Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Tax Topic 401 is the IRS page on wages and salaries. It says all pay for services as an employee is included in gross income, including amounts withheld for taxes. Your employer should provide a Form W-2 showing total income and withholding, and every W-2 goes on the return.
Quick reference
| Item | What the IRS topic says |
|---|---|
| What counts as gross income | “All wages, salaries and tips you received for performing services as an employee of an employer must be included in your gross income.” |
| Amounts withheld for taxes | “Amounts withheld for taxes, including but not limited to income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, are considered “received” and must be included in gross income in the year they’re withheld.” |
| The form that shows it | “Your employer should provide you a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement showing your total income and withholding.” |
| Joint returns | “If filing jointly, you must also include all income and withholding from your spouse’s Forms W-2.” |
| A W-2 that arrives after filing | “If you receive a Form W-2 after you’ve filed your return, file an amended tax return, Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.” |
What counts as wages
The topic opens with a broad rule. The IRS topic says “All wages, salaries and tips you received for performing services as an employee of an employer must be included in your gross income.”
It then deals with money that never reaches your paycheck. The topic says “Amounts withheld for taxes, including but not limited to income tax, Social Security and Medicare taxes, are considered “received” and must be included in gross income in the year they’re withheld.” In other words, the withheld amount is still part of what you earned.
Retirement plan money gets its own treatment. The topic says “Generally, your employer’s contribution to a qualified pension plan for you isn’t included in gross income at the time it’s contributed.” It also covers salary reduction agreements: “those amounts remain subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes in the year they’re withheld.” Our page on W-2 box 1 shows where wages land on the form.
The Form W-2 and your return
The topic names the form that reports all of this. It says “Your employer should provide you a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement showing your total income and withholding.”
On using it, the topic says “You must include all income and withholding from all Forms W-2 you receive on your tax return.” For couples it adds “If filing jointly, you must also include all income and withholding from your spouse’s Forms W-2.” On paper filing it says “Attach a copy of each Form W-2 to the front of your tax return as indicated in the instructions.” A walk through the boxes is on W-2 boxes 1 to 8 explained.
Late forms and related topics
The topic says “Your Form W-2 should be made available to you by February 2, 2026.” If one turns up after you have filed, it says “file an amended tax return, Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.” For a form that is wrong or never arrives, it points to Topic no. 154. Our page on Form 1040-X covers amending.
The topic also draws a line around self-employed pay: “Please note that self-employment income is generally reported on Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation.” It sends readers to Topic no. 407 for business income, Topic no. 761 for tips, and Topic no. 608 for excess Social Security or railroad tax withholding.
Where this comes from
This page describes the IRS page titled Topic no. 401, Wages and salaries, as served on irs.gov on October 24, 2026. The IRS page shows that it was last reviewed or updated on 24 Sep 2026. The IRS can change a topic after we read it, and the IRS page controls. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out the tax taken from a paycheck. The topic says withheld amounts “are considered “received””
- Treating the employer’s retirement plan contribution as ordinary pay. The topic says it “Generally, your employer’s contribution to a qualified pension plan for you isn’t included in gross income at the time it’s contributed.”
- Reporting only one spouse’s W-2 on a joint return. The topic says to include “your spouse’s Forms W-2”
- Ignoring a W-2 that arrives late. The topic says to “file an amended tax return”
- Reading this topic as the place for freelance pay. It says that income “is generally reported on Form 1099-NEC”
Related: IRS tax topics by number, W-2 box 1: wages, tips and other compensation, W-2 boxes 1 to 8 explained, Form 1040-X, Form 4852, and Form W-2c notice to employee.
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Answer againSources
- IRS, Topic no. 401, Wages and salaries (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc401
- IRS, Tax topics index (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS topic page and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.