W-2 Frequently Asked Questions

About Form W-2 Wage and  Tax Statement

Every employer engaged in a trade or business who pays remuneration, including noncash payments of $600 or more for the year (all amounts if any income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld) for services performed by an employee must file a Form W-2 for each employee (even if the employee is related to the employer) from whom:
•    Income, Social Security, or Medicare tax was withheld.
•    Income tax would have been withheld if the employee had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.

1. I did not receive my W-2 form, what should I do?

If you have not yet received your w-2, the first thing you should do is consult your employer, if there has been a change of residence, be sure to inform the employer, this should arrive in a reasonable time since they must have sent you this form before the Deadline January 31.
If you did not receive your Form w-2 by the end of February, you must contact the IRS for help, you must provide certain information that the representative will request, after which the IRS will be sending you form 4852 to the address that you provided and at the same time the IRS will be contacting the employer to request the missing document (W-2). If you do not receive your W-2 form on time, you will need to use Form 4852 to report your income.
If you later receive your w-2 and discover that your calculation is incorrect, you will need to correct your return by completing form 1040X. Please note that it may take up to 16 weeks to process your amended return.

2. My wages on my W-2 do not match my final check stub of the year. What is the problem?
The W-2 reflects taxable earnings while the check stubs reflect total earnings. To convert from total earnings to taxable earnings, you need to subtract the nontaxable deductions, including parking deductions, FSA deductions (medical and dental deductions, flexible spending account deductions, and dependent care deductions) and retirement deductions (403(b), 457). These deductions are itemized in boxes 12, 13, and 14 of the W-2.
Your Form W-2 is a summary of the taxable earnings received in a calendar year. For the calendar year 2021, paychecks for pay period ending 12/31/20 thru 12/15/21 are included on the 2021 W-2.

3. The check for the last two weeks of 2021 is not included on my W-2. Is this correct?
Yes, This is correct.  The Form W-2 is issued on a cash basis. Any compensation paid to you in 2021 is considered 2021 income. The final half of December was paid on January 7, 2022 and is therefore not considered income for 2021. It will be part of your 2022 Form W-2.

4. My W-2 does not reflect my current salary. How come?
Your W-2 does not reflect your fiscal year salary; it reflects taxable, calendar year wages. The fiscal dates that your W-2 covers are from 12/16/20 – 6/30/21 (13 pay periods) and 07/01/21 – 12/15/21 (11 pay periods). See question #6 for a description of taxable wages.

5. What is FSA on my W-2?
FSA stands for Flexible Spending Account and includes such items as Medical and Dental deductions.

6. I did not sign up for FSA, why do I have it?
When you elect your Medical and Dental Plans you are automatically enrolled in FSA. This provides that your health insurance premium payments are on a pre-tax basis. The pre-tax payroll deduction can be coded as “FSA Dependent”, “FSA Health”, “FDA Medical” on your paycheck.

7. What if I didn’t have any federal or state taxes withheld according to my W-2?
You may not have had any federal and state withholding taxes if you claimed a withholding exemption, dependents, and or made adjustments for other tax credits/deductions on your W-4 form for the year (Employee’s Withholding Certificate). Check out your tax status through your Campus Information System. In addition, if your earnings are under a certain threshold, you may not have been subject to any federal and state withholding taxes. You can change your Employee Withholding Certificate to adjust your federal and state withholdings at any time.

8. I am a nonresident alien on a treaty, what tax forms will I receive?
Nonresident aliens who both qualified for a treaty exemption and completed the necessary paperwork, may receive a Form 1042-S and/ or a Forms W-2 showing their treaty exempt earnings/ other wages and taxes. The Form 1042-S is required before you can complete your income tax return. Forms 1042-S are required to be delivered by March 15th