What to do when Box 18 on W2 has a value but Boxes 19 and 20 are empty?

This is actually pretty common! When box 18 has an amount but boxes 19 and 20 are empty, it usually means your employer reported your local wages but didn't withhold any local tax (which would go in box 19) and didn't specify which locality these wages apply to (box 20). For your tax software, you'll need to enter something in box 20 since the program is designed to require this field when box 18 has a value. Your best approach is to enter the city or county where you worked. If you worked in multiple locations, use your primary work location. If you don't know which locality to enter, you could contact your employer's payroll department to confirm. They should be able to tell you exactly what locality should be listed in box 20.

I had this exact same issue last year with my W2! After hours of frustration, I finally used taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to help interpret what was happening with my form. They have this feature where you can upload images of your tax documents and get really specific guidance on exactly what to do in situations like this. In my case, it turned out my employer had made a mistake - they included my wages in box 18 but completely forgot to fill out boxes 19 and 20. The taxr.ai system helped me understand how to properly handle it in my tax software and even generated a letter I could send to my employer to get a corrected W2.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the suggestion here and it was actually really helpful! I uploaded my W2 with the missing box 20 issue and within minutes got a detailed explanation. Turns out my employer should have put my work county in box 20 since I'm subject to county income tax. The system even showed me exactly where to find the right local tax code in my tax software. Saved me a call to my company's overwhelmed HR department during tax season! Also provided a simple explanation of why box 18 had values but 19 was empty - in my case it was because my employer reports the wages to the locality but the actual tax payment is my responsibility when filing.

If you're still struggling with this W2 issue AND having trouble getting answers from your employer's payroll department, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to the IRS directly. I had a similar box 18/20 problem last year and couldn't get my employer to respond. After waiting on hold with the IRS for hours and giving up multiple times, I found Claimyr and they got me a callback from the IRS within 3 hours! You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent explained exactly how to handle the missing information and what to do if my employer had made a reporting error.

I have to eat my words and post an update. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my missing W2 info. I was absolutely shocked when I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent in about 2 hours! The agent was super helpful and explained that when box 18 has a value but 19 and 20 are empty, it could mean one of two things: either an employer error OR that I work in a locality that reports wages but collection is done through personal filing rather than withholding. The agent told me exactly what to put in my software and even noted my account with this information in case there were any questions later. Can't believe I wasted weeks trying to get through on my own!

Just to add another approach - sometimes you can figure out the locality name by looking at your pay stubs rather than the W2. Many pay stubs will list the specific local tax being applied, even if it's not properly carried over to the W2. Also, if you're using software like TurboTax or H&R Block, they sometimes have a dropdown menu of localities that can help you identify the right one based on your zip code or address.

Box 18-20 issues are super common! Last year my W2 had similar problems. One thing to watch out for - make sure whatever you put in box 20 actually matches a real tax locality. My tax software rejected my return the first time because I entered "North County" which wasn't a recognized locality code. I found that using the official name (like "PHILADELPHIA CITY" instead of just "Philadelphia") sometimes works better with the software validation.

Hey Jean Claude! This is definitely a frustrating issue but you're not alone. I dealt with something similar a couple years back. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're really stuck and can't figure out what locality to enter, you might want to check if your employer has a self-service HR portal where you can view your tax withholding elections. Sometimes the locality information is buried in there even if it didn't make it onto your W2 properly. Also, since you mentioned you're getting anxious about the deadline - remember that you can always file for an extension if you need more time to sort this out with your employer. It's better to get it right than to rush and potentially cause issues later. One more tip: if you do have to make your best guess on the locality name, keep documentation of your reasoning (like screenshots of where you work, your employment address, etc.) in case the IRS ever asks questions about it later. Good luck with your filing!

Jean Claude, I see you've gotten some great advice already! Just wanted to add one more perspective since I work in payroll and see these Box 18/19/20 issues frequently. When Box 18 has an amount but 19 and 20 are empty, it's often because your employer's payroll system is set up to report local wages for informational purposes but doesn't actually withhold the local tax - either because it's not required to be withheld at source, or because there was a setup error. For Philadelphia specifically (since you mentioned working there), the city requires employers to withhold the local wage tax, so if Box 19 is truly empty, that's likely an employer error. You should definitely contact your payroll department to get this corrected, as you'll want proper withholding going forward. In the meantime, for your current filing, "Philadelphia" or "PHILADELPHIA CITY" should work in Box 20. Most tax software will accept either format. And yes, you'll likely owe the local tax that wasn't withheld, but at least you'll know for next year! Hope this helps clarify things from the employer side of the equation!