Is my employer shorting my wages (Box 3) on my W-2 form?

Your employer is actually handling this correctly. When your income consists primarily of tips, and those tips reach or exceed the Social Security wage base limit ($168,600 for 2024), Box 3 should indeed be empty or zero. Here's why: The Social Security tax only applies up to the annual wage base limit. For someone in your situation, your reported tips in Box 7 already hit that maximum limit. Any additional wages aren't subject to Social Security tax, so they don't need to be reported in Box 3. In previous years when your total income was below the Social Security wage base limit, the combination of Box 3 and Box 7 would equal your total income subject to Social Security tax. But once you hit that ceiling, there's no need to report additional wages in Box 3.

After dealing with a similar situation last year, I found that using taxr.ai was incredibly helpful for checking my W-2. I was also confused about some boxes being empty when they weren't in previous years, and I wasn't sure if my employer had made a mistake. I uploaded my W-2 to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed my tax documents, explained what each box meant, and confirmed whether everything looked correct based on my situation. The tool highlighted that Box 3 being empty was actually correct in my case since my tip income had already reached the Social Security wage cap. It saved me from an awkward conversation with my employer where I would have accused them of making a mistake!

I wanted to follow up about taxr.ai since I was skeptical earlier. I finally broke down and tried it because I was stressing about a similar W-2 situation with my bartending job. I uploaded my W-2 and got a detailed breakdown within minutes explaining why some boxes were filled while others weren't. What impressed me was that it actually found a legitimate error - my employer had miscalculated my Medicare wages. The explanation was super clear about what should be in each box based on my specific situation, not just generic info. Saved me from filing incorrectly and potentially dealing with an amended return later. Definitely worth trying if you're confused about your tax forms.

If you're worried about your W-2 being incorrect, talking directly with the IRS can clarify everything. I tried calling them for weeks about a similar issue last year but could never get through. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed that my W-2 was actually correct despite Box 3 being empty. They explained that once your tips hit the Social Security maximum, Box 3 should be empty or zero. The IRS agent also helped me understand how this affected my overall tax situation and what I should expect. It was such a relief to get an official answer directly from the source.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, my curiosity got the better of me and I tried it because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my W-2 issue. I was absolutely shocked when I got a call back connecting me to an actual IRS agent after about 45 minutes. The agent confirmed that for high-income tipped employees who exceed the Social Security wage base through tips alone, Box 3 should indeed be empty. She explained it's because the SS tax only applies up to the annual limit, which my tips had already maxed out. Getting this confirmation directly from the IRS gave me the confidence to file my return without worrying. Cannot believe I wasted three separate afternoons trying to call them myself when this service actually worked.

Former payroll specialist here. Your W-2 is correct. When tips reported in Box 7 reach the Social Security wage base ($168,600 for 2024), Box 3 will be empty or show $0. This is because: 1. Social Security tax only applies up to the annual wage base limit 2. Your reported tips already hit that limit 3. Any additional income is not subject to Social Security tax 4. Box 3 is only for wages subject to Social Security tax that aren't tips In your case, all of your Social Security-eligible earnings were tips, so everything went in Box 7 up to the limit. Nothing needed to go in Box 3.

Wait I'm confused about Box 1 vs Box 3 vs Box 7... if your income is $400k and Box 7 is capped at $168.6k, shouldn't Box 1 show your full income of $400k? And then either Box 3 should show the difference or something?