We report to the IRS your total taxable wages and other compensation we paid to you on behalf of your employing agency during the 2024 tax year. We do this through the IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Payroll biweekly cycle time periods covered in the 2024 tax year began Dec. 17, 2023 and ended Dec. 14, 2024.
You are required to submit the IRS Form W-2 with your 2024 federal, state and local tax returns. The parts of this form and its uses are:
- File Copy B with your federal tax return.
- File Copy 1 with your state or local tax return.
- Keep Copy C for your records.
It is important to keep these forms in a safe place to avoid possible loss or destruction.
This information is merely intended to provide you with helpful information in dealing with your individual tax situations. It is not the final authority by any means. Your final authority in tax matters should always be the IRS, the state and local taxing authorities, your tax consultant, or your financial advisor, as appropriate. We prepare these notices using the best information available to us at the time of publication. We believe this information is accurate and correct, but tax laws do change, and we do not want to be your only source of information. You may want to give this notice to your tax preparer to answer any questions that may arise regarding information on your IRS Form W-2.
Details
The form is divided into separate data boxes. These boxes are numbered, and the following is an explanation of each of those boxes.
Box a
Your social security number.
Box b
Your employer’s identification number, or EIN.
Box c
Your employer’s name, address and ZIP code.
Box d
Control number.
Box e and f
Your name and address.
Box 1
Your total wages and other compensation for federal tax purposes. We calculate this by adding total wages and other compensation to:
- Any fringe benefits you earned, such as the use of parking benefits due to your use of a government-provided vehicle
- Taxable moving allowance or relocation income tax payments
- Student loan repayments the employer made on your behalf
- Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, prior year refunds
- Roth TSP contributions
- Awards
- Agency-paid life insurance valued over $50,000
- A child care subsidy over $5,000 (but the total childcare subsidy is reflected in Box 10)
The following are items we exclude from your total wages and other compensation:
- Your regular TSP contribution or other qualified plans (403(b) and 457b) reflected in Box 12
- Federal Employee Health Benefits, or FEHB, premiums (unless you opted out of the pre-tax benefit)
- Foreign or non-foreign cost-of-living allowance payments
- Education allowance payments
- Living quarters allowance payments
- Health Savings Account, or HSA
- Repayments of terminal leave
- Flexible Spending Accounts, or FSA, for health care or dependent care
- Transit benefit – your GSA Transit Pass Subsidy, Pre-Tax Transportation Fringe Benefits, or TEA-21, or both
When comparing your final Earnings and Leave Statement (for pay period ending Dec. 14, 2024) to Box 1, you must take all of these items into consideration. Please see the discussion of TSP and TEA-21 below.
Box 2
This is the amount of federal income tax we withheld.
Box 3
This is the amount of your wages subject to Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, OASDI, known as Social Security, which should not exceed $168,600 for 2024.
We exclude the following from your social security wages:
- FEHB premiums (unless you opted out)
- FSA for HC or DC
- Transit benefits – TEA-21
Box 4
This is the amount of Social Security tax withheld and should not exceed $10,453.20 for 2024 ($168,600 x 6.2%). The Social Security tax is 6.2% of Social Security wages. If this amount exceeds the $10,453.20 maximum, contact us.
Box 5
This is the amount of wages subject to Medicare taxes. There is no limitation on Medicare wages for 2024. We exclude the following from your Medicare wages:
- FEHB premiums (unless you opted out)
- FSA for HC or DC
- Transit Benefits – TEA-21
Box 6
This is the amount of Medicare tax withheld (including any Additional Medicare Tax withheld). The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% on the first $200,000. Employers are responsible for withholding the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on wages paid in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year, without regard to filing status. If this amount exceeds these rates, contact us.
Box 7
Amount of reported tip earnings subject to Social Security tax.
Box 8
Amount of tips not reported, allocated to you by your employer.
Box 9
Not used.
Box 10
The total for child care subsidy benefits your agency paid, if applicable, on behalf of your or your contributions to a FSA-DC.
Box 12 (a-d)
We designate amounts in this box by letter codes to define the items, which may include the following:
- Deferred compensation (regular TSP, 403(b) and 457) plan contributions
- TSP Roth contributions
- Employer-sponsored health insurance
- Employer-sponsored life insurance valued over $50,000.00
- Non-Taxable Moving Allowances
- Health Savings Account
Box 13
An “X” in the retirement plan box indicates you are covered by a qualified pension plan. The following retirement plans are qualified pension plans:
- Civil Service Retirement System (retirement codes 1, 6, C, E or R)
- Federal Employees Retirement System (retirement codes K, KR, KF or M)
- Other qualified retirement plans 403(b) or 457(b)
An “X” in the retirement plan box may affect your ability to deduct a 2023 individual retirement account contribution.
Box 14
The following items, and their respective amounts, are in this box.
- FEHB Premium conversion — Reflects the amount of FEHB Premiums. We do not include this amount in Boxes 1, 3, and 5, unless you opted out.
- FSA — Reflects the amount of FSA withholdings for FSA-DC, FSA-HC, or both. We do not include this amount in Boxes 1, 3, and 5.
- Transit benefit — Reflects the dollar amount of qualified transportation fringe benefit provided while participating in the TEA-21 pre tax transportation fringe benefit programs. We do not include this amount in Boxes 1, 3 and 5.
- TSP prior year refund — Reflects TSP contributions refunded in 2024 which were excludable from wages in a previous year and added to this year’s wages.
- Other allowances — Reflects the amount of foreign and non-foreign allowance payments, education allowance payments, living quarters allowance payments, or repayments of terminal leave. We do not include this amount in Boxes 1, 3 and 5.
- Oregon Transit Tax — If you work in the state of Oregon, you will have your Oregon Transit Tax in Box 14.
Box 15-20
We use these boxes to report state and local income tax information.
TSP contribution limits
The TSP, both regular and Roth TSP combined, contribution limit for calendar year 2024 was $23,000. The catch-up contribution limit is $7,500 for 2024. Participants who make contributions to the TSP up to the elective deferral limit, and who will be age 50 or older by the end of 2024, may also make a catch-up contribution election to contribute additional pay to their TSP accounts limited to $7,500 for 2024.
Reminder
It is your responsibility to pay appropriate taxes. We report IRS Form W-2 information for all employees to the Social Security Administration, and they, in turn, provide the W-2 information to the IRS and all applicable state and local taxing authorities. We strongly encourage you to follow through with your responsibilities in this area and seek competent tax advice if in doubt.
If you have any questions concerning the 2024 IRS Form W-2, contact us at kc-payroll.finance@gsa.gov.
U.S. General Services Administration