Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Box 11 of your W-2 shows a distribution from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental section 457(b) plan. It concerns employees who were paid out of such a plan. The amount is also reported in box 1, and box 11 is not a total of anything in box 1.
Read box by box from the IRS form text: Form W-2c boxes c to i and Form W-2c boxes 1 to 20.
What box 11 reports
The employee instructions printed with the form describe the box in two parts: “This amount is (a) reported in box 1 if it is a distribution made to you from a nonqualified deferred compensation or nongovernmental section 457(b) plan”, or “(b) included in box 3 and/or box 5 if it is a prior year deferral under a nonqualified or section 457(b) plan that became taxable for social security and Medicare taxes this year because there is no longer a substantial risk of forfeiture of your right to the deferred amount”.
This page covers box 11 only. The other boxes from 10 to 20 are laid out in the W-2 boxes 10 to 20 guide.
What the box is for
The employer instructions give the purpose: “The purpose of box 11 is for the SSA to determine if any part of the amount reported in box 1 or boxes 3 and/or 5 was earned in a prior year.” “The SSA uses this information to verify that they have properly applied the social security earnings test and paid the correct amount of benefits.”
So box 11 exists for the Social Security Administration’s use, and it concerns pay that may have been earned in an earlier year. That purpose is why it can look confusing next to the other boxes.
Distribution or prior-year deferral
The two cases in the employee instructions are different events. A distribution is money paid to you. The employer instruction for it reads: “Report distributions to an employee from a nonqualified plan or nongovernmental section 457(b) plan in box 11.” “Also report these distributions in box 1.” “Make only one entry in this box.”
A prior-year deferral is not a payment at all. It is an amount that became reportable for social security and Medicare tax because the risk of forfeiture ended: “deferred amounts that are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture are taxable even if not distributed”. The employer is told where to report those amounts: “Report these amounts in boxes 3 (up to the social security wage base) and 5.” The rule about which entries go in box 11 follows: “Do not report in box 11 deferrals included in boxes 3 and/or 5 and deferrals for current-year services”. Read together, a deferral that became taxable for social security and Medicare shows in boxes 3 and 5, and the distribution case is the one that fills box 11.
Why box 11 is not a total of anything in box 1
Box 1 is your wage figure. For a distribution, the employer is told to put the same payment in both places, so the amount in box 11 is already inside box 1 and is not added to it. Box 11 does not sum up several items and does not subtract from box 1. It labels a portion that is already there.
As an illustration, not an IRS example: if your box 1 shows $60,000 and box 11 shows $12,000 then the $12,000 is part of the $60,000 and the wages not tied to the plan distribution are $60,000 minus $12,000 = $48,000. This is a reading of the form’s two entries, not a figure from the instructions.
The employee instructions add a limit on when the box is used: “This box shouldn’t be used if you had a deferral and a distribution in the same calendar year.” The employer instructions have the matching rule, “If you made distributions and are also reporting any deferrals in boxes 3 and/or 5, do not complete box 11.” For a worker who made a deferral and received a distribution in the same year, the employee instructions add: “your employer should file Form SSA-131, Employer Report of Special Wage Payments, with the Social Security Administration and give you a copy.” They say this applies if you are or will be age 62 by the end of the calendar year.
Situations that do not use box 11
Several payments belong elsewhere. “Distributions from governmental section 457(b) plans must be reported on Form 1099-R, not in box 1 of Form W-2.” “Report distributions from NQDC or section 457 plans to beneficiaries of deceased employees on Form 1099-MISC, not on Form W-2.” “Do not report special wage payments, such as accumulated sick pay or vacation pay, in box 11.”
If a similar payment reached you on a Form 1099-MISC instead, the box layout is covered on the page on 1099-MISC boxes 12 and 15. If you are weighing state tax on a large payout after a move, see the page on deferred compensation lump sums after moving.
Where box 11 sits next to the other boxes
Box 11 is read together with boxes 1, 3 and 5. For the coded items that also sit beside your wages, see the box 12 codes guide and the page on box 12 versus box 1. The state and local boxes are on the state wages and tax page, and the other box 13 and box 14 pages are box 13 retirement plan and box 14 other.
Edition and box numbers
The primary read for this page is the 2025 edition of Form W-2, the one an employee receives in early 2026 for tax year 2025, together with the 2025 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3. The 2026 edition was the one irs.gov served as current on 2026-10-17, and it was read for comparison. The employee-facing description of box 11 reads the same in the 2026 form. The employer instruction differs in one word: the 2025 text says “are taxable even if not distributed” and the 2026 text says “are reported even if not distributed”. Box 11 is box 11 in both editions. Check the tax year printed on the form you received, and read the box descriptions for that year.
Common mistakes
- Adding box 11 to box 1. For a distribution the instructions say “Also report these distributions in box 1.” so the amount is already counted there.
- Expecting a prior-year deferral to appear in box 11. The employer instructions say “Do not report in box 11 deferrals included in boxes 3 and/or 5”.
- Looking for a governmental 457(b) payout in box 11. The instructions say “Distributions from governmental section 457(b) plans must be reported on Form 1099-R”.
Related: 1099-MISC boxes 12 and 15, deferred compensation lump sums after moving, box 12 versus box 1, the box 12 codes guide, and Form 1040.
Sources
- General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (2025), with the Notice to Employee and Instructions for Employee: IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw2w3.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.