What is a W-2 Wage and Tax
Statement? Your W-2 is a record of your earnings and tax withheld
for the year. You use information found on your W-2 to file your federal, state,
and local tax returns.
The City of New York sends a copy of your W-2 statement to the Social
Security Administration (SSA) to update your lifetime record of earnings. This
is the basis for entitlement to retirement and disability benefits, survivor
benefits for family members in case of your death, and eligibility for Medicare
insurance coverage.
How do I get another copy of my W-2? Active
employees can access NYCAPS Employee Self-Service free of charge at www.nyc.gov/ess. You can request a
duplicate W-2 from your agency payroll office or from OPA. For tax years 2006
and after, most agencies can print replacement W-2s for their employees. OPA
will continue to provide duplicate W-2s for prior years.
Download the W-2 Duplicate Request form below, or call OPA at (212) 669-8555
to have it faxed to you. You may mail or fax your request to OPA as noted on the
form.
A fee of $5 will be charged for each W-2 duplicate more than three years old.
Payments may be made by:
Credit Card
Certified Check
Money Order
Debit Card (in person)
Payroll Deduction (for active employees only)
You can expect to receive the duplicate W-2 in five to ten business days. It
will be sent in the mail to the address you indicate on the request, and cannot
be faxed.
What do I do if my W-2 is incorrect? If the
name, Social Security number, or amount of wages or taxes is incorrect on your
W-2, contact your agency payroll office, which will research the problem and
forward a W-2 Correction Request form along with documentation to OPA.
Expect OPA to process the corrected W-2 within ten to fifteen business
days.
How are the wages and taxes on my W-2
determined? Beginning with the first payroll and continuing through
the year, your earnings and tax deductions are posted to your year-to-date
totals. Your W-2 reflects the accumulated year-to-date totals that show on your
last pay statement of the year.
Why don't the total wages on my W-2 match my
salary? The date of the wage payment determines the year into which
your wages fall for tax purposes. Most City employees are paid 26 times a year,
where each two-week pay period includes 14 days during which wages were
earned.
If you worked the entire year, you actually worked more than that, usually by
one more day. That additional day's pay will be reflected on the first payment
for the following year and will be reflected in the following year's W-2. Every
year there will be an overlap at the beginning and/or end of the year.
To make up for these days in certain years there are 27 pay periods. This
last occurred in 2004.
I worked for two agencies during the tax year. How many
W-2 statements will I receive? In most cases, you will receive one
W-2 statement that will combine all earnings. Department of Education Custodians
and Custodian Helpers will receive separate W-2 statements.
How are my pre-tax benefit program deductions shown in
my W-2?
Tax Deferred Annuity Accounts/Deferred
Compensation Plans (TDA/DCP) Contributions are shown in Box 12 of
your W-2. TDA contributions are not subject to income taxes, but they are
subject to FICA taxes. As a result, your wages shown for Social Security and
Medicare taxes may be greater than wages shown for income taxes.
You file your federal, state, and city tax returns on the lower reported wage
amount shown in your W-2 in Boxes 1, 16, and 18. Although your contributions are
made through payroll deductions, your year-to-date earnings on your pay
statement are not affected.
Pension Contributions are shown in Box 14, IRC414H.
Pension contributions are not subject to federal income tax, but are subject to
state, city, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. You need to add the pension
contribution shown in Box 14 to the reported wage amount.
Only standard pension deductions and certain "buy back" deductions are
included in the IRC414H Box. Pension loan deductions are taxable and not
included in the IRC414H Box.
TransitBenefit The amounts for the TransitBenefit program
are covered under Section 132 of the IRS code, and reflected in Box 14, IRC132.
The amounts for TransitBenefit are not subject to taxable wages, Social
Security, Medicare, state, and city taxes.
Health Insurance Premiums, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DeCAP),
and Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) The amounts for
these programs, covered under Section 125 of the IRS code, are reflected in Box
14, IRC125. The amount for DeCAP is shown also in Box 10. They are not subject
to federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. The reduction in earnings shows
on your W-2 but not on your pay statement.
