How to enter IHSS live-in provider W2 with Zero in Box 1?

[AmyC]

 Box 1 is zero and box 5 has a number. The program is just warning you of the mismatch. It should allow you to move on and finish your return.

[andyvu2002]

Thank you I have the same situation 

zero on box 1,2,12,19 as you mentioned 

but I take care my parents and receive 2 w2 form

When I try to enter both w2 in to turbo tax

there is a error message 

Turbo tax ask me to double check duplicate error

so base on your answer I do no need to file or enter anything to turbo tax right

Thank you 

[Vanessa A]

That is correct.  If you have 0's in box 1, and you are not trying to use this income to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, then you do not need to enter these on your return. 

If you are eligible and do want this income included in the calculations for the Earned Income Credit, then if these are from the same place you can combine them or enter just one.  

Follow these steps to enter your IHSS payments AFTER deleting your W-2 by clicking the trashcan in the summary page next to the W-2:

1. Select income
2. Miscellaneous Income which is under Less Common Income
3. Other Income Not already reported on a Form W-2 or Form 1099
4. Select Yes to did you receive any other wages
5. Continue to the box that asks for your Medicaid Waiver payments
6. You will be asked about using this income for the Earned Income Credit
7. After you do this, if you select yes, you will need to visit the credits and deduction section to answer the Earned Income Credit questions.
8. Continue through to file your return

[andyvu2002]

Thank you for your quick response.

[henrysf]

@jackkgan Which instructions did you end up following to solve your issue?  Were you able to efile your tax return?  Did you enter zero for Box 1 in TurboTax?  I am having the same issue with IHSS livein provider W2 now.   If I skip entering box 12a, and select "Nontaxable Medicaid waiver payments" under "Let’s check for uncommon situations.", TurboTax won't allow me to efile.  Thanks in advance.

[SharonD007]

Review the TurboTax Help article How do I enter my tax-exempt Medicaid waiver payments from IHSS in TurboTax? for instructions to enter your Medicaid waiver payment.

[henrysf]

Thanks @SharonD007 I did read https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/form-w-2/qualified-medicaid-waiver-payme..., but my case is slightly different.  I don't need Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, but I need to calculate excess social security tax withheld (with mulitple jobs).  That said, I need to enter the IHSS W2.  Do you think I should follow "If the only entry on your W-2 is in Box 12 (there's a blank or a $0 in Box 1), and you want to use the income to qualify for Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, you can enter the W-2 as is" anyway?

My IHSS W2 is correct, so I don't need a corrected one.  In my case, box 1 and box 2 are zero, though boxes 3, 4, 5, 6, 12a (II) have values.  That seems to be the same as @jackkgan, so I wonder what @jackkgan ended up doing.

[jackkgan]

henrysf, I followed the instructions below and it looks ok  so far.

I have not e-filed yet, so will know more once I do that. 

If you received a W-2 with $0 in Box 1:  

1. Sign in to TurboTax Online, click Continue to your return, then pick up where I left off (if you are using TurboTax CD/ Download, then just open your return on your computer);     
2. Click on Federal Taxes, and then click on Wages & Income;     
3. Under Wages and Income, click Start;      
4. Click on Work on my W-2, and enter the information as reported on your W-2.     
5. After entering all your W-2s, you will see the screen, Let’s check for uncommon situations. Next to Nontaxable Medicaid waiver payments, check the box.  
6. You will enter the amount of Medicaid Waiver Payments into the box asking for the total amount of difficulty of care payment you received from IHHS. This will be the same amount reported in Boxes 3 and 5 of your W-2.  
7. When you get to the Earned Income Credit section under the  Deductions and Credits portion of your return, you will be asked if you want to add your Medicaid waiver payment to your income for this credit. You can try it both ways, including it and excluding it from the calculation for the credit and see which way benefits you most.  

[henrysf]

Thanks @jackkgan I did exactly what you listed above from step 1 to step 6 (skipping step 7 as Earned Income Credit is not my goal), but TurboTax didn't allow me to efile.  The Smart Check did not report any error.

Regardless, I would suggest you to efile before 4/15 to make sure all works so you don't need to deal with any last minute stress.

Get back to my return.  I initially just entered numbers (including box 12a) as they were on the IHSS W2.  Smart check did not return any error, and TurboTax allowed me to efile.  Guess what?  IRS rejected my return with error S3-F1040-144!  I created https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/2024-federal-re[product key removed]ted-with-erro... on that, and I wonder if I have to mail my return instead.  

[andyvu2002]

Go with  Venessa instructions 

[jackkgan]

henrysf, Thank you for sharing.

I have 2 W2-s (one of them is IHSS) and may not qualify for Earned Income Tax credit as well.

I had followed those instructions in the post with suggestions from  CatinaT1 , ThomasM125, AmyC and DaveF1006.    . Copying them in case they may have any ideas regarding the problem you are encountering.

Also,  I had got other answers such as box 12 from other post

(I am also worried if I will encounter the same issues once I try to file taxes. 🙂)

[henrysf]

In my case, I have to deal with 4 W2s.

one from my regular employer.

one from IHSS for me.  Excess social security tax withheld here as IHSS didn't know my regular employer had withhold max social security tax for me.

one from my wife's regular employer.

one from IHSS for my wife.

I wonder if that somehow caused the error S3-F1040-144.  Unfortunately, I have to report W2s from IHSS, as social security tax and  medicare tax are not exempt, and I may get refund and have to pay extra.

Given you only deal with 2 W2, you may be fine.

Getting ready to wait in line and mail my returns in post office.  Thank you for your responses and best of luck!

[MonikaK1]

The error number you cited has to do with excess social security withholding. In order to receive a refundable credit for excess social security withholding, you have to have reported at least two Forms W-2. If you had excess withholding from just one employer, you need to ask the employer to refund the excess withholding. If the employer doesn't adjust the overcollection, you can use Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement to claim a refund. Attach copies of your Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement for the year to Form 843.

See IRS Tax Topic 608 for more information.

The error message for S3-F1040-144 reads: If Schedule 3 (Form 1040), 'ExcessSocSecAndTier1RRTATaxAmt' has a non-zero value, then at least two Form W-2s with the same 'EmployeeSSN' must be present in the return

@henrysf 

[henrysf]

Thanks @MonikaK1 Neither of my employers withheld to much social security tax, but they together withheld too much.  I checked TurboTax (EasyStep as well as Forms) and confirmed both W2s have my SSN.  I guess either TurboTax didn't transmit data properly or IRS has problem dealing with my case.  No way I can be sure though.

[MonikaK1]

Thanks for the clarification.

As I added in your other thread:

Revisit the W-2 section. If you are filing a joint return, check to see if you have identified each W-2 correctly as "self" or "spouse". If a W-2 is mislabeled as belonging to the wrong spouse, TurboTax will see the Social Security withholding as belonging to one person instead of two.

This is a common source of erroneous excess Social Security withholding credits in TurboTax.