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Your W-2 has lettered boxes (A to F) for your and your employer's identifying details, and numbered boxes (1 to 20) for wages and taxes. Box 1 is your federal taxable wages; Boxes 3 and 5 are your Social Security and Medicare wages; Box 12 uses letter codes to report benefits like 401(k) (D) and health coverage (DD). For 2026, the IRS added three new Box 12 codes, TA, TP, and TT, for Trump accounts, tips, and overtime, and split Box 14 into 14a and 14b. This guide explains every box and every code.
A W-2 packs a lot into a small space, and the codes can be baffling the first time you read one. This is a complete reference: what each numbered and lettered box reports, the full Box 12 code list, and the brand-new 2026 codes most guides haven't caught up with yet. We're a pay-stub resource, so wherever a box traces back to your paycheck, we'll point you to the detail.
Every W-2 Box, Explained
The lettered boxes hold identifying information; the numbered boxes hold the money. Here's the full reference, with the 2026 changes flagged.
| Box | What it reports |
|---|---|
| a | Your Social Security number |
| b | Your employer's EIN (Employer Identification Number) |
| c | Employer's name and address |
| d | Control number (internal payroll tracking; may be blank) |
| e / f | Your name and address |
| Box 1 | Federal taxable wages (gross pay minus pre-tax deductions). Flows to Form 1040. |
| Box 2 | Federal income tax withheld during the year |
| Box 3 | Social Security wages (capped at $184,500 for 2026) |
| Box 4 | Social Security tax withheld (6.2% of Box 3) |
| Box 5 | Medicare wages (no cap) |
| Box 6 | Medicare tax withheld (1.45%, plus 0.9% on wages over $200,000) |
| Box 7 | Social Security tips you reported |
| Box 8 | Allocated tips (assigned by your employer; not in Box 1) |
| Box 9 | Reduced in size for 2026 to make room for the Box 14 split; generally blank |
| Box 10 | Dependent care benefits (amounts over $5,000 are added to Box 1) |
| Box 11 | Nonqualified deferred compensation distributions |
| Box 12 | Coded benefits and compensation (see the full code list below) |
| Box 13 | Checkboxes: statutory employee, retirement plan, third-party sick pay |
| Box 14a | Other (union dues, state disability insurance, health premiums, etc.) |
| Box 14b | NEW for 2026: Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (used with code TP) |
| Box 15 | State and employer's state ID number |
| Box 16 | State taxable wages |
| Box 17 | State income tax withheld |
| Box 18 / 19 / 20 | Local wages, local income tax, and locality name |
Box 12 Codes, the Complete List
Box 12 is where most of the confusion lives. Instead of a dollar figure alone, it uses letter codes to report specific benefits and compensation. You may see one code or several (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d are just slots, ignore those lowercase letters). Here's every code.
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| A / B | Uncollected Social Security / Medicare tax on tips |
| C | Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 (already in Box 1) |
| D | 401(k) contributions |
| E | 403(b) contributions |
| F | 408(k)(6) SEP contributions |
| G | 457(b) deferred compensation contributions |
| H | 501(c)(18)(D) plan contributions |
| J | Nontaxable sick pay |
| K | 20% excise tax on golden parachute payments |
| L | Substantiated employee business expense reimbursements |
| M / N | Uncollected Social Security / Medicare tax on group-term life (former employees) |
| P | Excludable moving expense reimbursements (armed forces) |
| Q | Nontaxable combat pay |
| R | Employer contributions to an Archer MSA |
| S | 408(p) SIMPLE plan contributions |
| T | Employer-provided adoption benefits |
| V | Income from nonstatutory stock option exercise (already in Box 1) |
| W | HSA contributions (employer and employee through a cafeteria plan) |
| Y | Deferrals under a 409A nonqualified deferred compensation plan |
| Z | Income under a 409A plan that fails the rules (subject to extra 20% tax) |
| AA | Designated Roth 401(k) contributions |
| BB | Designated Roth 403(b) contributions |
| DD | Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage (informational only) |
| EE | Designated Roth contributions to a governmental 457(b) plan |
| FF | Permitted benefits under a QSEHRA (small employer HRA) |
| GG | Income from qualified equity grants under Section 83(i) |
| HH | Aggregate deferrals under Section 83(i) elections |
| II | Medicaid waiver payments excluded from gross income |
| TA | NEW 2026: Employer contributions to a Trump account |
| TP | NEW 2026: Total cash tips reported to the employer |
| TT | NEW 2026: Qualified overtime compensation |
The New 2026 Box 12 Codes: TA, TP, TT
This is the biggest W-2 change in years. When the IRS released the 2026 Form W-2, it added three Box 12 codes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). If you have tips or overtime, these directly affect your taxes.
TP Qualified Tips
The total cash tips you reported to your employer. This amount supports the new "No Tax on Tips" deduction, you transfer it to Schedule 1-A when you file to claim the deduction. To qualify, your employer also reports your occupation in the new Box 14b.
TT Qualified Overtime
Your qualified overtime compensation, and an important detail: this is only the "and-a-half" premium portion of time-and-a-half, not your full overtime pay. For example, if your regular rate is $15 and overtime pays $22.50, only the $7.50 premium counts. It also feeds the new overtime deduction on Schedule 1-A.
