W2 Box 12b with code DD - What does this mean on my tax form?

Box 12 with code DD on your W2 shows the total cost of your employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. That $2300 amount represents what both you and your employer contributed toward your health insurance premiums during your employment. The good news is this amount is for informational purposes only! It's not taxable income and doesn't need to be entered anywhere on your tax return. The Affordable Care Act requires employers to report this information, but it doesn't affect your tax liability or refund amount. When filing with multiple W2s, you'll just combine the income and withholding amounts from both forms, but you can ignore the DD amounts completely.

I had the same confusion with that DD code last year! After hours of googling and getting nowhere, I finally used https://taxr.ai to decode my W2 and all those cryptic codes and boxes. It breaks down exactly what each code means and whether you need to worry about it for your tax return. For Box 12 code DD specifically, it confirmed that it's just the cost of employer health coverage and doesn't impact your taxable income at all. The tool also caught a reporting error in my withholding that would've cost me $700! Super helpful when you're dealing with multiple W2s from different jobs.

I want to follow up about that taxr.ai site someone mentioned earlier. I was super skeptical (as you could see in my comment) but decided to try it with one W2 first. It's actually legit and incredibly helpful! The explanations for all the different codes and boxes were way clearer than what I found on the IRS website. It pointed out that I had some pre-tax contributions that would lower my taxable income that I completely missed. Already found about $400 in tax savings I would have overlooked. Definitely using it for all my forms now!

If you're still having issues understanding your W2 or getting answers from your former employer about that DD code, you might want to try contacting the IRS directly. But good luck getting through on the phone - I spent WEEKS trying last year during tax season. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual hours of hold time. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it to clarify some weird codes on my W2 last year and the agent walked me through everything. Saved me so much stress trying to figure it out on my own!

OK I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After complaining about it being a scam, I was still desperate to talk to the IRS about some issues with my return so I tried it. It actually worked exactly as advertised! Got a call back in about 20 minutes and was connected directly to an IRS agent who answered all my questions about some weird codes on my W2 and 1099 forms. Saved me from making some mistakes on my return that would have definitely triggered a letter from them later. Sometimes it's good to be proven wrong!

Just a tip from someone who works in payroll - if the DD amount seems really high for a summer job, double check that they didn't accidentally give you a W2 with someone else's information. It happens more often than you'd think, especially with seasonal workers. Make sure the SSN on the form is actually yours!

Does anyone know if I need to report the DD amount anywhere when I'm using TurboTax? It keeps asking me to enter all the information from my W2 and I don't want to miss anything.

As a tax professional, I want to clarify a few things about Box 12 code DD that might help clear up the confusion here. The DD amount represents the total cost of employer-provided health coverage, including both what you and your employer paid toward premiums during your employment period. For a summer job showing $2300, this could be accurate if: 1) The employer has expensive health plans, 2) They didn't prorate it correctly for your partial employment, or 3) You were automatically enrolled without realizing it. I'd recommend calling their HR to verify you actually had coverage during those months. The key point everyone's mentioned is correct - this amount is NOT taxable income and doesn't affect your refund. When using tax software like TurboTax, you'll enter it where prompted, but the software knows to ignore it for tax calculations. Just make sure all your other W2 information (wages, withholdings) is accurate since that's what actually matters for your return.

I went through something similar last year with my part-time job. The DD amount seemed way too high for the few months I worked, and it turned out HR had made an error in their reporting system. They had me listed as enrolled in their premium family plan instead of the basic individual coverage I actually had. Even though it doesn't affect your taxes, I'd definitely recommend following up with your employer's HR department like others have suggested. Not only will it help you understand what coverage you actually had, but if there's an error, they should issue you a corrected W2 (W2-C) to have accurate records. Also, if you were supposed to be covered under your parents' plan during that time, make sure there wasn't any double coverage that could affect your family's taxes or insurance situation. Better to get all the details sorted out now!

Hey Honorah! I just went through the exact same thing with my summer job W2 last year. That DD code had me completely confused too, especially with such a high amount for just a few months of work. Everyone here has given you great advice - the DD amount is definitely just informational and won't affect your refund at all. But I'd strongly encourage you to call your summer employer's HR department to verify whether you were actually enrolled in their health plan or if there's a reporting error. In my case, I discovered I had been automatically enrolled in their health insurance without realizing it, which explained the high premium cost. It didn't change my taxes, but it was important to know for my own records and to avoid any confusion with my parents' insurance coverage. When you file with multiple W2s, just enter all the information as prompted in your tax software - it'll handle the DD codes correctly and only use the taxable portions for your actual return calculation. Good luck with your filing!

I see you've gotten some great advice here already! As someone who's dealt with confusing W2 codes before, I'd definitely echo what others have said about calling HR to verify the coverage details, especially since $2300 does seem high for just a summer position. One thing that might be worth checking - if you were covered under your parents' plan during that time and also had employer coverage, you'll want to make sure there weren't any coordination of benefits issues or double premiums being paid. Even though the DD amount won't affect your tax return, having accurate records of your actual health coverage is important for other reasons. The good news is that once you get this sorted out, filing with multiple W2s is pretty straightforward. Just make sure you're combining the wages and withholdings correctly from both jobs, and your tax software should handle all the technical details like ignoring the DD amounts in your tax calculations.

I'm glad to see everyone helping clarify the DD code confusion! I work in benefits administration and see this question come up a lot, especially during tax season. Just to add one more perspective - if you do discover that you were automatically enrolled in your employer's health plan during your summer job, make sure to check if any premiums were actually deducted from your paychecks. Sometimes the DD amount reflects the full cost of coverage even if you weren't paying anything out of pocket (employer-paid coverage), while other times you might find small deductions you didn't notice. Also, for future reference, many employers are required to provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) document when you're enrolled in their health plan. If you can't remember enrolling but the coverage was real, you should have received this document - it might be worth checking any paperwork they gave you during orientation. The main thing is you're asking the right questions and following up appropriately. Better to understand your coverage situation completely rather than just assume everything is correct!

As someone who's been through multiple job transitions and dealt with confusing W2 codes, I wanted to add that it's also worth keeping a record of this whole situation for future reference. Even though the DD amount won't affect your current tax return, having documentation about what happened with your summer job's health coverage could be helpful if any questions come up later. I'd suggest taking notes when you call HR - document what they tell you about whether you were enrolled, what type of coverage it was, and whether the $2300 amount is accurate or an error. If they do issue a corrected W2-C, make sure to keep both the original and corrected versions in your tax files. Also, don't stress too much about filing with multiple W2s - it's actually pretty common and your tax software will walk you through combining everything correctly. The most important thing is getting accurate wage and withholding information from both jobs, which it sounds like you're already on top of. You've got this!

Just wanted to follow up on this thread since I've been dealing with a similar situation! I had a W2 from a retail job last summer with a DD amount that seemed way too high, and after reading all the advice here, I decided to call their HR department. Turns out I was automatically enrolled in their health plan during orientation without really understanding what I was signing up for. The HR rep was actually really helpful and explained that the $2300 amount was accurate - it included both my portion and the employer contribution for a pretty comprehensive plan that I had for about 4 months. The good news is that even though I thought I was still on my parents' plan, there wasn't any conflict since the employer plan was secondary coverage. And just like everyone said here, it didn't affect my tax refund at all - I just entered it in TurboTax where it asked for the Box 12 information and the software ignored it for tax calculations. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and advice! It really helped me feel confident about handling my first time filing with multiple W2s.