Discrepancy Between W2 and 1099-B for RSU Income: What Should I Do?

This is actually normal and happens to a lot of people with RSUs! Your W2 and 1099-B are reporting different things, so they shouldn't match up exactly. Your W2 reports the total value of RSUs that vested during the year as ordinary income (this is usually in Box 1). This is the fair market value of the shares on the vesting date, regardless of whether you kept or sold the shares. Your 1099-B, on the other hand, only reports the sales of shares. If you only sold a portion of your RSUs in November, then the 1099-B will only show those specific transactions. The quarterly vestings themselves don't appear on a 1099-B until you actually sell those shares. When you report this on your taxes, you'll need to report both the income from the W2 (which is already included in your W2 wages) AND the sale transactions from the 1099-B. The basis reported on the 1099-B should be adjusted to avoid double taxation since you already paid income tax on the vesting value.

After struggling with the same RSU tax nightmare last year, I found an amazing tool that saved me hours of confusion. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my RSU documents and it explained exactly how to handle the discrepancies between my W2 and 1099-B forms. The system actually flagged potential issues with my cost basis reporting that I would have completely missed. What really helped was uploading both documents and getting a side-by-side analysis that showed precisely why the numbers were different and how to report everything correctly. It even helped me understand which transactions needed adjustment to avoid double taxation on my RSUs.

Just wanted to update after trying https://taxr.ai for my RSU tax situation. I was really struggling with my quarterly RSU vestings and ESPP purchases all generating different tax lots. The tool actually identified that my brokerage was reporting an incorrect cost basis on two of my RSU sales which would have resulted in me overpaying almost $1,200 in taxes! It generated a complete report showing exactly how to enter each transaction in my tax software with the proper adjustments. What impressed me most was how it explained WHY the discrepancy existed between my W2 and 1099-B - turns out my company's RSU plan has specific tax withholding practices that affect how everything gets reported. Definitely using this again next year.

If you're confused about your RSU reporting, you're definitely not alone. I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to someone at the IRS who could explain how to handle my similar situation. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally discovered https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent within 45 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through exactly how to handle the W2/1099-B discrepancy with my RSUs and confirmed that I needed to make specific adjustments to avoid double taxation. They even sent me specific documentation I could reference if my return got flagged for review. Seriously, talking to an actual human at the IRS made all the difference.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate for help with my RSU nightmare. Got connected to an IRS tax specialist within an hour who actually specialized in investment income reporting! The agent confirmed that the discrepancy between my W2 and 1099-B was normal BUT identified that my brokerage hadn't properly adjusted the cost basis for tax withholding at vesting. They walked me through exactly how to correct this on Form 8949 and which codes to use. Saved me from potentially paying double tax on about $8,000 of income. Would have NEVER figured this out from just reading online guides.

Something to consider - did you have any disqualifying dispositions of your RSUs? If you sold the shares too soon after vesting (depending on your company's plan rules), this could explain some of the reporting differences. Also, some companies use a "sell to cover" approach where they automatically sell a portion of RSUs to cover the tax withholding, which affects reporting.

Another tip - make sure you're looking at the correct tax year's forms. Sometimes 1099-Bs include transactions from previous December if they settled in January of the reporting year. Also check if your company provides a supplemental tax document specifically for equity compensation - many do!

Great advice from everyone here! I went through this exact same confusion last year with my company's RSUs. One thing that really helped me understand the discrepancy was getting a detailed breakdown from my brokerage. Most brokerages have a "tax center" or "tax documents" section on their website where they provide supplemental information that explains how your 1099-B relates to your equity compensation. For example, my brokerage (Schwab) had a separate document that showed: - Each vesting event and the FMV on that date - Which shares were sold to cover taxes vs. sold voluntarily - How the cost basis was calculated for each transaction This made it crystal clear why my W2 (showing total vesting value) was different from my 1099-B (showing only actual sales). The key insight was that some of my "sales" weren't actually me selling - they were automatic tax withholding sales that happened at vesting. Definitely check your brokerage's tax center before panicking! And yes, as others mentioned, you'll report both the W2 income AND the 1099-B transactions - they serve different purposes in the tax calculation.