How to Calculate W-2 Income Tax Return

Do you understand how to calculate W-2 values? Could you find the total income on a W-2 form? Can you use a W-2 tax calculator to determine how much taxes you owe? If you are employed, you need answers to such questions.

Calculating your W-2 income tax return is one of the "tax basics" that nearly everyone will need to do at some point. The first step is actually just looking over your W-2 form to check that all of the information you see is correct. This includes the boxes that contain details like your name, address and Social Security number. If you see any errors on any part of the form, reach out to your employer to let them know.

​Read More:​ W-2 Forms: What It Is, Who Gets One & How It Works

It's important to know what all of the boxes on your W-2 form represent when sitting down to figure out your 2021 taxes. You should also know that not every box will apply to your tax situation. For instance, boxes for tips and dependent care benefits may not be applicable.

Here's the breakdown of the core boxes that nearly all taxpayers will use:

• ​Box 1​ of your W-2 form accounts for wages, bonuses, gifts, taxable benefits and all other forms of compensation. The number in this box represents your total federal gross income.
• ​Box 2​ represents your total amount withheld from your paycheck by your employer for federal income taxes.
• ​Box 3​ shows how much of your salary was subject to Social Security for the year.
• ​Box 4​ shows the amount of Social Security withheld.
• ​Box 5​ shows how much of your salary was subject to Medicare for the year.
• ​Box 6​ shows the Medicare amount withheld.

​Read More:​ Do I Have to Pay Taxes on My Bonus?

To find your earned employment income from 2021's W-2, you can usually just add Box 2 to Box 1 to see what you earned before federal taxes were withheld. Be sure to combine your results from both W-2 forms if your status is married filing jointly.

Keep in mind that taxable income is based on adjusted gross income instead of your gross earned income. That means that using this simple equation before factoring in all of your specific deductions for the year will only give you a rough estimate.

To figure out what you might still owe, look at the total amount of federal taxes withheld for the year. You'll then want to subtract that number from the total number paid from your wages already. If the number is larger than the amount of federal taxes withheld for the year, you owe the remaining balance.

​Read More:​ Are 401(k) Deductions Part of Gross Income?

When figuring out your W-2 income tax, it's important to consider what your adjusted taxable income will look like. To figure out your adjusted gross income, you'll need to decide how you want to handle deductions.

For most people, the 2021 standard deduction makes the most sense. The 2021 standard deductions are ​$12,550​ for single/married filing separately, ​$25,100​ for married filing jointly and ​$18,800​ for heads of household. While most people will take the standard deduction to reduce their gross adjusted incomes by as much as possible, someone with large deductions may do better with itemizing their deductions.

​Read More:​ Standard Deduction: How Much Is It, When to Take It and How to Use It