Adjusting Social Security/Medicare Wages on Form W-2 to Zero

After inputting the wages in box 1 of Form W-2, you may notice that amounts were auto-populated in boxes 3-6, but the W-2 has no amounts in boxes 3-6. This is common if the taxpayer is employed by an agency that has their own private Social Security and Medicare system (colleges, railroad, etc) or exempt from withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes (churches).

Follow the instructions below to modify the amounts in W-2 boxes 3-6 to 0:

1. Place an "X", in the light blue box in the () in the right corner of W-2 box 3.

2. Place an "X", in the light blue box in the () in the right corner of W-2 box 5.