NY rejected – NYC withholding mismatch but W-2 locked and can’t amend

Cyprez
Cyprez Member Posts: 1 Newcomer
in State Filing

My federal return was accepted, but my New York return keeps getting rejected for:

“NYC Withholding Doesn't Match Form W-2…”

The instructions say to go back to the W-2 and verify Box 19 / Box 20.
However, my W-2 is locked because the federal has already been accepted.

When I try to amend, the program tells me I can’t amend until the state is accepted, which obviously can’t happen because it’s rejected.

On the Local Taxes Withheld screen it just sends me back to the locked W-2, so I have no way to change the NYC amount.

Has anyone found a way to fix this without mailing the return?
Or do I need support to unlock the W-2?

Answers

  • Taylor
    Taylor FreeTaxUSA Agent Posts: 88 image
    Hello Cyprez,

    Once a federal return is accepted by the IRS, the W-2 fields are locked to prevent any changes from what was originally submitted to the IRS. This cannot be unlocked. If this is the case for you, then the NY return will need to be mailed this year.

    You can switch the filing method to "mail return" under the Final Steps title menu.

    If you have any questions you would like our Support team to look into, please contact them inside your account from the Support Center.
  • Lstorm554_
    Lstorm554_ Member Posts: 1 Newcomer

    would I have to wait until I recieve the federal refund to fix the NY return.the wages were copied to the NY tax instead of NY tax it is very simple fix .can support unlock the NY w2 return so I can correct this because I had to pay to order the NY return so I should be allowed to correct this small problem

  • JanaA
    JanaA FreeTaxUSA Agent Posts: 182 image
    Hello Lstrom554_! I completely understand the frustration here, and I'm sorry for the trouble. Unfortunately, we are not able to unlock the W-2 fields once the federal return has been accepted by the IRS, as any changes to those fields could affect what was already submitted federally.

    The good news is you do not need to wait for your federal refund to fix this. You have two options to get your NY return filed correctly.

    The first option is to create a new FreeTaxUSA account, re-enter all of your information, and correct the W-2 so the NYC local withholding amount is in the right field. Once done, choose to mail the return and only mail the NY state return, do not mail the federal return since it has already been accepted. Your NY return can be mailed independently.

    The second option is to switch your current return to mail filing (under the Final Steps tab, select "Filing Method" and choose to mail). This works if the data on the return is actually correct as entered and the rejection is due to a formatting or matching issue rather than a wrong dollar amount.

    If the incorrect amount was entered as the NY tax, you can amend your return to correct this if you select the second option. This would allow you to update the W-2 information. You can then submit the amended NY return as applicable.

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