The amount in the IRC 125 Box is subject to New York State and City taxes.
The NYS income tax instructions directs the income tax filer to report wages as
they appear on the W-2 in Box 1 then to add back the amount to arrive at New
York State/City taxable wages.
Do I pay taxes for fringe benefits? There
are six types of fringe benefits that are taxable:
Union Legal Service A portion of the money the City
contributes to the Union Welfare Fund is used to provide pre-paid group service
benefits to eligible individuals. The cost of this benefit is considered income,
whether the service is used or not. The value of the benefit varies by union
affiliation.
Education Reimbursements by unions and CUNY community
colleges for non job-related undergraduate and graduate-level courses for
amounts in excess of $5,250 are subject to federal income, Social Security, and
Medicare taxes.
Motor Vehicle Use If a City vehicle is assigned to
you and you use it for driving to and from home, you are required to pay taxes
on the value of the use of the vehicle. The amount is determined by mileage or a
flat rate and is reported by your agency to OPA.
Parking If you have access to free parking space for your
own vehicle in areas in which equivalent parking costs are more than $215 per
month, you are required to pay tax on the value of the parking above $215 per
month. Your agency reports parking fringe benefit amounts to OPA.
TransitBenefit Administrative Fees The TransitBenefit
administrative fees for the Premium TransitChek MetroCard are paid by the City
to TransitCenter on behalf of participating employees. The maximum annual amount
of the addition is $15.60:
$.60 deduction x 26 bi-weekly paydays or $.65 deduction x 24 semi-monthly
paydays
Health Club Reimbursement Reimbursements by the
Management Benefits Fund are subject to income, Social Security, and Medicare
taxes.
The amount of your taxable fringe benefits is shown in Box 14 and has
increased your taxable wages in Box 1, Social Security and Medicare wages in
Boxes 3 and 5, state wages in Box 16, and local wages in Box 18A or Box 18B.
Taxable fringe benefits are reported and processed at the end of the year and
may not be reflected in year-to-date earnings in your final pay statement.
What is the Domestic Partners
benefit? City employees and retirees, covered by the Employee
Benefits Program, have the right to add their Domestic Partners to their City
health plan coverage. If you added a domestic partner to your health insurance,
a portion of the amount paid by the City for the coverage is taxable and is
included in Box 14, IRC125. It is reflected in Box 1, taxable wages, Boxes 3 and
5, Social Security and Medicare wages, and Boxes 16 and 18, state and local
wages.
Is the payment I received for the Health Benefits
Buy-Out Waiver Program reflected in my W-2? If you waived your
health benefits coverage under the Buy-Out Waiver Program, the incentive
payments you received are reflected in Box 1, taxable wages, Boxes 3 and 5,
Social Security and Medicare wages, and Boxes 16 and 18, state and local
wages.
Payments for the Health Buy-Out Waiver Program are included on your pay
statement.
Where does my Advance Earned Income Credit (AEIC) show
on my W-2? If you filed for AEIC, the amount you received in advance
of your pay is shown in Box 9.
Is my W-2 adjusted for voluntary contributions to
charities through the Combined Municipal Campaign (CMC)? Your W-2
wage information is not adjusted for your tax-deductible CMC contributions. You
can determine the amount of your contributions from your pay statements or
through Employee Self Service, if your agency is a NYCAPS agency.
Does my W-2 reflect adjustments for US Savings Bonds
purchases through payroll deductions? Your W-2 does not reflect
adjustments for Savings Bond purchases. The interest from savings bonds is
exempt from state and local income tax and may be deferred from federal tax
until the bonds are redeemed.
Check Replacement Charge Effective Wednesday, 7/1/2009, there will be a $55 replacement check fee charged for each replacement check issued by the NYC Office of Payroll Administration.
Uniformed LoDI FICA Refunds 1991-1992 The Internal Revenue Service has yet to resolve all their issues for tax years 1991 and 1992.
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