There is a selection for the description in box 14 for NJ FLI..

Apparently NJ want to see the FLI on the actual paper W-2, that your employer issued, in box 17 (if you end up having to mail-file on paper), but it doesn't work there at all with the tax software....so put it up in box 14 for the software entry.

Only your actual NJ wages and NJ income tax withholding go in boxes 16 & 17  (with "NJ" & the proper NJ ID number in the two parts of box 15 )

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And just to be sure you understand W-2 entry....if you had multiple employers, each separate employer's data goes into it's own separate software w-2 form.  AND... Each employer may send out a W-2 with several W-2 sheets (in case you have to mail file), but all the W-2 data from that employer goes into one software W-2 form.

[slava524]

Thank you so much!  Wow, so now that I eliminated that row (for each of the employers that had it)  and added that FLI tax in box 14 (of course leaving 15, 16, 17 as you stated with state tax wages and income tax) , my NJ refund has dramatically increased... I will keep going through it, I just hope it's right (almost makes me nervous rather than excited).  I also wonder if I missed this in all the prior years I was filing... I have been with one of these employers for years and I am pretty sure my W-2s have had it this way for a while (if not all of last 10 years) and unfortunately I am pretty sure I just kept entering state tax wages in the "blank" row of box 16 next to FLI tax.    Should I consider getting tax professional help to review and see if I have overpaid NJ tax due to this? Thank you again!   

[SteamTrain]

@slava524    I'd wait a bit yet.....I "think" this is how it was handled in the past....but I really don't have NJ software myself.     Let's check with a couple superusers who actually file in NJ.

@maglib 

@rjs 

Either of Y'all do NJ regularly.  Is the procedure I posted here for NJ FLI correct?....just use box 14. 

Or did TTX change their software to somehow allow people to put their NJ FLI $$ in box 17, with some allowed non-standard Designation in  box 15.  Certainly, box 16 would have to be empty .

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Certainly, the current TTX FAQ about NJ FLI still says to only put in box 14:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/entering-importing/help/where-should-i-enter-new-jersey-family-lea... 

[rjs]

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@SteamTrain wrote:

Let's check with a couple superusers who actually file in NJ.

@maglib 

@rjs 

Either of Y'all do NJ regularly.  Is the procedure I posted here for NJ FLI correct?....just use box 14.  

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@SteamTrain  Yes, I do a lot of NJ tax returns. And yes, your procedure is correct. FLI must be entered in box 14. Do not enter the box 15-16-17 row that has FLI in box 17.

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@SteamTrain wrote:

Or did TTX change their software to somehow allow people to put their NJ FLI $$ in box 17, with some allowed non-standard Designation in  box 15.

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No, TurboTax did not change the software to allow this. Anything you enter in box 17 will be treated as state tax withheld.

[rjs]

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@slava524 wrote:

Should I consider getting tax professional help to review and see if I have overpaid NJ tax due to this? Thank you again!   

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@slava524  It's too late to do anything about 2016 or earlier. The deadline for amending 2016 New Jersey tax returns was April 15, 2020. New Jersey did not extend that deadline. Take a look at the wages line on your 2017 and 2018 New Jersey tax returns and see if it's doubled. It's line 14 on your 2017 Form NJ-1040 and line 15 on your 2018 Form NJ-1040. If it's not doubled, your tax return was correct and there is nothing more to do. If the wages are doubled you should definitely file amended returns for those years. You could have a big refund coming.

You can't use TurboTax Online to amend a tax return for a prior year. If you used TurboTax Online for the year that you are amending, you would have to download and install the TurboTax software for each year that you have to amend. You would also have to download your .tax20xx data file for each year. Preparing an amended state tax return in TurboTax is not quite as straightforward as preparing your original tax returns. The following FAQs will get you started. If you think you can handle it yourself there is no need to go to a professional.

How do I amend my 2017 TurboTax Online return?

How do I amend my 2018 TurboTax Online return?

[KirstiAmber]

WAIT TILL AFTER JANUARY 29TH! THE FORMS WILL GET UPDATED! DO NOT EDIT YOURSELF LIKE STATED BY OTHERS!🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫

[TheGreenThumb]

Thank you!

[adam-penn]

Well it's after January 29th and this issue still persists. 

If I entered it on line 14 as directed, my state return goes down by $200. Can someone who knows what they're talking about please reach out with a viable solution?

[DMarkM1]

As noted above the correct procedure is for each employer that sent you a W2 that has FLI in box 17 you should move that amount to box 14 and select the NJ FLI category. Delete that line 15/16/17 from your TurboTax W2 entries. 

If that employer also withheld taxes for NJ you will need to have a state line (boxes 15/16/17) showing in Box 15 NJ as the state, the state ID number (you can use the FED ID number without dashes on your W2, if needed), the wages in box 16 and amount withheld in box 17.

[tbstar]

@DMarkM1 

My W2 came with box 15, 16 and 17 filled with NJ and amounts. However, I also have FLI in box 20, should I move this to box 14 still? If yes, which of the amounts I should use?

Thanks

[rjs]

@tbstar 

The "FLI" abbreviation in box 20 is supposed to have an amount associated with it in box 19. You can't use the amount from box 16 or 17. If there's no amount associated with the "FLI," either before, after, above, or below it, then you have to get a corrected W-2 from your employer with the FLI amount.

FLI is always entered in box 14, no matter where it is on the form from the employer.

[tbstar]

I had an amount in 19, So I moved it up to 14 as FLI.

Thanks