Social Security W2 showing Medicare Part B premium as income - can I get this fixed?

This is actually correct. Your Medicare Part B premium is considered part of your total Social Security benefit, even though it was withheld. It's similar to how your employer reports your full salary on your W-2 even if some was withheld for health insurance or retirement contributions. The good news is that your Medicare premiums may be tax-deductible if you itemize deductions and your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. So you might get some tax benefit from this.

same thing on my w2 from SS. been this way for 3 years since i started medicare. its stupid but thats how they do it.

Unfortunately, this is how the IRS treats it. Your gross Social Security benefit includes the Medicare premium amount, and that's what's reported on your SSA-1099 (not actually a W-2, by the way). The Medicare premium is considered a medical expense that you paid, rather than a reduction of your benefit. If you look at Box 3 of your SSA-1099, it shows the total benefits paid to you. Box 5 shows the net amount after deductions. For tax purposes, you report the Box 5 amount on your tax return, but the government considers the full Box 3 amount as your benefit for determining how much of your Social Security is taxable. You can't request a corrected form because it's technically correct according to IRS rules.

I noticed this last year too. Talked to my tax guy and he said its normal. Something about "constructive receipt" of income even if you never actually get it in your hands. Tax laws are weird.

I had the EXACT same question when I first started Medicare! It feels completely unfair and counterintuitive. After hours trying to reach someone at SSA (impossible task), I finally got an explanation from my accountant. The Medicare premium is treated as if you received the full amount and then paid Medicare separately. It's because technically, that money was available to you, but you chose to have it redirected. If you're having trouble reaching SSA to discuss this further, I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually get through to a real person at Social Security. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of frustration when I had questions about my benefits calculation.

My husband and I just went thru this with his mom's taxes. Don't waste your time trying to get a "correction" - there's nothing to correct. They have to report the FULL benefit amount and then show what was withheld separately. It's dumb but that's how they do it.

i think there's a line on the tax form where u can deduct medical expenses? maybe that helps?

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!! I've been dealing with this for YEARS and it makes me so angry every tax season. The government takes my money for Medicare, then TAXES me on it even though I never got to use that money!!!! Double-dipping if you ask me!!!! And don't get me started on how they tax Social Security benefits that we already paid taxes on when we were working!!!

Just to clarify one point - Social Security sends an SSA-1099 form, not a W-2. The SSA-1099 shows your benefits in Box 3 (total amount) and Box 5 (net amount after deductions). For most people, the difference between these amounts is their Medicare Part B premium. This is just how the tax system is structured. The IRS views the full benefit as being paid to you, and then you paying Medicare separately, even though it was automatically deducted. Unfortunately, you can't get a corrected form because the current one is technically correct according to IRS rules.