W-2 Box 14 is where an employer gives the employee extra information, each item with its own label. Common entries are state disability insurance withheld, union dues, health premiums, educational assistance and a minister's housing allowance. Most are information only. A few matter on the return, such as some state disability amounts and railroad retirement tax.
What employers put in W-2 Box 14
W-2 Box 14 holds whatever the employer chooses to tell the employee, plus a few items the IRS requires there, each as a label and an amount. The IRS 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 list examples: state disability insurance taxes withheld, union dues, uniform payments, health insurance premiums deducted, educational assistance and a minister's parsonage allowance.
The box changed shape for 2026. The same instructions say "Box 14 has been split into box 14a and box 14b." Box 14a, "Other," takes everything that used to go in Box 14. Box 14b is new and holds up to two Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes when tips appear in Box 12 under code TP. A 2025 Form W-2 still has a single Box 14, so this year's and last year's forms for the same client look different.
Some Box 14 items are required rather than optional. The instructions say that if an employer included 100% of a vehicle's annual lease value in income, it "must also be reported here or on a separate statement." Railroad employers must use the box for railroad retirement amounts, covered in its own section below. Section 414(h)(2) contributions to certain state and local government plans go here rather than in Box 12.
For tax year 2025 only, Box 14 may also carry tips or overtime. IRS Notice 2025-69 says some employers "may choose to report the amount of qualified overtime compensation to employees using box 14 of Form W-2," and that employees may use that amount for the new deduction. From 2026, those amounts move to Box 12 codes TP and TT, which the post on W-2 Box 12 codes covers.
Common Box 14 labels and whether they touch the return
The labels below are examples of what employers print. The wording varies by employer and payroll system, so treat the left column as typical, not official.
| Example label | What it usually means | Does it touch the federal return? |
|---|---|---|
| SDI, CASDI, NJSDI | State disability insurance tax withheld | Possibly, on Schedule A line 5a for listed state funds |
| FLI, PFL | State family leave program contribution | Possibly, on Schedule A line 5a |
| UI, SUI (AK, CA, NJ, PA) | Employee share of state unemployment tax | Possibly, on Schedule A line 5a for listed states |
| UNION DUES | Dues deducted from pay | Information only on the W-2 |
| UNIFORM | Uniform payments or deductions | Information only on the W-2 |
| MED PREM, HLTH INS | Health insurance premiums deducted | Information only on the W-2 |
| 414H, PICKUP | Section 414(h)(2) government plan contribution | Information on the W-2 |
| EDUC ASST | Educational assistance payments | Information; up to $5,250 excludable under a section 127 program |
| PARSONAGE, HOUSING | Minister's parsonage allowance and utilities | See IRS Publication 517 |
| VEH LEASE, AUTO | Annual lease value of an employer vehicle | Already in Box 1 |
| AFTER-TAX, VOL PEN | Voluntary after-tax pension contributions | Information only on the W-2 |
| RRTA COMP, TIER 1, TIER 2 | Railroad retirement compensation and tax | Yes, for excess tax withheld |
| TIPS, OT (2025 forms) | Voluntary tips or overtime reporting | Yes, for the 2025 tip and overtime deductions |
Pay stubs use many of the same abbreviations. The post on pre-tax and after-tax pay stub deduction abbreviations explains the payroll codes that usually sit behind these Box 14 labels.
Are W-2 Box 14 state disability withholdings deductible?
Some W-2 Box 14 state disability withholdings are listed in the IRS instructions as state income taxes for Schedule A. The list is short and names specific state funds. A Box 14 amount from a state not on the list is not covered by that line, and a client who takes the standard deduction gets no benefit either way.
The Instructions for Schedule A (Form 1040) (2025) list what goes on line 5a as state and local income taxes. That list includes "mandatory contributions you made to the California, New Jersey, or New York Nonoccupational Disability Benefit Fund; Rhode Island Temporary Disability Benefit Fund; or Washington State Supplemental Workmen's Compensation Fund." It also includes mandatory contributions to state family leave programs, naming New Jersey Family Leave Insurance and California Paid Family Leave, and to the Alaska, California, New Jersey or Pennsylvania state unemployment fund.
