State Employees Personnel and Payroll Services Tax Information 2022 Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement FAQs
2022 Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement FAQs
- Who should I contact if my Form W-2 was damaged, not sealed?
- I think my personal information has been compromised, whom do I contact?
- Why did I receive this Form W-2?
- When will my Form W-2 be mailed?
- What if I have not received my Form W-2 or my mailing address has changed?
- What wages are reflected on the Form W-2?
- Why is the year-to-date gross on my final earnings statement/direct deposit advice different from what is shown in Box 1?
- Are Non-Industrial Disability (IDL) payments considered wages?
- What are the maximum wages subject to Social Security?
- What are the maximum wages subject to Medicare?
- Why is Retirement Plan “X’d” in Box 13?
- Why are the wages reported in Box 1 different than Box 3 or 5?
- Why are the wages reported in Box 1 Federal Wages different than Box 16 State Wages?
- What is the Dependent Care maximum contribution?
- Are Fringe Benefits reported on the Form W-2?
- Are Deferred Compensation or Tax Sheltered Annuity deductions reported on the Form W-2?
- Are Part-time/Seasonal/Temporary (PST) and/or Alternate Retirement Plan (ARP) contributions reported on the Form W-2?
- What other amounts are reported in Box 12?
- What are the maximum wages subject to California State Disability Insurance (CASDO)I)
- What should I do if I received a Form W-2 with an incorrect social security number or two or more Form W-2s with different social security numbers?
- Who should I contact for questions concerning federal or state income tax returns?
- Who should I contact if I have any further questions about my Form W-2?
- How do I request a duplicate Form W-2?
- I did a name change but I received a W-2 with my former name. What do I do?
- I worked for multiple state agencies/campuses. Will I be receiving multiple Form W-2s?
- As an IHSS (In Home Support Service) employee, who do I contact to request a duplicate/corrected W-2 form?
Contact your Personnel Office to order a replacement.
Here are two suggested contacts:
- Federal Trade Identity theft hot line 1-877-438-4338
- Social Security Fraud Hotline 1-800-269-0271
If you received a Form W-2 from State Controller’s Office (Form W-2 will reflect the new State Controller's name), you either received wages and/or had withholding or other information reported while employed with the State of California. As the chief fiscal officer of California, the State Controller is responsible for mailing all Form W-2s to civil service and California State University employees paid by the state’s Uniform State Payroll System. The federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires employers to report employees’ wage and salary information on Form W-2. The Form W-2 also reports the amount of federal, state and other income taxes withheld from the employee’s paycheck during the calendar year.
The State Controller's Office will mail the 2022 Form W-2s to state and California State University employees by January 31, 2023.
Contact your Personnel/Payroll Office after January 31. Undeliverable Form W-2s are returned to your Personnel/Payroll Office by the post office.
The Form W-2 reflects wages paid by warrants/direct deposit payments issued during the 2022 tax year, regardless of the pay period wages were earned. The 2022 Form W-2 includes warrants/payments with issue dates of January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. The Form W-2 contains all wages and tax information for an employee regardless of the number of state agencies/campuses for which he or she worked during the tax year.
The year-to-date gross on the final earnings statement/direct deposit advice for 2022 may not agree with Box 1 (Wages, Tips, Other Compensation) due to the following items:
- Accounts Receivable deductions
- Salary advances, fringe benefits, employee business expense reimbursements
- Deferred Compensation deductions
- Pre-Tax Benefit deductions (Health, Dental, Health Care Reimbursement, Dependent Care Reimbursement, Other Post-Employment Benefits - OPEB). Please refer to the following page for OPEB FAQs: Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) FAQs - CalHR
- Pre-Tax Parking deductions
- Flex Benefit deductions
- Retirement, Part-time/Seasonal/Temporary or Alternate Retirement Plan contributions
- Labor Code Section 4800 (LC 4800) disability payments
- Tax Sheltered Annuity deductions
- Consolidated Benefits
Yes, all are considered wages and are included in Box 1.
The maximum wages subject to Social Security for the tax year 2022 is $147,000.00. Box 4 (Social Security Tax Withheld) is computed based upon the 2022 rate of 6.20% of wages subject to Social Security with an annual maximum contribution of $9,114.00.
There is no maximum amount of wages subject to Medicare. Box 6 (Medicare Tax Withheld) is computed based upon the 2022 rate of 1.45% of wages subject to Medicare.
Note: Effective January 1, 2013, individuals with earned income of more than $200,000.00 pay an additional 0.9% in Medicare taxes.
