The IRS treats all amounts withheld during the tax year as payments. In other words, withheld amounts act as dollar-for-dollar offsets at year’s end, thereby reducing the amounts of taxes owed. For more information on the withholding process, please see Withholding Process – How it Works.
To determine the total amount withheld, taxpayers should first gather all of their W-2 and 1099 forms from the year. Common situations in which there is withholding listed on a W-2 or 1099 include:
–W-2, Box 2: Withholding on employment income
–W-2G, Box 4: Withholding on gambling income
–1099-G, Box 4: Withholding on unemployment income
–1099-R, Box 4: Withholding on retirement income
–SSA-1099, Box 7 (see page 23): Withholding on Social Security benefits
–1099-INT, Box 4: Withholding on interest income
–1099-DIV, Box 4: Withholding on dividend income
–1099-MISC, Box 4: Withholding on miscellaneous and non-employee compensation
Taxpayers must also look to see if income was withheld on any Schedule K-1 forms. After compiling all of these forms, taxpayers calculate a total value by adding up all of these withheld amounts, where applicable. This dollar sum is then reported on Form 1040, Line 62.
To prove the accuracy of the Line 62 amount to the IRS, taxpayers should attach one copy of each supporting W-2, 1099, or Schedule K-1 to the front of Form 1040.
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