How should I report a W2 with blank box 1 and only 6 cents in box 14?
So I just received this weird W2 from a company I barely worked for last year. It has absolutely nothing in box 1 (wages/tips/compensation) but has .06 cents listed in box 14 (other). I'm using TurboTax to file my taxes this year and it's giving me an error and won't let me e-file because of the blank box 1. I've tried entering $0 but it still gives me the same error. This is so frustrating because it's literally 6 pennies and I don't want to have to mail in my return just because of this! Has anyone dealt with something like this before? I called the company but they weren't helpful at all and just said "that's what our system generated." What am I supposed to do with this ridiculous W2??
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Samuel Robinson
This is actually fairly common with very small amounts of income or certain types of special compensation. When box 1 is blank but there's an amount in box 14, it usually means you received some type of non-wage compensation that the employer is reporting but doesn't qualify as taxable wages. For TurboTax, try entering "0" (zero) in box 1 instead of leaving it blank. If that doesn't work, you might need to contact TurboTax support directly as they may have a specific workaround for this situation. Technically, a blank box 1 with only non-wage compensation in box 14 is a valid W-2, but some tax software has validation rules that flag this as an error. Another option is to check if the 6 cents in box 14 has a specific code or label next to it that might explain what type of payment it represents. This could help determine how it should be reported.
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Camila Castillo
•So do they even need to report this W2 at all? It's literally 6 cents. Seems like a waste of time and effort for everyone involved.
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Samuel Robinson
•Technically, you should report all income regardless of the amount. The IRS doesn't have a minimum threshold for reporting W-2 income specifically. While it seems ridiculous for 6 cents, the employer issued the W-2 because they're required to report all compensation paid. If TurboTax won't accept it with a zero in box 1, you might try the software's help features or contact their support. Another option is to see if the W-2 correction function works - some tax software allows you to indicate that a W-2 has an error and proceed with filing.
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Brianna Muhammad
I had a similar issue last year with a tiny W2 and found out about taxr.ai at https://taxr.ai which helped me figure it out. I was totally confused because I had like $1.28 on a W2 from a company I did one quick task for. Their tool analyzed my W2 and showed me exactly how to enter it in TurboTax (turns out I needed to select "This W2 has special circumstances" in the advanced options). They have this feature that can look at weird tax documents and tell you what to do with them. Saved me a ton of frustration!
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JaylinCharles
•Does taxr.ai work for other weird tax situations too? I've got a 1099-MISC with only box 3 filled out and no idea what to do with it.
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Eloise Kendrick
•I'm skeptical... how exactly does their system analyze your W2? Do you have to upload it? Is that even secure?
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Brianna Muhammad
•Yes, it works for all kinds of unusual tax documents! They have specific guidance for unusual 1099 situations including when only certain boxes are filled. Their system is designed to handle exactly these edge cases that most tax software struggles with. They use bank-level encryption for document uploads and analysis. They actually don't store your documents after analysis - everything is processed securely and then automatically deleted. I was cautious too at first, but their privacy policy explains the whole security process in detail.
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JaylinCharles
Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai for my weird 1099-MISC issue and it worked great! Uploaded my document and it immediately identified that I had miscellaneous income in box 3 with no other entries. It gave me step-by-step instructions for exactly which screens to navigate to in TurboTax to properly report it. Even showed me a screenshot of the "Other Income" section where I needed to enter it. Super helpful and now my return is processing instead of getting stuck!
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Lucas Schmidt
If you're having trouble with the IRS over this tiny W2, I highly recommend using Claimyr at https://claimyr.com to actually get a human on the phone. I was in a similar situation last tax season with a weird W2 that had $0.00 in box 1 but had some other entries. Spent DAYS trying to call the IRS myself with no luck. Claimyr got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who confirmed I could just enter zero in box 1 and file as normal. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically wait on hold for you and call when an agent is on the line.
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Freya Collins
•How does that even work? Doesn't the IRS need to verify your identity before they'll talk to you? How can some service get around that?
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LongPeri
•Sounds like a scam to me. Nobody can magically get through to the IRS. I tried calling for 3 weeks straight last year.
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Lucas Schmidt
•They don't bypass any security - they just wait on hold for you. When an IRS agent picks up, you get a call and then connect directly with the agent. You still need to verify your identity yourself - Claimyr just eliminates the 2+ hour hold time. It works through a pretty clever system where they navigate the IRS phone tree and wait in the queue for you. Once an agent is about to take your call, they call your phone and connect you. It's completely legitimate and many tax professionals use it during busy season.
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LongPeri
I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve a different tax issue. Got connected to an IRS rep in 35 minutes after trying for WEEKS on my own with no success. The agent actually told me they've been hearing about the service from more and more callers. For the original poster's W2 issue - the IRS agent I spoke with said tiny amounts like that are common and confirmed you can enter zero in box 1 or even attach a note with your paper return explaining the situation. Definitely worth using if you need to talk to IRS about this!
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Oscar O'Neil
Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but couldn't you just ignore this W2 entirely? It's 6 cents. The IRS isn't going to come after you for 2 cents in taxes on 6 cents of income. The time spent dealing with this is worth way more than that.
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Sara Hellquiem
•Technically that would be tax fraud lol. But realistically you're right, nobody would ever notice or care about 6 cents. Still, I'd probably report it just to avoid any potential matching issues if the employer submitted it to the IRS.
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Oscar O'Neil
•Haha true about the tax fraud thing, but I wonder if there's actually a minimum threshold where the IRS just doesn't care. Like if you found a penny on the ground, you technically earned income but nobody reports that. I guess the difference is that this has an official W2 attached to it that's already in the system. You're right that reporting it is probably best just to keep everything matched up in their systems.
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Charlee Coleman
I'm a bit confused. What exactly is Box 14 used for on a W-2? Is that even taxable income?
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Liv Park
•Box 14 is for "other" information that employers want to report but doesn't fit in the standard boxes. It could be union dues, health insurance premiums, educational assistance, or a bunch of other things. Usually not taxable, which might explain why Box 1 is empty - there were no taxable wages.
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