I currently work and have worked for the same company for almost 4 years. When I recieved my W-2 I realized that my annual gross pay has decreased 2 years in a row. My question is ' How is it possible that my gross income could decrease 2 years in a row even though my pay has not changed at all? ' My other question is ' Is it mandatory for any company to give a 'cost of living' raise? ' Any awnsers would be greatly appreciated!!

As you may know there can be two amounts on your W2 -- one of your total earned wages and then one with any "pre tax income" deducted such as health ins premiums, etc.

Are you looking at all the boxes, line by line on each W2?

The only other think I can think of is maybe you had unpaid leave or sick time that made your gross go down, or OT in the precding years?

There could be several reasons.

Companies do not have to provide a cost of living increase. Also, I'm not sure of the size of the difference in your gross pay from year-to-year. However, if you are an hourly employee, it could be explained in the number of working days in the year. Many people have the understanding that there are the same number of working days each year. However, that is not the case. The number of working days in a year depends on the day of the week in which the day started, whether the year is a leap year, etc. Even if you are a salaried employee, your pay could be affected by things such as the date of payday, etc. For example, if you are paid on a biweekly basis, there could be slight differences in your pay from year-to-year.