Box 20 (Locality) on W-2 says TOTAL - never seen this before

You don't need to panic about this. Box 20 on your W-2 is for the locality name associated with the local income tax that was withheld (which is shown in Box 19). When "TOTAL" appears in Box 20, it usually means one of two things: First possibility - you had local taxes withheld for multiple localities throughout the year, and your employer is just showing the combined total amount in Box 19 with "TOTAL" in Box 20 instead of breaking them down individually. This sometimes happens if you worked in different locations or if your employer uses a simplified reporting method. Second possibility - it could simply be a mistake where someone used "TOTAL" as a placeholder when generating the W-2. Payroll systems sometimes do weird things like this. Either way, you should still get clarification from your HR department for your records. When filing, you'll need to know which locality the taxes were paid to, especially if you need to file local tax returns.

I went through a similar issue last year when my W-2 had confusing locality information. I wasted days going back and forth with HR who kept giving me conflicting answers. Finally I decided to try this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was actually really helpful. I uploaded my W-2 and pay stubs and their system was able to analyze everything and show me exactly which localities I had paid taxes to throughout the year. It matched everything up with the corresponding tax rates and gave me a detailed breakdown. I was able to file with confidence even though my W-2 had that weird issue. Might be worth checking out if your HR keeps dragging their feet on getting back to you. Saved me a ton of stress when I was in a similar situation.

Just wanted to update - I tried out taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it worked amazingly well! I uploaded my documents and it immediately spotted that my employer had been withholding for two different localities simultaneously (which explained my "TOTAL" label). The system broke down exactly how much went to each city and calculated what my actual liability should be for each. The best part was it generated a report I could include with my tax filing explaining the discrepancy. Literally saved me hours of back-and-forth with my unresponsive HR department. Worth checking out if you're still waiting for answers from your company!

I had almost the exact same problem last year when dealing with locality issues on my W-2. But my bigger headache was trying to get an actual human at the IRS to answer questions about it. Kept getting stuck in those automated phone trees for hours. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual endless hold time. They have this system that navigates all the phone menus and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an actual human picks up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that the "TOTAL" listing happens frequently and explained exactly how to handle it on my return. Honestly saved me days of frustration.

I was so skeptical about Claimyr but after struggling with my locality tax issue for weeks, I gave it a try yesterday. Holy crap, it actually works! After waiting on hold for 2+ hours myself earlier in the week, the service got me through to an IRS representative in about 20 minutes. The agent explained that the "TOTAL" in Box 20 is a common error when employers are using certain payroll systems that don't properly format the locality field. She told me exactly how to report it based on my pay stubs and said I didn't even need a corrected W-2 as long as the dollar amount in Box 19 was correct. Seriously would have spent another week stressing about this without getting that clarification. If you're still waiting on HR, might be worth trying this route.

Former payroll specialist here. The "TOTAL" in Box 20 is actually pretty common with certain payroll processing systems, especially ADP and Paychex. It typically happens when: 1. You worked in multiple localities during the year 2. The system is configured to consolidate local taxes instead of itemizing them 3. Someone in payroll didn't set up the W-2 formatting correctly If you look at your final pay stub from December, it should break down each locality tax separately. The sum should match Box 19 on your W-2. For filing purposes, you'll need to know how much went to each locality since you'll potentially need to file local returns for each jurisdiction.

Anyone know if tax software like TurboTax or H&R Block can handle this type of situation? I'm having a similar issue and wondering if I need to go to an actual accountant instead of using software.

I've been dealing with payroll and tax issues for years as a small business owner, and I can confirm that "TOTAL" in Box 20 is becoming more common with automated payroll systems. Here's what I'd recommend: 1. Don't panic - this is likely just a formatting issue, not a calculation error 2. Check your final December pay stub to see the locality breakdown 3. Verify that the sum of individual locality taxes on your pay stub matches Box 19 on your W-2 4. Keep detailed records of your pay stubs showing the specific localities If you moved mid-year like you mentioned, you'll probably need to file local tax returns for both cities. The good news is that most tax software can handle this - you just need to manually split the amounts based on your pay stub information. One thing to watch out for: some localities have different filing requirements or deadlines, so make sure you research the specific rules for both cities where you had taxes withheld. Don't let your HR department's slow response delay your filing if you're close to the deadline.

I work in tax preparation and see this "TOTAL" issue frequently during tax season. What's happening is your payroll system is consolidating multiple locality entries instead of listing them separately on the W-2. This is completely normal when you've had taxes withheld for more than one jurisdiction. Since you moved mid-year, you likely had local taxes withheld for both your old and new cities. The payroll system just summed them up and put "TOTAL" rather than trying to fit multiple city names in that small box. Here's what you need to do: 1. Get your final December pay stub - it should show the breakdown by locality 2. Verify the individual amounts add up to what's in Box 19 of your W-2 3. You'll need to file local tax returns for both cities where you had withholding 4. Keep copies of those pay stubs with your tax records Don't wait for HR if you're close to the deadline. This is a reporting format issue, not a calculation error. You can file confidently using the pay stub details to allocate the amounts correctly between the two localities.