W2 shows double my salary in Local Wages box and double local income tax paid - am I owed a refund?

I was going through my tax paperwork last night and noticed something really weird on my W2. The Local Wages box is showing exactly DOUBLE what my actual salary is, and the local income tax withheld is also doubled. I immediately emailed our payroll department about this mistake. Now I'm wondering - does this mean I'm owed a refund since they withheld twice the local tax they should have? Or is this just a W2 correction thing where they'll issue a corrected form that shows the right amounts? I'm not sure if I should wait to file or go ahead with what I have. Anyone dealt with something similar before? This has me totally confused about what to do next.

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18 comments

Oliver Becker

•8M

This is definitely a W2 error that needs to be corrected before you file. Since the local wages are showing double your actual earnings, and the local tax withheld is also doubled, it suggests there's a duplicate reporting issue in their payroll system. Your employer needs to issue you a corrected W2 (called a W2-c) that accurately reflects your actual wages and withholdings. Don't file your taxes using the incorrect W2! If you do, your tax return won't match what's being reported to the tax authorities, which could trigger unnecessary notices or audits. As for getting a refund - it depends on what was actually withheld from your paychecks throughout the year. Check your final paystub of the year and compare the year-to-date local tax withholding amount with what's on your W2.

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Oliver Becker

•8M

If the amount on your final paystub matches the doubled amount on the W2, you should carefully review all your paystubs for the year. This would suggest they've been withholding too much local tax from each paycheck, not just reporting it incorrectly. If your paystubs show the correct (lower) amounts being withheld, but the W2 is doubled, then it's purely a reporting error. In this case, you'd need the corrected W2 but wouldn't receive additional refund since the money wasn't actually withheld.

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Natasha Orlova

•8M

After dealing with a similar payroll mistake last year, I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me so much time sorting it out. My company issued me a W2 with the wrong state tax withholdings, and I was going crazy trying to figure out if I should file or wait. The tool analyzed my documents and confirmed my suspicions that the withholding amounts didn't match my actual pay stubs. It gave me a detailed report comparing my pay stubs to my W2 that made it crystal clear where the errors were.

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Natasha Orlova

•8M

It works by analyzing your pay stubs and tax documents after you upload them. The system uses AI to compare the numbers across all your documents and flags discrepancies like the one you're describing. It catches things like doubled wages or incorrect withholding amounts right away. The security is actually really good - they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. It doesn't file your taxes for you, but gives you a detailed report you can use to either fix issues before filing or provide to your employer when requesting corrections. I found it especially helpful for documenting exactly what was wrong when I had to go back to my HR department.

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Javier Cruz

•8M

I just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the comment here and it was exactly what I needed! My W2 had federal withholding that looked way off compared to my paystubs, and I couldn't figure out if I was missing something or if there was actually an error. The tool confirmed there were inconsistencies and even generated a letter I could send to HR explaining the specific discrepancies. My company is issuing a corrected W2 now, and the whole process was way easier than the back-and-forth emails I was dreading. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with document discrepancies!

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Malik Jackson

•8M

If you're having trouble getting your employer to fix this quickly, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar W2 issue last year where my employer was dragging their feet on issuing a W2-c. After weeks of getting nowhere with HR, I used Claimyr to actually get through to a live person at the IRS. They have this cool service (you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) that gets you past those endless IRS phone trees. The IRS agent I spoke with sent a notice to my employer, and I had my corrected W2 within days. Sometimes you need that official pressure to get things moving.

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Malik Jackson

•8M

It works by using a callback system that navigates the IRS phone system for you. Basically, they hold your place in the queue and call you once they've reached a human agent. It cuts through all those automated menus and hours of waiting on hold. I was skeptical too, but when you're desperate to get your tax issues resolved, you'll try anything. In my case, once I actually spoke with the IRS agent, they were surprisingly helpful. They have a process specifically for employer W2 errors where they can contact the employer directly. I can't promise everyone will have results in days, but it's definitely faster than sending letters or trying to call yourself repeatedly.

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StarSurfer

•8M

I need to apologize and follow up on my skeptical comment. After struggling for another week with my tax issue, I broke down and tried Claimyr. I seriously can't believe how well it worked. Within about 45 minutes, I was actually talking to a real IRS agent (first time in months of trying). The agent was able to see exactly what was happening with my amended return and gave me specific information about when it would be processed. I've been stressed about this for months, and one phone call solved it. If you're dealing with tax document issues like the original poster and getting nowhere with your employer, having the IRS in your corner makes a huge difference. I was wrong to dismiss this so quickly.

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Ravi Malhotra

•8M

Once you receive the corrected W2-c, you just use that form instead of the original incorrect W2 when filing your taxes. You don't need to report the discrepancy or include any special forms explaining the situation. The corrected W2-c will show the original incorrect amounts, the correct amounts, and the difference between them. This makes it clear to the IRS what changed and why. Just make sure you're using the final corrected numbers when completing your tax return.

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