Two things follow from that list. The Box 14 label has to be matched to one of those programs, which is easy for "CASDI" and harder for "ST DIS" on a multistate W-2. And the amount is not in Box 17, which holds state income tax withheld. A preparer who reads only Boxes 15 through 17 misses it.
A worked Box 14a reading
This example is fictional. Jordan Avila (an example client) worked in New Jersey for Example Freight Co. in 2026. The W-2 shows Box 17 state income tax of 2,140.00 and these Box 14a entries:
| Box 14a label | Amount |
|---|---|
| NJSDI | 145.20 |
| NJFLI | 62.40 |
| NJUI | 104.33 |
| UNION DUES | 780.00 |
The first three labels map to programs named in the Schedule A instructions: the New Jersey disability fund, the New Jersey family leave program and the New Jersey unemployment fund. Union dues are not on that list. Whether Jordan itemizes is the preparer's decision. The Box 14a reading only tells the preparer which numbers belong in the conversation.
Does W-2 Box 14 matter for railroad employees?
W-2 Box 14 matters a great deal for railroad employees, because it holds their railroad retirement figures. Employees covered by the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) do not get social security and Medicare amounts in Boxes 3 through 7. Their Tier 1, Tier 2 and Medicare figures appear in Box 14 instead.
The 2026 W-2 instructions tell railroad employers to "use Form W-2, box 14a, to report total RRTA compensation, Tier 1, Tier 2, Medicare (excluding Additional Medicare Tax), and any Additional Medicare Tax withheld." The labels are fixed: "RRTA compensation," "Tier 1 tax," "Tier 2 tax," "Medicare tax," and "Additional Medicare Tax." For RRTA employees, the instructions say Boxes 3 through 7 "are not to be used to report railroad retirement compensation and taxes."
That placement matters when a client had more than one employer. The 2025 Instructions for Form 1040 describe a credit for "excess social security and tier 1 RRTA tax withheld" when a person had more than one employer and total wages above $176,100 for 2025. They add that excess Tier 2 tax cannot be claimed on Form 1040 and goes on Form 843 instead. A railroad worker with a second job needs the Box 14 Tier 1 figure next to the other W-2's Box 4 to see whether the combined withholding passed the limit.
Railroad W-2s carry other Box 14 entries too. The instructions point railroad employers to Box 14a for items that other employers put in Boxes 3 and 5, such as group-term life insurance and adoption benefits. Read every line in the box, including any beyond the five required labels.
When a W-2 Box 14 label cannot be decoded
A W-2 Box 14 label sometimes cannot be decoded from the form alone. Employers write their own labels, payroll systems cut them to a few characters, and some entries have no label at all. The IRS instructions say to "label each item," but the label is whatever the employer typed.
Cryptic labels usually have a source. A last pay stub often shows the same deduction under a longer name, so match the amount first and then the code. If the stub total for "ST DIS" equals the Box 14 amount, the label is solved. Entries with no label are harder. An unlabeled amount does not tell the preparer what it is, and guessing risks putting a union dues figure on Schedule A.
Ask the employer when the amount could change the return and the stub does not settle it. Payroll departments can usually read their own code list in a minute. If the entry is information only either way, note it in the workpapers and move on.
Box 14 entries also need to be captured as well as read. When a W-2 goes into a spreadsheet, every label and amount pair in the box should come across intact, as the post on W-2 boxes W2 OCR must capture explains. Schema CPA reads W-2s along with pay stubs and payroll reports, so the stub and the W-2 for one client sit in the same file when you compare them. The workflow section of the homepage shows how documents are classified and compared.
Box 14 is not one of the W-3 boxes the IRS compares with the quarterly returns, so it plays no part when you reconcile W-2s to Form 941. To bring a client's W-2s and stubs into one place, get started.