The IRS requires employers to report wage and salary information for employees on Form W-2. Your Form W-2 also reports the amount of federal, state and other taxes withheld from your paycheck. As an employee, the information on your Form W-2 is very important when preparing your tax return.
Explanation of Boxes 1-17
The first 17 boxes on the Form W-2 cover wages, other compensation, federal and state taxes, retirement contributions and more. View the sample W-2 Wage and Tax Statement (PDF) for an explanation of each box.
Explanation of Boxes 18, 19, & 20
Box 20 Locality Name will list your work location as the PSD code. This is correct as it is where the University submits the local taxes that are withheld. The PSD code for the University of Pittsburgh main campus is 700102.
Tax agencies, such as Jordan Tax Service, Berkheimer, etc. will disburse local taxes to the locality(s) indicated on an employee’s payslip. We do not disburse local taxes directly to your locality. View your payslip to confirm your local tax withholding.
If you lived in one municipality for the entire tax year, municipal wage and school district taxes will appear as a combined number.
If you lived or worked in multiple municipalities throughout the tax year, each municipality change will create a separate Form W-2 to report the information for each municipality separately.
The locality name and local tax withheld is identified on your payslip. Employees can match the amount of tax shown on the final payslip of the year to the information on the Form W-2 (adding together the information for city and school district withholding).
For information on filing your local taxes, or on PA Act 32, please visit Jordan Tax Services website.
Explanation of Box 12DD
The reporting in Box 12, using Code DD, of the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage is for your information only. The amount reported with Code DD is not taxable. This amount represents the total of the employee and employer contributions to your medical plan. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that employers disclose the aggregate value of employer-sponsored health coverage to each employee on Form W-2, Box 12DD. Excluded from the reporting requirements are HAS’s, FSAs, long-term care and vision and dental plans.
Additional information on the reporting requirements of healthcare can be found on the IRS website.