Started a 401K for first time in 2023 but employer contributions not showing on W-2?

This is totally normal! Your employer's contributions to your 401(k) don't appear in the numbered boxes on your W-2. Only your personal contributions show up in Box 12 with code D (which should be your $1,970.14 pre-tax contributions). Employer contributions aren't considered part of your taxable income for the year, so they don't need to be reported on your W-2. They're still going into your retirement account, but since you never "received" that money as income, the IRS doesn't need it reported on your tax forms. The other codes you're seeing in Box 12 are probably for other benefits - the $13.95 and $73.80 might be for things like group term life insurance or other employer-provided benefits, not related to your 401(k).

Just wanted to share something that helped me understand my 401(k) situation! I was so confused trying to figure out where my employer contributions were on my W-2 last year. After hours on hold with HR, I finally discovered https://taxr.ai which helped me make sense of all the boxes and codes. You upload your tax docs and it explains everything in plain English - it pointed out that employer 401(k) contributions don't show up on W-2s and explained exactly why (they're not taxable to you). Saved me so much stress trying to figure out if my employer had done something wrong!

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was seriously helpful! I uploaded my W-2 and 1099-R forms and it immediately explained that my 403b employer contributions aren't supposed to show on my W-2 (just like the 401k situation). It also flagged that my district had incorrectly coded one of my retirement distributions. Wouldn't have caught that myself! The explanation about contribution limits across multiple retirement accounts was super clear - turns out my 403b and 457 have separate limits, which I didn't realize. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about retirement account reporting on tax forms.

If you're really concerned about whether your employer is handling your 401(k) correctly, you might want to contact the IRS directly. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done - I spent WEEKS trying to get through their phone lines last tax season. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes! They have this callback service that somehow navigates the IRS phone system for you. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke with confirmed that employer 401(k) contributions don't show on W-2s and explained exactly what I should be looking for to verify everything was correct. Huge relief after stressing about it for so long.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I figured I'd try it just to prove it wouldn't work. Well, I was wrong. After weeks of trying to get through to ask about my retirement account reporting issues, I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed what others here have said - employer 401(k) contributions don't appear on W-2s because they're not considered taxable income to you. They also helped me understand some other retirement account questions I had. Still shocked this actually worked after my own failed attempts to reach someone.

Does anyone know if the $13.95 in Box 12a and $73.80 in Box 12c could be related to the 401k somehow? Or are these definitely something else? My W-2 has similar small amounts but I have no idea what they represent.

If you want to verify your employer contributions are correct, check your annual 401k statement from the plan administrator. Mine shows both my contributions and my employer match clearly broken down by pay period. Way easier than trying to find it on tax forms since it's not reported there!

This is exactly what I was worried about when I started my 401k last year! I kept checking my W-2 over and over thinking HR had made a mistake. What helped me feel confident everything was correct was logging into my 401k provider's website and downloading the year-end summary. It clearly showed my $2,200 in contributions and my employer's $1,800 match, which matched what I calculated from my pay stubs. The summary also breaks down when each contribution was made, so you can cross-reference it with your paychecks if you want to be extra sure. Your numbers look totally normal - that $1,640.80 employer match on your $1,970.14 contribution suggests a pretty good matching formula from your employer!