Georgia W2 and Annual Return

[andreapgn445]

Hello everyone, 

My former employer mistakenly listed me as GA withholding tax exempt just before my last paycheck. In my W2, those exempt wages were not added to the state wages. That is why now the state wages are lower than the federal ones.

My question is, will I be able to reconcile those GA wages in my annual return? It's just I read that in the annual return, the important thing is the federal wages, because from there the taxable wages for GA are calculated.

[DoninGA]

You need to have your employer correct the W-2 that you received.  They can issue a Form W-2C that will include the correction.

[andreapgn445]

I must ask, is it strictly necessary to correct it? Will it affect my annual return if, in the W2, the state wages are lower than the federal ones due to the exemption? That company closed its operations.

[DoninGA]

You can file the tax return using the W-2 that you have since it will only affect your Georgia tax return.  The state of Georgia may inquire why you are filing a state tax return with different gross income then what is shown for federal gross income.

[TomD8]

Since Georgia bases its income tax on your federal AGI, I agree with @DoninGA that you should just file your return using your W-2 as is.  If Box 1 of your W-2 is correct, the income reported on your GA tax return will be correct.

The GA tax instruction booklet requires you to adjust the federal AGI on your GA tax return only if you have income that is taxable by the Federal Government but not taxable to Georgia, or vice versa.