Stupid question, Please help!

amother

Coral

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 10:01 am

I should know this but I can't figure it out.

How do I figure out what my net income is based on the W-2?

For example, the W2 lists:
line 1. wages: $100,000
line 2. fed. income tax withheld: $1,500
line 3. SS wages: $75,000
line 4. SS tax withheld: $5,000
line 5. Medicare wages: $110,000
line 6. Medicare tax withheld: $1,000
line 17. state income tax
line 18. local wages
line 19. local income tax

I assume it would make sense to subtract the fed and state income tax amounts, as well as SS and Medicare withheld, but from which number would I subtract it?

Maybe the real question is, what's the difference between wages, Medicare wages, SS wages, and not to mention the box for "state wages" that lists a number higher than all the others?? What

groovy1224

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 10:16 am

Here is a really helpful link that explains the different wage amounts, and especially why the wage amounts are different on each line

https://www.forbes.com/sites/k.....f23ac

amother

Coral

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 10:51 am

Thanks!

Based on that, it looks like your gross salary is listed in box one, and then subtract all the fed, state and local taxes, and SS and medicare, from that number.

Does this sound right?

amother

Coffee

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 10:56 am

If line 1, 3, and 5 are all different then you must have other deductions like a 401k plan or health ins. The gross would be the highest amount, which would be the medicare wages. Also you didn't list anything by state wages. Is that a mistake?

amother

Magenta

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 11:05 am

Seems like your trying to do your taxes yourself. For around $50 you can purchase turbotax. Its very easy to use and tou would just plug in the numbers and it would figure it all out for you.

amother

Coral

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 11:06 am

amother wrote:

I see, thank you. If the gross is the medicare wages, should the 401k and health insurance then be deducted as well?

Re state, yes they were all different amounts, too. In fact, time is split between working in 2 different states, (NY and NJ) and they each had different amounts!

I don't need an exact number, just a very rough estimate, but I want to be in the right ballpark.

amother

Coffee

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 11:47 am

Yes, they should be deducted off the gross. Just curious what codes you have in box 12, as usually lines 3 and 5 are the same, unless you made above $118,500 (in 2016) which you didnt?

esuss

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 4:09 pm

You may be able to file through turbotax for free on line. They tell you exactly which box of w2 you should enter and they do the rest. If you are paper filing the instructions do the same.

seeker

Wed, Mar 08 2017, 4:48 pm

amother wrote:

Seems like your trying to do your taxes yourself. For around $50 you can purchase turbotax. Its very easy to use and tou would just plug in the numbers and it would figure it all out for you.

There's a free version too, even if you don't want to use it for your whole tax return you can probably plug in the w2 numbers and get the information you need.