I worked for a local jurisdiction in 2025 as a poll worker. IRS "About Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement" says

    Every employer engaged in a trade or business who pays remuneration, including noncash payments of $600 or more for the year (all amounts if any income, social security, or Medicare tax was withheld) for services performed by an employee must file a Form W-2 for each employee (even if the employee is related to the employer) from whom:

    • Income, Social Security, or Medicare tax was withheld.
    • Income tax would have been withheld if the employee had claimed no more than one withholding allowance or had not claimed exemption from withholding on Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.

    I was an employee, not a contractor. My wages were $300. Nothing was withheld: the payroll check was (the hourly rate) x (number of hours). The jurisdiction has a policy of not sending a W-2 if the amount paid to an employee is under $600, and I got no W-2. The jurisdiction has been around long enough, and is big enough and wealthy enough, that I'm pretty confident that they know what they're doing.

    If it matters or helps: I've been paying estimated taxes and I'm pretty sure that I've really overpaid there because reasons. I contributed much more than that to an HSA, and I could contribute the $300 to a traditional IRA for tax year 2025. (This was my only earned income, and I'm retired and have no retirement plan.)

    How do I report my wages when I don't have a W-2?

    If you know further: how do I do it in FreeTaxUSA? In the Uncommon Income / Other Income section, there's a checkbox for "Wages not on a W-2 (Form 8919)", but that form says "if you were an employee but were treated as an independent contractor by your employer", which I don't know is applicable.

    [US Federal] How do I report wages for which no W-2 was required or given, especially in FreeTaxUSA?
    byu/scarlet_sage intax



    Posted by scarlet_sage

    2 Comments

    1. Easy-Ad-9974 on

      poll worker pay is actually wages, not self employment income. so you don’t need a schedule c or anything like that. just report it on your 1040 line 1h as other earned income.

      also good news, if you earned under $2,200 as a poll worker your pay is exempt from FICA taxes entirely. so no social security or medicare withholding on it.

      no w-2 required from your county if it’s under the threshold but you still report the income. just keep whatever payment records they gave you in case the irs ever asks.

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