Taxes: W-2 Statement FAQ

Form W-2 reports taxable salary, wage, and bonus payments dated in a calendar year (January 1 - December 31). By January 31 of the following year, UC San Diego will issue Forms W-2.

All current and former employees can view and print their W-2 online through  At Your Service Online (AYSO). Those who declined online delivery of the form will also get a paper W-2 in the mail. The form online is identical in every way to the paper forms.

You received salary/wages/bonus pay sometime in the previous year. 

Form W-2 reports taxable salary/wage payments dated in a calendar year (January 1 - December 31), no matter when the income was earned. 

Form W-2 reports taxable salary/wage payments dated in a calendar year (January 1 - December 31). By January 31 UC San Diego issues Forms W-2 to every employee who received salary, wage, or bonus payments dated in the previous calendar year.

Monthly wages and some biweekly wages earned in December are paid in January of the following year.  It is not unusual for someone to leave their job in December and receive their last payment in January of the following year. 

1. Form W-2 reports only taxable earnings, which may not be equal total gross earnings. If they're different, you will not find your total earnings on Form W-2. You may have participated in deductions that reduce your taxable wages for tax reporting purposes, such as 403(b), Defined Contribution Plan (DC Plan) retirement, parking, van pool participation, out-of-pocket health premiums, Health Flexible Spending Account, and DepCare.
   1. Example: If you contributed $100/month to a retirement plan (DCP or UCRP), your taxable earnings (box 1 and box 16) will be $1200 less than your gross earnings.  Retirement contributions won't be taxed until you withdraw them, the idea being that you will be making less after you retire and the tax rate will be lower than when you were earning full wages.
2. Regardless of when you earned the income, the W-2 reports income paid in the calendar year. 
   1. See previous question.
3. Review the earnings statement for the last paydate in the year. The number on the "TAXABLE GROSS EARNINGS" line of the "Year-to-date earnings/ded" column should match Box 1 of your W-2.The number on the "CA ST TAXABLE GROSS EARNINGS" line of the "Year-to-date earnings/ded" column should match Box 16 of your W-2.
4. If you claimed a tax treaty between the U.S. and your home country that exempted you from federal tax on salary/wage income, that income will not be reported in box 1 of your W-2. Instead, it will be reported on Form 1042-S.
5. Fellowship income is not reported on Form W-2. 
   1. If you were a citizen or resident for tax purposes, it is your responsibility to report and pay any tax due on fellowship income. See  "General Tax  Information" under "U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident/Resident Alien" heading on the Grad Student Tax Information page, or the Tax Information arrow on the Benefits & Services tab of the Office for Postdoc and Visiting Scholar Affairs website.
   2. If you were a nonresident for tax purposes, fellowship income will be reported on Form 1042-S, which will be available on or after March 15, 2017 via Glacier or mail  .Nonresident alien grad students can get more information about this by clicking the "General Tax Information" tab under the heading "International (Nonresident Alien)" section of the Grad Student Tax Information page.  Postdocs can get more information on the taxation section of the Benefits & Services tab of the Office for Postdoc and Visiting Scholar Affairs website. 

The following deductions reduce your federal (box 1), Social Security (box 3), and Medicare (box 5) wages:

• Out-of-pocket health expenses 
• DepCare
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Parking. 
• Vanpool participation

The following deductions reduce only federal (box 1) and state (box 16) grosses: 

• 403(b)
• Defined Contribution Plan (DC Plan) retirement.