Post-Filing 2021 Tax Year Documents

Financial Planning Tax Strategies
1

I recently received two unexpected tax documents, well after my 2021 taxes were filed.

The first is a new SA-5498 for my HSA stating that there were $192.75 in contributions for 2021 that were made in 2021. I am guessing these were deductions in the first week of January for my last pay period in December. I’m just not sure what to do with it other than place the document in my 2021 tax folder.

The second is more interesting. Back in 2020 when I was dumb and felt I had to honor my obligations, I worked as an enumerator for the US Census. Yes, in the thick of the pandemic, I was going door to door and asking counting people. Somehow, I have managed to not get sick. But what is interesting is that I received a W2-C, restating my Social Security withholding from October 2020 apparently due to the 2020 Presidential Memorandum regarding employee payroll tax deferral. The newly reported value is 85¢ more than the previously reported value. I am guessing this is updating how much is being reported as withheld, though there hasn’t been any deduction from my direct deposit checking account. So again, I don’t know what to do with this.

Fuskie
Who notes the letter says to follow a link for more information, but the letter is printed (not electronic) and only displays the description of the link rather than the URL for the link…

Premium Home Fool: Ask me a Foolish Question, I’ll give you a Foolish Response!
Ticker Guide: The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Intuit (INTU), Live Nation (LYV), CME Group (CME), MongoDB (MDB), Trip Advisor (TRIP), Vivendi SA (VIVHY), Mimecast (MIME), Virgin Galactic (SPCE), Axon Technologies (AXON), Blackbaud (BLKB)
Disclaimer: This post is non-professional and should not be construed as direct, individual or accurate advice
Disassociation: The views and statements of this post are Fuskie’s and are not intended to represent those of The Motley Fool or any other sane body
Disclosure: May own shares of some, many or all of the companies mentioned in this post: https://tinyurl.com/FuskieDisclosure
Fool Code of Conduct: https://www.fool.com/legal/the-motley-fools-rules.aspx#Condu…
Invitation: You are invited to interactively watch Motley Fool Live online television: https://www.fool.com/premium/live/
Call to Action: If you like this or any other post, Rec it. Better yet, reply to it. Even better, start your own thread. This is YOUR TMF Community!

1 Like
2

The first is a new SA-5498 for my HSA stating that there were $192.75 in contributions for 2021 that were made in 2021. I am guessing these were deductions in the first week of January for my last pay period in December. I’m just not sure what to do with it other than place the document in my 2021 tax folder.

Assuming that you were eligible for an HSA in 2021 and included that amount in your HSA contributions for 2021 on your 2021 tax return, there’s not really anything to do. The 5498 is just a confirmation document. You should get the same form for any IRAs that you made contributions to for 2021. If you were ineligible for an HSA in 2021, or contributed more than you should have because you weren’t counting that amount, you would have an excess contribution, that you should have documented on your 2021 taxes. If there’s an issue because you really meant for that contribution to be part of your 2020 contribution (since you could have made contributions for 2020 until April 15, 2021), then you would need to contact the HSA administrator.

But what is interesting is that I received a W2-C, restating my Social Security withholding from October 2020 apparently due to the 2020 Presidential Memorandum regarding employee payroll tax deferral. The newly reported value is 85¢ more than the previously reported value. I am guessing this is updating how much is being reported as withheld, though there hasn’t been any deduction from my direct deposit checking account. So again, I don’t know what to do with this.

Additional SS withholding would not impact your income taxes unless there were excess SS tax withheld, in which case, you should get a refund of the excess. Given that the change is less than $1, it’s probably nothing that you need to worry about.

AJ

3 Likes
3

The newly reported value is 85¢ more than the previously reported value. I am guessing this is updating how much is being reported as withheld, though there hasn’t been any deduction from my direct deposit checking account. So again, I don’t know what to do with this.

It is likely that the amounts were rounded. $0.85 may or may not make $1 difference. Filing and ignoring is a reasonable option.