|
Search All EZPerDiem-Related Sites Using the Box Below:
Searches EZPerDiem.com, EZCrewTax.com, AviationTaxGlossary.com,
and several other sites in the EZPerDiem Network
What do I do if Box Code L is blank on my W-2?
Airline pilots and flight attendants often get per diem from their employer. That per diem can be in one of two possible forms:
1. Non-taxable Per Diem (part of an accountable plan)
2. Taxable Per Diem (part of a non-acccountable plan)
When you pull out your W-2 and look at Box 12, code L, you may or may not have a number there. If you do have a number for box 12, code L, that number is your non-taxable per diem reimbursement from your employer. It gets inputted on your IRS Form 2106 on Line 7, Column B. If you are using tax software such as TurboTax, TaxCut, or TaxAct, that number is entered when you are asked for your meal reimbursement.
If you do not have a number in box 12, Code L, you have 2 possible situations:
1. Your per diem was nontaxable per diem and part of an accountable plan, but the W-2 is in error. In other words, you did receive nontaxable per diem that should have been reported on Box 12, Code L, but was left off.
2. It was taxable per diem as part of a nonaccountable plan and is included in Box 1 of your W-2 as income. If this is the case, the gross income in Box 1 of the W-2 should show be more than what your salary was because your per diem is included in that amount.
In case 1, you should contact your payroll to find out if you should have a nontaxable per diem reimbursement. In case 2, you were not reimbursed for per diem. If that is the case, the per diem you received added to your income, and as we mentioned, income is not a reimbursement.
Because a reimbursement lowers the per diem deduction, you will actually benefit more from deducting M&IE expenses (i.e. the EZPerDiem.com Per Diem Calculation) if there was no reimbursement given to you to offset the amount you are entitle to spend on meals.
For example, assume a pilot has M&IE expenses that came to $15,000 for the year. Also assume the pilot received $10,000 in per diem. If the per diem was nontaxable (included on Box 12, Code L), then $15,000 gets placed on IRS Form 2106, Line 5, Column B. $10,000 gets placed on IRS Form 2106, Line 7, Column B. Then the reimbursement is subtracted from the M&IE amount ($15,000 - $10,000 = $5000), and that amount is multiplied by 80% ($5000 x 80% = $4000). So you would have a $4000 per diem deduction in this case.
Now assume that the $10,000 was part of a nonaccountable plan and is included in Box 1 of your W-2. In that case, you would enter $0 on IRS Form 2106, Line 7, so your M&IE expenses are unreimbursed. That means your per diem deduction would be ($15,000 x 80% = $12,000).
You are strongly encouraged to contact your company payroll department if the number is missing so you can find out if it was included in Box 1.
| |
