I'm also going through a W-2 correction situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My employer incorrectly reported my bonus income allocation and I've been waiting about 8 weeks. Like so many others here, I was getting the "we need to wait for IRS processing" runaround from HR. Reading everyone's experiences has been a real eye-opener - I had no idea that employers are legally required to provide W-2c copies directly to employees. I've been sitting here waiting for some kind of official IRS confirmation that apparently doesn't even exist in the way I thought it did. The consistent timeline of 8-12 weeks that everyone is reporting is actually reassuring, even though it feels like forever when you're in the middle of it. But the key takeaway seems to be that we don't need to wait for the full IRS processing to complete before we can file our taxes - we just need those W-2c copies from our employers. I'm definitely calling my HR department tomorrow morning to specifically request my W-2c copies. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and breaking down how this process actually works. It's frustrating that something this straightforward gets made so unnecessarily complicated by employers who either don't understand the process themselves or just aren't being helpful about explaining it clearly!

I'm currently going through this exact same situation and your timeline is unfortunately very typical! My employer incorrectly reported my work location and I've been waiting about 10 weeks now. The 8-12 week processing time seems to be the standard, especially with how backed up the IRS is right now. The most important thing I learned (and I wish someone had told me this earlier) is that you don't need to wait for the IRS to finish processing before you can file your taxes. Your employer should have already provided you with copies of the W-2c form they submitted - if they haven't, call them back immediately and specifically ask for your W-2c copies for your records, federal filing, and state filing. You're legally entitled to these copies. Once you have that corrected W-2c in hand, you can file your return right away. Since you mentioned it's a state reporting error, you'll likely need to file in both the incorrectly listed state (to get any withholdings back) and your actual state of employment. It sounds intimidating but most people don't end up paying twice due to state tax credit systems. Don't let your employer keep you waiting with the "we need IRS approval" line - that's not how this process actually works. Get those W-2c copies and move forward with your filing!

I know this is a bit off-topic, but make sure you're also checking if you need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your US financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year. That requirement is separate from income tax filing and applies to many non-residents with US accounts regardless of whether you owe any tax.

I went through this exact situation two years ago and can confirm what others have said about the 183-day rule. Since you had zero days of US presence, your capital gains from stock sales are not subject to US taxation as a non-resident alien. However, I'd strongly recommend keeping detailed records of your physical presence (or lack thereof) in the US. I maintained a simple spreadsheet with dates, locations, and even flight records showing I never entered the US that tax year. This documentation proved invaluable when I later had questions about my filing position. One thing to consider: if you had any taxes withheld at source on dividends or other income during the year, filing a 1040NR might actually get you a refund. But for pure capital gains with no US presence, you're correct that filing isn't required. Just make sure you understand the distinction between different types of income from your brokerage account.

This is such a common confusion! I went through the exact same thing when I first started working. Here's what helped me understand it: Think of the tax year like a school year - it's a complete 12-month period that gets "graded" (filed) after it's over. So your 2024 tax year (Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2024) gets filed during the 2025 filing season (Jan - April 2025). For your March 2024 job situation, that income definitely goes on your 2024 tax return that you'll file in early 2025. Your employer should send you a W-2 by January 31, 2025 showing all the income and taxes withheld from that job. The key thing that clicked for me: we always file taxes for a COMPLETED year, never for the year we're currently living in. That's why when you file in April 2025, you're not including any 2025 income - that year isn't complete yet! And yes, the system is unnecessarily complicated. Most other countries make it much simpler, but we're stuck with this backwards-looking annual system.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been working for the IRS for 8 years and I still see this confusion constantly. The "school year" analogy is perfect - I'm definitely going to start using that with taxpayers who call in confused. One thing I'd add that might help: when you get your W-2 or 1099 forms in January, they'll clearly show the tax year (like "2024") right on the form. That's your confirmation of which year's tax return those documents belong on. Also, for anyone worried about missing deadlines or filing for the wrong year - the IRS computer systems are pretty good at catching these mistakes. If you accidentally file income for the wrong tax year, you'll usually get a notice explaining the error rather than being penalized immediately. The system IS overly complicated, but once you get the basic timeline down (earn money in Year X, file taxes for Year X in Year X+1), it becomes much more manageable. Don't be too hard on yourselves for being confused - this trips up way more people than you'd think!

I had a very similar situation happen to me a couple of years ago! My husband's W-4 was incorrectly filled out and we didn't realize until we got his year-end W-2 that showed almost no federal withholding. The first thing you need to do is get a copy of your wife's current W-4 from her employer's HR department. Look specifically at Step 4(c) to see if she accidentally checked the "Exempt" box - this is by far the most common reason for zero withholding. The exempt status is only supposed to be used if you had no tax liability last year AND expect to have none this year, which is pretty rare for working adults. Another possibility is that she made an error in Step 2 (Multiple Jobs or Spouse Works). The new W-4 tries to coordinate withholding between spouses, but it's easy to fill out incorrectly. Once you identify the problem, have her submit a corrected W-4 immediately. Then I'd strongly recommend using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator online to calculate if you need to make estimated tax payments to catch up. We ended up owing about $3,800 at tax time plus a small penalty, but we could have avoided both if we'd caught it earlier. Don't stress too much - this is fixable! Just act quickly so you don't end up with a huge surprise bill next April.

I actually went through this exact situation with my spouse last year! Zero federal withholding for almost half the year before we caught it. Here's what I learned from that stressful experience: First, get a copy of your wife's W-4 from HR immediately - like Monday morning. In our case, my spouse had accidentally checked "Exempt" without understanding what it meant. The exempt status is only for people who owed no taxes last year AND expect to owe none this year, which almost never applies to working adults. Second possibility is the "Multiple Jobs or Spouse Works" section (Step 2) was filled out incorrectly. The new W-4 form tries to coordinate withholding between spouses, but it's really confusing and easy to mess up. Once you fix the W-4, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to see if you need to make estimated quarterly payments. We ended up owing about $5,100 at tax time plus a $220 underpayment penalty because we didn't catch it until October. The good news is this is totally fixable if you act fast! Every paycheck without proper withholding just makes the eventual tax bill bigger. Don't panic, but definitely treat this as urgent. We were able to minimize the damage by making estimated payments once we figured out what was wrong.

I actually messed this up when getting my EIN last year for my SaaS startup. I selected "Retail" because I thought we were "selling" software. Had to file additional paperwork to correct it to "Service." Definitely go with "Service" and save yourself the headache!

Great question! I went through this exact same decision process for my SaaS startup just six months ago. After consulting with both my CPA and doing research through IRS publications, I can confirm that "Service" is definitely the correct classification for SaaS businesses. The key distinction the IRS makes is that with SaaS, you're providing ongoing access to software functionality rather than transferring ownership of a product. Your customers are paying for the service of hosting, maintaining, and providing access to your software platform - they don't own the underlying code or infrastructure. I'd also recommend keeping detailed records of your subscription revenue model and service agreements from the start, as this documentation helps support your business classification if there are ever any questions down the road. The IRS guidance specifically mentions that businesses providing "access to software applications" fall under service categories rather than retail sales. Good luck with your EIN application - you're making the right choice going with "Service"!