Dependent care benefits listed on W-2

[Guest Nineteen]

I have procrastinated on my taxes (again) and will be paying for it shortly.

My question is on my husband's W-2. During 2003, he had some money withheld during the year for a flex medical reimbursement account. Now that I am preparing our taxes, I noticed that the amount withheld for reimbursement is reported in box 10 of his W-2 as dependent care benefits. Problem is, we shouldn't have had dependent care benefits for 2003 since we have no dependents--no kids, no disabled persons, no one who would fit the definition of a qualifying person. Our household consists of two working adults--my husband and I--and a very spoiled kitty cat.

The instructions for Form 1040 say that amounts listed in Box 10 of the W-2 should be included in the income line (along with wages, etc. from Box 1 of the W-2), but I don't feel that the Box 10 entry is correct in our case. Am I way off base? Are we better off filing everything as it is, or should we wait for a corrected W-2 (if I'm not off base) and extend our taxes? The amount in question is only $300, but we already have to write a big check to the government, so I'd rather not increase our payment or do anything to trigger a question on our return.

By the way, I'm not an accountant. This is the deepest I've EVER had to dig into the instructions.

Thanks for all replies.

[oriecat]

You need to contact your husbands employer and ask about the amount. He may have had something withheld incorrectly, or they may have completed the W-2 wrong. You need to talk to them first to find out. If the W-2 is wrong, then they will need to issue a W-2C for him.