W2 and Tax Return Problem?

[monaarts_hotmail]

Hey guys,

I think I might need some help!  My wife and I were pre-approved for a mortgage from a couple lenders in August.  Last week we found a house we liked, put an offer on it, and our realtor spoke with the selling agent, and we should get a go-ahead in the next couple days.  So I started getting all of my documents together when I realized I might have a problem.  :-(

Looking at my 2010 W-2, I worked part-time and made $21,870.  Looking at my 2010 Tax Return (Form 1040) it says I made $23,210 as wages.  This is a difference of about $1,340 that I don't know why it is reported that way (or atleast I don't remember).  I submitted the offer with a close date of November 9th (and I was told the bank liked this date, part of the reason they liked my offer over a couple others they received) - so I don't have the 8-12 weeks that are required to wait for an ammendment to go through.  Please help - what do I do!?!?  

- Joe

[deg757]

Did you file the return yourself or did you have a professional prepare it? CPAs usually retain copies of the information you gave them to protect themselves in case something comes up as being incorrect. You could contact the preparer and ask them about the difference. There would be a difference between your box 1 wages and your box 3 wages on your w-2 if you had medical insurance premiums or retirement contributions withheld pre-tax. Did you participate in any plans like that?

[monaarts_hotmail]

I have a pretty basic tax return so I did it myself...  I THINK I might have found the problem (maybe making it NOT a problem):

Box 1 (wages, tips, other comp):  $21870.06

Box 14 (Other):  Dental $115.70 & Medical $1225.12

If you add up Box 1 and the two values in Box 14, they come out to *drumroll* $23210.00 (the number of my tax return).  So this is probably correct after all, right?

[deg757]

That is correct. Just for future reference when preparing your tax return, you report your total wages minus any health care premiums and retirement contributions. Could have saved yourself about $20 in tax if you had done it that way. Glad you found the problem (making it not a problem).

[monaarts_hotmail]

WHEW!  Thank you so much..  I scared the hell out of myself!  For what it is worth, I followed the instructions on Turbo Tax to do it.  I got an awesome tax return that year though, thanks to being a full-time college student (completely supporting myself)!!  :-)  Thank you again for your help!!