Box 18 is blank but tax software says it can't be empty or zero - help!
I'm super frustrated right now trying to file my taxes. The company I worked for last year left Box 18 (local wages) completely blank on my W-2. But when I try to enter this into my tax software, it keeps giving me an error saying "local wages cannot be less than local withholding." I've tried leaving it blank like it is on my actual W-2, and I've tried entering zero, but the software won't accept either option. It's literally preventing me from moving forward with my filing. Has anyone dealt with this before? What am I supposed to enter when the box is literally empty on my form? I don't want to put in random numbers and mess up my taxes, but I also need to file soon.
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Mateo Rodriguez
This is actually a common issue with W-2 forms and tax software. When Box 18 (Local Wages) is blank, it typically means that all of your wages were subject to local tax. The software is throwing that error because it's expecting a value in Box 18 that's at least equal to whatever amount is in Box 19 (Local Income Tax Withheld). The solution is to enter the same amount that's in Box 1 (Federal Wages) into Box 18. This is because your local taxable wages are generally the same as your federal taxable wages unless there are specific local exemptions, which is relatively uncommon.
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Nia Thompson
•Thank you for explaining! So basically, I should just copy whatever amount is in Box 1 and put it in Box 18? I was worried about doing that because I didn't want to input anything that wasn't explicitly on my W-2. Are you sure this won't cause any issues with my filing?
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Yes, exactly - you should enter your Box 1 amount into Box 18. This won't cause issues because when the box is left blank, it generally means all wages were subject to local tax (same as your federal wages). The reason the software is giving you that error is because you must have some amount in Box 19 (local tax withheld), and logically you can't have tax withheld on $0 of wages. The amount withheld had to come from somewhere, which is why the software wants you to enter an appropriate wage amount.
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GalaxyGuardian
I had the exact same problem last year when filing and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) after spending hours trying to figure it out. I uploaded my W-2 and it automatically detected that my Box 18 was empty but needed to match my federal wages. The tool explained that employers sometimes leave Box 18 blank when all wages are subject to local tax, just like what happened with you. It saved me from making a mistake and potentially triggering an audit flag.
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Aisha Abdullah
•How does taxr.ai handle other W-2 issues? I have a problem with my employer putting the wrong state code in Box 15. Would it catch something like that too?
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Ethan Wilson
•Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical about these tax tools. How do you know it's giving you the right advice? Did you verify what it told you with a tax professional?
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GalaxyGuardian
•The tool has specific validation checks for each tax form field and will highlight issues like incorrect state codes or missing information. It compares your form against IRS requirements to catch discrepancies. I was also skeptical at first, but what convinced me was that taxr.ai actually shows you the specific IRS guidelines that apply to your situation. In my case, it showed the exact rule about local wages and withholding relationships, which I verified on the IRS website.
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Ethan Wilson
Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after posting my skeptical comment. It actually helped me with a similar W-2 issue where my employer had left Box 14 with some cryptic codes I didn't understand. The analysis explained exactly what those codes meant and how they affected my filing. I'm actually impressed by how much time it saved me compared to when I spent hours on the phone with my company's payroll department last year trying to get answers.
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Yuki Tanaka
If you're still having trouble with your W-2 after trying the software solutions, you might need to contact the IRS directly. I had a similar issue and spent DAYS trying to get through their phone lines. Finally, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. I showed them my weird W-2 with the blank boxes and they confirmed exactly what to do. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if you're curious.
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Carmen Diaz
•Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just connect you to the IRS faster somehow? I thought the IRS phone system was the same for everyone.
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Andre Laurent
•This sounds like BS honestly. Nobody can magically get you through the IRS phone tree faster. What are they doing, paying off IRS agents? I'll believe it when I see it.
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Yuki Tanaka
•It's not magic - they use a system that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree for you. When it finally gets through, it calls your phone and connects you directly to the agent. You don't have to sit there hitting redial for hours. They don't have special access or relationships with the IRS - they just automate the painful part of the process. That's why it works especially well during tax season when the wait times are ridiculous.
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Andre Laurent
I take back what I said about Claimyr. After waiting on hold with the IRS for over 2 hours yesterday and getting disconnected, I tried it out of desperation. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that for the blank Box 18 issue, you should enter your Box 1 wages amount there if Box 19 has local withholding. She explained that employers sometimes leave it blank when all wages are subject to local tax, but the software needs a number to properly calculate everything. Saved me a ton of time and frustration.
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AstroAce
You could also try calling your employer's payroll department directly. I had this same issue last year and they told me exactly what to put in the blank field. Sometimes it's just a printing error or they have a specific reason for leaving it blank. They're usually pretty helpful about tax form questions since they deal with this stuff all the time.
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Nia Thompson
•I actually tried calling my employer first, but their payroll is outsourced and the person I talked to just kept saying "enter what's on the form" which wasn't helpful at all since the box is literally empty. I'll try again with a different person maybe.
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AstroAce
•That's frustrating when they give unhelpful answers like that. Try asking specifically if all your wages were subject to local tax, and if that's why Box 18 was left blank. Sometimes you need to phrase the question in their terminology to get a useful response. If that doesn't work, I'd go with the advice above and use your Box 1 amount. That's what I ended up doing and had no issues with my return.
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Zoe Kyriakidou
Has anyone tried just entering $1 in Box 18? I had a similar issue once and just put $1 to get past the error and it went through fine. The software just needs something non-zero to satisfy the validation.
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Jamal Brown
•That's actually terrible advice. Don't enter incorrect information on your tax forms just to get past software validation. The IRS compares your submitted information with what they received from your employer, and discrepancies can trigger audits or delay your refund. Always enter accurate information.
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Mei Zhang
For what it's worth, I'm a payroll specialist and we sometimes leave Box 18 blank when all wages are subject to local tax. It's not technically incorrect - just confusing for tax software. The correct approach is to enter the same amount as Box 1 (federal wages) unless you have specific local exemptions. The reason tax software requires Box 18 to be >= Box 19 is because you can't have local tax withheld on $0 wages logically.
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James Johnson
Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! I ended up following Mateo's suggestion and entered my Box 1 amount into Box 18, and it worked perfectly. The tax software accepted it and I was able to complete my filing. For anyone else dealing with this issue - it really is as simple as copying your federal wages (Box 1) into the local wages field (Box 18) when it's left blank. Mei's explanation as a payroll specialist really helped confirm this was the right approach. I was so worried about entering something that wasn't explicitly printed on my W-2, but it turns out this is totally normal and expected. My return has already been accepted by the IRS, so I can confirm this solution works without causing any problems. Thanks again to this community for helping me get unstuck!
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Vanessa Chang
•That's great to hear that everything worked out for you! I've been following this thread because I'm dealing with a similar situation with my W-2. My employer also left Box 18 completely blank, and like you, I was hesitant to enter anything that wasn't explicitly printed on the form. Reading through all the responses here, especially from Mei who works in payroll, really helped me understand that this is a normal occurrence. I'm going to go ahead and copy my Box 1 amount into Box 18 as well. Thanks for updating us with your successful outcome - it's reassuring to know the IRS accepted your return without any issues!
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