Employer really screwed up

[busybee12]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

I work for a small company, only 2 employees, plus the boss. I received my W-2 on Thursday, and noticed that the amount under "federal withholding" didn't match the amount that was on my paystubs. I immediately notified my boss, who said he'd bring it back to the bookkeeper (he recently hired this bookkeeper because he got into quite a mess with the company financials).

When I came in this morning, I had a new w-2 on my desk, with all of the same information. There was a note saying that my paystubs were incorrect. I'm now going to OWE $1000 because of this error. If my paystubs indicate that the correct amount of money was being withheld, and it is an error on my employers part, that I had absolutely NO way to knowing about, do I have any legal way to get my w-2 fixed?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

I work for a small company, only 2 employees, plus the boss. I received my W-2 on Thursday, and noticed that the amount under "federal withholding" didn't match the amount that was on my paystubs. I immediately notified my boss, who said he'd bring it back to the bookkeeper (he recently hired this bookkeeper because he got into quite a mess with the company financials).

When I came in this morning, I had a new w-2 on my desk, with all of the same information. There was a note saying that my paystubs were incorrect. I'm now going to OWE $1000 because of this error. If my paystubs indicate that the correct amount of money was being withheld, and it is an error on my employers part, that I had absolutely NO way to knowing about, do I have any legal way to get my w-2 fixed?

Do your total wages match on your paystub and on the W2? Is the math correct on the paystub? I think that your employer is playing games with you. However, anything you could do to fix the problem would likely result in you losing your job.

 

[cbg]

How much difference is there between the W-2 and the YTD on your last paycheck of the year?

 

[busybee12]

THE YTD is correct, it's the withholdings that are the problem. My paystubs indicate that $184.00 was withheld for federal taxes for each pay period. My boss is now saying that it was actually only $113.00 that was withheld and paid to the government on my behalf.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

The YTD what is correct?

Does the YTD gross pay reflect what you are supposed to be paid?

Does the YTD net pay reflect what you actually received in your check?

If so, and the employer didn't forward whatever was withheld for your taxes, your employer owes you that difference.

 

[Stephen1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

I work for a small company, only 2 employees, plus the boss. I received my W-2 on Thursday, and noticed that the amount under "federal withholding" didn't match the amount that was on my paystubs. I immediately notified my boss, who said he'd bring it back to the bookkeeper (he recently hired this bookkeeper because he got into quite a mess with the company financials).

When I came in this morning, I had a new w-2 on my desk, with all of the same information. There was a note saying that my paystubs were incorrect. I'm now going to OWE $1000 because of this error. If my paystubs indicate that the correct amount of money was being withheld, and it is an error on my employers part, that I had absolutely NO way to knowing about, do I have any legal way to get my w-2 fixed?

I just spoke with my favorite bookkeeper about this question. Here's what I learned -
- Add together from your paystub all the YTD numbers for funds withheld from your pay. This would be your federal income tax withholding, any state withholding, the Social Security payment, the Medicare payment, etc.
- Compare that with the total of those numbers on the W2.
- If those two totals don't match then your boss needs to explain the difference.
- If those two totals do match then what happened is that the distribution of how much went into which pot changed.

If there were errors in how much was withheld (and paid to the government) for Social Security and/or Medicare it is common for the bookkeeper to 'fix' that by adjusting the federal withholding. The percentage they are supposed to pay for Social Security and Medicare may change annually and the company has no lee-way to adjust this. There is lots of lee-way in federal withholding (you can change the number of dependents, change from single to married, etc). If the boss used too low a percentage at the beginning of the year (or for most of the year) for Social Security then when the annual reports are submitted and everything has to balance the new bookkeeper had to find the missing money. The bookkeeper moved it from federal withholding.

Your first issue is whether your boss cheated you. If 100% of what was withheld is accounted for (although in different categories than what was on your paystub) then you weren't cheated.

 

[davew128]

I just spoke with my favorite bookkeeper about this question. ....


If there were errors in how much was withheld (and paid to the government) for Social Security and/or Medicare it is common for the bookkeeper to 'fix' that by adjusting the federal withholding. The percentage they are supposed to pay for Social Security and Medicare may change annually and the company has no lee-way to adjust this. There is lots of lee-way in federal withholding (you can change the number of dependents, change from single to married, etc). If the boss used too low a percentage at the beginning of the year (or for most of the year) for Social Security then when the annual reports are submitted and everything has to balance the new bookkeeper had to find the missing money. The bookkeeper moved it from federal withholding.

Sounds like your bookkeeper isn't much better than the OP's employer. The amount withheld should never be in error with respect to reporting.