Ok so for box 14 on my w-2 doing my federal taxes. i live in nys. box 14 says "414-h - 795.57" so i put that into OLT, and the next page it said i needed to confirm the code (414-h) and it said this: "Public employees 414(h) retirement contributions: Are you a public employee of NYS or its local governments? If No, go to line 22. If Yes, enter the amount of 414(h) retirement contributions, if any, shown on your wage and tax statement(s), federal Form W-2, if you are: A Tier 3 or Tier 4 member of the NYS and Local Retirement Systems, which include the NYS Employees Retirement System and the NYS Police and Fire Retirement System. A Tier 3 or Tier 4 member of the NYS Teacher's Retirement System. An employee of the State or City University of New York who belongs to the Optional Retirement Program. A member of any tier of the NYC Employees Retirement System, the NYC Teacher's Retirement System, the NYC Board of Education Retirement System, the NYC Police Pension Fund or the NYC Fire Department Pension Fund. A member of the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MABSTOA) Pension Plan. Do not enter contributions to a section 401(k) deferred arrangement, section 403(b) annuity or section 457 deferred compensation plan. NY 414" so i'm actually tier 6. so does that mean i'm supposed to go back and actually leave box 14 blank in my tax return? bc i feel like that makes it inaccurate... but i'm not sure why this wording would be under the description of ny 414. can you explain?

Certainly! Box 14 on your W-2 is used by employers to provide additional information to employees. The code "414-h" refers to contributions made to a retirement plan under section 414(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, which typically involves mandatory contributions to a public retirement system. In your case, since you are a Tier 6 member, the instructions you encountered are specifically asking about Tier 3 and Tier 4 members. However, the key point is that the 414(h) contributions are generally treated the same for all tiers in terms of tax treatment. These contributions are typically made on a pre-tax basis for federal tax purposes, meaning they are not included in your federal taxable income. For New York State taxes, these contributions are often added back to your income because they are not taxed by the state when they are initially deducted from your paycheck. Therefore, you should still report the 414(h) contributions on your New York State tax return, even if you are a Tier 6 member. When entering this information into your tax software, you should confirm that the amount is correctly reported as a 414(h) contribution. If the software is asking for confirmation based on tier, it might be a prompt to ensure you're entering the correct type of contribution. You should not leave Box 14 blank, as it would omit important information about your retirement contributions. If you're unsure, you might want to consult with a tax professional or contact the software's support for guidance specific to your situation

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