My wages, medicare wages and social security wages are all the same amount on my W-2 - is this right?

It's actually perfectly normal for boxes 1, 3, and 5 to show the same amount in many cases! This typically happens when you don't have any pre-tax deductions like 401(k) contributions, health insurance premiums, or HSA contributions. The concerning part is the dramatic drop in your federal withholding. That's a huge decrease from $3,000 to $700 without any changes on your part. There are a few possibilities: 1) Your employer might have implemented the newer W-4 form's calculations differently, 2) There could have been a payroll system error, or 3) Your employer might have mistakenly changed your withholding status. I'd recommend checking your most recent paystubs to confirm the W-2 is accurate, and if so, speak with your HR or payroll department immediately. You should also consider submitting a new W-4 form specifically requesting additional withholding to avoid a surprise tax bill. The sooner you address this, the more time you have to spread any needed additional withholding across your remaining paychecks this year.

Hey there! I had a similar issue last year and was totally freaking out about the withholding change. I tried calling the IRS and was on hold forever. Then I found https://taxr.ai which helped me figure out exactly what happened with my withholding. I uploaded my W-2s from both years and it did a side-by-side comparison, highlighting the differences and explaining possible reasons. It turned out my employer had implemented the new W-4 calculations incorrectly! The tool identified exactly which boxes had changed and gave me a report I could take to HR. They fixed it going forward AND helped me understand exactly how much I needed to set aside for my tax payment. Saved me a ton of stress during filing season.

I was skeptical too but decided to try https://taxr.ai after my post above. Super glad I did! Uploaded my W-2s and it immediately showed that my employer had switched from the old withholding tables to the new W-4 calculation method without telling anyone. The difference was my allowances didn't translate correctly. What I really appreciated was how it created a custom withholding plan showing exactly what to put on my new W-4 to fix the problem. I printed the report, took it to HR, and they immediately saw the issue. They're even doing a payroll audit now to fix it for other employees. Honestly would have been completely lost without it - the IRS calculators were confusing me more!

If you need to talk to the IRS about this withholding issue (which you probably should), good luck getting through on the phone. I spent DAYS trying to reach someone about a similar withholding problem last year. After my fifth attempt waiting 2+ hours and getting disconnected, I found https://claimyr.com which is basically a service that waits on hold with the IRS for you and calls you when an agent is actually on the line. There's also a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was totally skeptical it would work, but I was desperate. They got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes (while I just went about my day), and the agent confirmed my employer had incorrectly implemented the new withholding calculations. The agent even sent me documentation I could take to HR to prove the error.

Ok, I owe everyone an apology. After posting that skeptical comment above, I was still desperate to talk to the IRS about my own withholding issue, so I tried Claimyr despite my doubts. It actually worked exactly as described. I was cooking dinner when my phone rang, and suddenly I was talking to an IRS agent about my withholding problems! The agent confirmed that the "same amount in all wage boxes" is normal for many people, but the withholding drop likely means my employer switched calculation methods. The agent sent me documentation about the 2020 W-4 changes that I showed my employer. Turns out they had applied the new calculations but didn't adjust everyone's withholding status correctly. HR is fixing it for our whole company now. Saved me and my coworkers from a tax nightmare!

Make sure to check if you have any pre-tax deductions! If the amounts in boxes 1, 3, and 5 are all identical, it typically means you don't have any pre-tax items reducing your taxable wages. Common pre-tax deductions include: - 401(k)/403(b) contributions - Health insurance premiums - HSA/FSA contributions - Dependent care FSA - Commuter benefits If you have ANY of these, your Box 1 (wages) should actually be LOWER than boxes 3 and 5. You might want to check if your benefits are being correctly classified as pre-tax!

Has anyone else noticed that their employer seems to have messed up withholding for a bunch of employees around the same time? The whole new W-4 form that removed allowances has caused chaos at so many companies. My entire department had withholding issues and we all ended up owing last year!