Do I need to pay City Taxes if my W2 has a different employer address than where I work?

The address on your W2 doesn't actually determine where you owe city taxes - it's where you physically performed the work that matters. This is a common misunderstanding! City taxes are typically based on where you physically work, regardless of what address appears on your W2. If you worked within city limits, you generally owe taxes to that city even if your employer's headquarters (and the address on your W2) is somewhere else. Your tax professional should have asked about your actual work location to correctly calculate city taxes. The fact that they didn't is concerning, as it could result in underpayment of taxes you legitimately owe. The refund you received might be incorrect if it was calculated based on incorrect work location information.

I had a similar situation and spent HOURS trying to figure out the right answer. I finally tried the AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai and it saved me so much time. I uploaded my W2s and explained my situation about working in a different city than the headquarters, and it analyzed everything and gave me clear guidance on exactly what I needed to report. It specifically addressed the city tax question by explaining that I needed to report based on where I physically worked, not just what was on my W2. Their system actually let me input my work location details even though they weren't on my forms.

I was really skeptical about AI tax tools as mentioned above, but I decided to try https://taxr.ai after getting frustrated with my city tax situation. I was in the exact same boat - W2 showing HQ address while I worked at a local branch. The tool immediately identified the issue and walked me through reporting my correct work location. It even provided references to the specific city tax ordinances that applied to my situation! What surprised me most was how it explained everything in plain language - no tax jargon or complicated explanations. For my situation, it saved me from significantly underpaying my city taxes, which could have resulted in penalties later.

After dealing with similar issues for years, I finally got fed up with trying to reach someone at the city tax office. Called for weeks and couldn't get through. Then I found Claimyr at https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they got me connected to a real person at my city tax department in under 15 minutes! The city tax rep confirmed exactly what I needed to do with my W2s that had the HQ address. They explained I needed to file a special form showing my actual work location despite what the W2 says. Would never have known this without actually talking to someone from the tax office directly. Saved me from a potential audit headache.

I have to eat my words. After being super skeptical about Claimyr in my comment above, I decided what the hell, might as well try it since nothing else was working. I was SHOCKED when they actually got me through to someone at the city tax department in about 20 minutes. The city tax person explained that I absolutely do need to report based on where I physically work, not just what's on my W2. They said this is one of the most common mistakes they see, and people often get unexpected tax bills years later when they catch it. They walked me through exactly how to complete the correct forms for my situation. Worth every penny just for the peace of mind knowing I won't get a surprise bill later!

Something similar happened to me years ago. I assumed the tax preparer knew what they were doing and didn't report city taxes correctly. Two years later I got a notice from the city with penalties and interest. Don't make my mistake! The city tax authorities don't immediately cross-reference your W2 information, but they eventually catch up. In my case, my employer reported my location to the city separately from what was on my W2, which triggered the review.

Quick question - what tax software did your professional use? I'm wondering if certain programs handle this situation better than others.

This is a really important issue that more people need to be aware of! I work for a large corporation with offices in multiple states, and my W2 always shows our main headquarters address even though I've never set foot in that building. For anyone reading this thread - definitely don't assume your tax preparer will automatically know to ask about your actual work location. I learned this the hard way when I moved from one branch office to another mid-year and had to file taxes in two different cities. The W2 looked exactly the same for both locations! My advice: always bring documentation of where you physically worked to your tax appointment, even if it seems obvious to you. Save emails, parking passes, building access logs, anything that shows your actual work location. It's much easier to provide this upfront than to deal with penalties and audits later.