Question

What is the difference between box 1 total income and box 3 social security income and wages are they the same number

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
January 29, 2021
2 replies
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TurboTax Deluxe Online

S

SweetieJean

Employee

Please wait for your W-2 to arrive.

Social Security Wages: What Are They? (thebalancesmb.com)

B

BillM223

Wages in box 1 are wages for federal income tax purposes. Wages in box 3 are wages for Social Security tax purposes.

For many taxpayers, these numbers are the same, but it can happen that they are different.

A very common case is when you make contributions to a 401(k) retirement plan. These contributions are not subject to federal income tax but are subject to Social Security tax, so the box 1 amount will be equal to the box 3 amount less the size of the contributions.

Make sense?

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