If your Box 1, W-2 amount is less than your salary, it is because you have pre-tax deductions from your salary under one or more employer plans. If you are not sure about your Box 1 amount, your payroll department can provide the details of the calculation of your Box 1 amount.

How do I correct wages on W-2?

To create a corrected W-2 after filing, use Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement. Employers use Form W-2c to correct errors on Forms W-2 filed with the Social Security Administration. Sometimes, you might send Form W-2c to your employee but not the SSA (explained below).

Where does the wage information come from on a W-2?

This document describes each box on the W-2 statement and explains where information in the Year-end Wage File comes from within your back-office application. Refer to this information if you have questions about the amounts appearing on your Year-end Employee Wage Report or your W-2 statements.

Why does my employer give me an incorrect W-2?

It’s possible that your employer is trying to hide W-2 income from the IRS, particularly if they’ve been having financial difficulties. The company must pay half your Social Security and Medicare taxes based on your earnings, so the less you earn, the less they must pay in these payroll taxes. 1 

When do you need to make a correction on a W-2?

Tip #4: Note the situations where a W-2c is optional. For example, if the W-2 reflects the wrong employee address, but everything else is accurate and you’ve already filed the W-2 with the SSA, you can make the correction in one of three ways: Give the employee a new Form W-2 with the correct address.

Why does my employer put medicare on my W-2?

Some Employer reports include types of Form W-2 that disagree with the type of employment identified on the Form W-3 (e.g., Medicare only W-2s included with regular Social Security W-2 wage reports). Undetected, these situations may cause incorrect wage postings.