TA Trump Account Contributions
Employer contributions made to a Trump account (a new tax-advantaged account established under the law) for an employee or their dependent. This code reports those contributions for the year.
Which Box 12 Codes Are Taxable?
Here's the single most useful thing to understand about Box 12, and the mistake that costs people money: not every code is extra income. Most are informational or already counted in Box 1.
| Category | Codes | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Informational only | DD, AA, BB, EE, FF | Reported for the record; does not add to or reduce your taxable income |
| Already in Box 1 | C, V, Z | Already part of your taxable wages; don't add them again |
| Reduce taxable income | D, E, G, S, AA*, W | Pre-tax contributions that lowered your Box 1 wages |
| May carry extra tax | A, B, K, Z | Uncollected taxes or penalties that may increase what you owe |
Code D vs Code DD: The Most Confused Pair
These two look almost identical and mean completely different things, and mixing them up is one of the most common Box 12 errors.
How Box 12 Connects to Box 13
Box 12 doesn't sit on its own. If you have a retirement-plan code in Box 12, it usually triggers a checkmark in Box 13, and that small check can affect a deduction you might be counting on.
What If a Box 12 Code Is Wrong or Missing?
It happens, a code is off, or one you expected (like your 401(k) under code D) isn't there. There's a right way to handle it, and it isn't fixing the number yourself on your return.
Step 1: Verify against your pay stub
Before assuming an error, grab your final pay stub of the year, it's your ground truth. Line up the year-to-date totals for your 401(k), HSA, and other benefits against the codes in Box 12. If the YTD figures match, there's no error, and the way the numbers flow is covered in how to calculate W-2 wages from your pay stub and how to read a pay stub.
Step 2: If it's truly wrong, request a W-2c
Creating or Reading a W-2
If you're an employer issuing W-2s, or you need a clean W-2 layout from your real figures, a generator handles the boxes and codes for you, including the current 2026 fields.
If your stub and W-2 figures don't line up, or you're deriving the boxes from a paycheck, see how to calculate W-2 wages from your pay stub, and for the Social Security and Medicare boxes specifically, what FICA means on a pay stub.
The Bottom Line
Your W-2's numbered boxes report your wages and taxes, and Box 12's letter codes break down the benefits behind them. The key things to remember: Box 1 is your federal taxable wages and is usually lower than your gross pay; most Box 12 codes are informational, not extra income; and for 2026 the new codes TA, TP, and TT (plus the Box 14b split) report Trump-account contributions, tips, and overtime tied to the new deductions. Enter every code exactly as shown, and use the linked guides if a number doesn't add up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Box 1 shows your federal taxable wages, your total taxable earnings for the year after pre-tax deductions like 401(k) and health insurance. It's the figure that flows onto Line 1 of your Form 1040, and it's usually lower than your gross pay because of those pre-tax deductions.
Box 12 uses letter codes (A through II, plus the new 2026 codes TA, TP, and TT) to report specific types of compensation and benefits, such as 401(k) contributions (D), HSA contributions (W), and the cost of employer health coverage (DD). Each code has a dollar amount and a specific tax treatment; some reduce taxable income while others are informational only.
The IRS added three new Box 12 codes for 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: TA (employer contributions to a Trump account), TP (total cash tips reported to the employer), and TT (qualified overtime compensation). Codes TP and TT support new tax deductions you claim on Schedule 1-A when you file.
Code D reports your pre-tax 401(k) contributions, which lower your taxable income. Code DD reports the total cost of your employer-sponsored health coverage and is informational only, it does not affect your taxes. The two are easy to confuse because the letters look similar, but they mean very different things.
Most Box 12 codes are informational or already included in Box 1, not extra income. Codes like DD, AA, BB, EE, and FF do not reduce or add to taxable income. Codes such as C, V, and Z are already included in your Box 1 wages. A common mistake is assuming every Box 12 entry is additional taxable income, which is not the case.
Pre-tax deductions affect the boxes differently. A 401(k) contribution lowers Box 1 (federal wages) but not Box 3 (Social Security wages), because retirement money is still subject to Social Security and Medicare tax. That's why Box 3 is often higher than Box 1 on the same form.
Box 14 was split for 2026 into Box 14a (Other) and Box 14b (Treasury Tipped Occupation Code). If your employer reports tips with code TP in Box 12, they enter your occupation code in Box 14b, which you need to claim the new qualified-tips deduction.
A single W-2 has four Box 12 slots (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d), so it holds up to four codes. If you have more than four coded items, your employer issues an additional Form W-2 for the rest, which is why you might receive two W-2s from the same employer. Codes are never combined onto one line.
No. Code W already includes the combined total of your employer's and your own payroll HSA contributions. If that amount is in Code W, do not enter it again as a personal HSA contribution in your tax software, doing so creates a phantom excess contribution and can reduce your refund.
First verify against your final pay stub by comparing the year-to-date totals to the Box 12 codes. If a code is truly wrong or missing, ask your employer for a W-2c (corrected W-2), don't change the figure yourself on your return, because the IRS matches it against what your employer filed with the SSA. Only your employer can issue the correction.