W2 wages HIGHER than salary

[RoLyl]

My W2 wages from my former employer are almost $4,000 higher than my wages. I was with them for 5 years and have never had this issue. Our paystubs show gross pay as well as taxable income and it does not match up to my W2. I have even added up every paystub & my deductions from health insurance from 2020 and I'm lost. My W2 has always matched perfectly with my final paystubs.

In addition to that, my federal income tax withheld is $2 more than paystub, social security tax withheld is $230 more than paystub, medicare tax withheld is $55 more than paystub, but state & city taxes withheld are the same as paystub.

I've contacted HR twice about it and they tell me its correct and they can't do anything about it and their advice is to pair up with a tax advisor, but I'm not gonna pay someone if it's their mistake. I've always done my taxes myself, so I don't have a tax person. They also can't tell me WHY there's such a discrepancy, which is very frustrating.

Does anyone have any ideas of why these numbers could be higher?? My employer did pay all of our insurance benefits from April-Oct while we were closed due to Covid, so I'm not sure if that's what's causing the increase? I worked in retail, we do NOT receive bonuses or anything like that.

How can I get this resolved when they refuse?

Thanks!!

[SweetieJean]

The $4,000 extra may be a taxable employee benefit, or an expense/mileage allowance, so ask HR about that.  But  I see that you have asked this same question on other websites. Only your HR or payroll dept can tell you why.

[RoLyl]

@SweetieJean 

I do NOT have ANY taxable employee benefit! I had health insurance and an FSA which are not taxable. I didn't have any changes from 2019, and my 2019 w2 had no errors. I worked in retail, they don't provide us with expenses or mileage, I was lucky to even get insurance

Yes, I've asked on other sites to see others insights.

They will NOT tell me why, hence my frustrations.

[SteamTrain]

Still, the Health Insurance may be the reason.

Certainly, it may have been pre-tax before they closed and while you were getting paid, but after they closed and you had no income, they may have had to switch to an after-tax basis, since they were paying all of it while you had no income from them at all.

The $2 difference in Fed taxes withheld is inconsequential and could just be rounding.

The Medicare and SS difference is likely all due to the extra $4000.  (more like the ~3700-3800 range? )

[SusanY1 · Accepted solution]

My employer did pay all of our insurance benefits from April-Oct while we were closed due to Covid, so I'm not sure if that's what's causing the increase? 

This is almost certainly where the difference comes from.  If they paid both your share and theirs during the business closure, then some or all of the premium that they paid would be considered taxable compensation to you. 

While they may not be able to explain it to you (the person you are able to speak with may not fully understand it herself), they have assured you that it is correct and no adjustment is forthcoming, so you must file your return with the information given.

It is actually quite common for a W-2 to vary from the final paycheck of the year.  That yours hasn't previously isn't common.  

The insurance is almost guaranteed to be the source of the difference here. 

If you know how much you normally pay per pay period toward insurance and multiply that by the number of pay periods missed you may find a number close to your number.  You can also get an idea of the total health care premium paid for by your employer by looking at the number for box 12 item DD. I would expect 12DD to be a good bit higher than the $4,000.  

[RoLyl]

@SusanY1 

Thank you so much for the breakdown, I appreciate it and it definitely helps clarify.  The amount in box 12 is over $9,000 and when doing a quick estimate of their share of the premiums over the pay periods we were closed, it adds up to around what is extra on my w2. So thanks again.