Box 13 (not titled) is used to identify if an employee is in a pension plan. An “X” indicates employees are members of either the Public Employees’, State Teachers’, Judges’ or Legislators’ Retirement System. Employees in the Alternate Retirement Plan or Part-time/Seasonal/Temporary retirement plan will not have an “X” indicated.
Box 1 and Box 3 or 5 may not agree due to the following items:
- Accounts Receivable deductions
- Reaching Social Security maximum wages
- Deferred Compensation deductions
- Retirement, Part-time/Seasonal/Temporary or Alternate Retirement Plan contributions
- Flex Benefit deductions
- Tax Sheltered Annuity deductions
- Pre-Tax Benefit deductions (Health, Dental, Health Care Reimbursement, Dependent Care Reimbursement, Other Post-Employment Benefits)
- Pre-Tax Parking deductions
- Consolidated Benefits
The amount in Box 16 state wages and Box 1 federal wages are usually the same. However, CA wages in Box 16 may differ from Box 1 federal wages for the following reasons:
- Wages earned in another state.
- Medical expenses. CA allows an exclusion from gross income for certain employer-provided benefits for a taxpayer's registered domestic partner and that partner's dependents.
- California does not conform to federal law regarding health savings accounts (HSAs).
- CA taxpayers cannot deduct contributions to federal HSA from their California Wages. It is not excluded as income and is added to the taxpayers CA wages.
- Ridesharing benefits
- Sick pay under FICA
- Clergy Housing Exclusion
- Income exempt by U.S. treaties (applies to the employees from the country that has treaty with the US).
- California and New York do not conform to the federal suspension of exclusion from income for qualified moving expense reimbursements under the 2017 federal tax law, HR.1, Pub. L. 115-97. CA and New York allow exclusion from income for qualified moving expense reimbursements.
For the tax year 2022, the maximum Dependent Care contribution is $5,000 per year per household ($2,500 for a married individual filing a separate tax return. Deduction amounts withheld are reported in Box 10 (Dependent Care Benefits). Please refer to CalHR Annual Limits on Dependent Care Deductions for more information.
Yes, fringe benefits are reported in Boxes 1 and 14 (Other). This amount will also be included in Boxes 3 and 5, if applicable.
Yes, employees who have Deferred Compensation or Tax Sheltered Annuity deductions withheld will have the deduction amounts reported in Box 12 with codes “D” for 401(k), “G” for 457(b) and “E” for 403(b).
Yes, employees who have contributed to the PST retirement plan will have the contributions reported in Box 12 with code “G”.
- Code “C” - The imputed value of Group Term Life Insurance coverage in excess of $50,000.
- Code “L” - Non-taxable Standard Mileage reimbursement amounts up to the State’s allowances.(Military Only)
- Code “P” – Excludable moving expense reimbursements paid directly to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (not included in box 1, 3, or 5).
- Code “AA” - Designated Roth contributions under a section 401(K) plan.
- Code “BB” - Designated Roth contributions under a section 403(b) plan.
- Code “DD” - The cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. The amount reported is not taxable.
- Code “EE” – Designated Roth contributions under a governmental section 457(b) plan.
The maximum wages subject to SDI for the tax year 2022 is $145,600.00. Box 14 (Other) CASDI was computed at the 2022 rate of 1.1% with an annual maximum contribution amount of $1,601.60.
Contact your Personnel/Payroll Office regarding incorrect social security number.
Any questions concerning federal or state income tax returns must be directed to the local Internal Revenue Service at (800) 829-1040 or Franchise Tax Board office at (800) 338-0505.
Website links:
- Internal Revenue Service: Contact Your Local IRS Office | Internal Revenue Service
- State of California Franchise Tax Board: Phone / fax | FTB.ca.gov
Contact your Personnel/Payroll Office with any further questions.
Form W-2's are mailed out to your home address; if you did not receive your Form W-2 or prefer an electronic version, you can access them on Cal Employee Connect under the W-2 tab. You can also refer to the following page: Request a Duplicate Form W-2 for more information.
The Form W-2 prints with the name you had per your first payment issued in the tax year. It will not show your current name.
If you had multiple employers in a given year, you will only be receiving one Form W-2.
The State Controller’s Office does not provide W-2’s for IHSS employees. Please contact the social worker or the local IHSS personnel/payroll office of the county where you work or worked to request a duplicate W-2. Go online and search for the county IHSS personnel/payroll office you service to get their phone number.