Has anyone tried getting their W2 information directly from the IRS transcript service? I've heard you can view your wage and income transcript online and it shows essentially the same info that would be on your W2.

Another option worth considering is contacting your state's Department of Labor or equivalent agency. Many states have procedures for helping workers obtain missing wage documents from unresponsive employers. Since you mentioned having issues with both a Michigan and Florida company, you could file complaints with both states' labor departments. In my experience, employers often respond much faster to government agency inquiries than to individual requests. The state agencies can sometimes compel employers to provide required documents or face penalties. It's worth trying this route while you're also pursuing the IRS Form 4852 option - having multiple approaches working simultaneously might get you results faster. You can usually file these complaints online through each state's labor department website. They'll typically ask for details about your employment dates, the employer's contact information, and documentation of your attempts to obtain the W2s.

Be careful with gifts to children - depending on how much and how it's set up, there could be kiddie tax implications if the money generates a lot of investment income. For smaller amounts it's usually not an issue.

This is such great advice from everyone! Just wanted to add one more consideration - if your dad is concerned about the paperwork aspect of filing Form 709 for gifts over $18k per person, he might want to consider making the gifts in January rather than later in the year. That way if he decides to spread larger amounts across multiple years, he maximizes the time between gift dates. Also, since you mentioned you have young kids, your dad might want to look into educational gift strategies. He can pay tuition directly to educational institutions (including private school, tutoring, etc.) without it counting toward the annual gift limits at all. Same goes for medical expenses paid directly to healthcare providers. These "qualified transfers" are completely separate from the $18k annual exclusion amounts. One last thought - if your family is in different states, make sure to check if there are any state-level gift tax implications. Most states don't have gift taxes, but a few do, and the rules can be different from federal requirements.

4 Does anyone know if you need to apportion the RSU income based on days worked in each state, or is it strictly based on residency at vesting? My situation is complicated because I lived in California when the RSUs were granted, but was traveling between California and Texas for work during the vesting periods.

One thing I'd add is to make sure you understand the timing of when California considers RSU income to be "earned." California generally follows the rule that RSU income is earned ratably over the vesting period from grant date to vest date, not just on the vesting date itself. This means if you received RSUs in January 2022 while living in California, but moved to Washington in July 2022, and the RSUs vested in January 2024, California would typically claim tax on approximately 50% of that income (the portion earned while you were a CA resident). The key is documenting your exact move date and keeping records of your RSU grant agreements. I'd also recommend running the numbers both ways - allocating by days worked vs. strict residency periods - to see which method results in the most accurate tax treatment for your specific situation.

Looking at your transcript timeline, I can see why you're confused about that October date! The sequence actually makes perfect sense though - your amended return (code 977) from June triggered the refund freeze (code 810), and now the IRS has scheduled the final processing for October 7th (code 290). That October date isn't when they'll START working on it, it's their target completion date. The good news is that 20243805 cycle code indicates this is moving through their system normally. I've seen plenty of cases where people got their refunds 2-4 weeks before the projected 290 date once the IRS finished their review. Keep watching for code 846 (refund issued) or any 971 codes (notices) - those will tell you when things are actually wrapping up. The wait is annoying but your case is definitely progressing!

I went through almost the exact same thing earlier this year! Had my amended return filed in March, got the 810 freeze code, and then saw a 290 code with a date that was like 5 months out. I was freaking out thinking I'd have to wait that long, but my refund actually came about 6 weeks before that projected date. The key thing is watching for any movement on your transcript - when they're getting close to finishing, you'll usually see some activity like additional codes popping up. Also, don't stress too much about that cycle code 20243805 - that's just their internal processing batch number and it's moving through normally. The October date is really just their conservative estimate to manage expectations, but amended returns often wrap up earlier than projected once they clear the review process.

Bruh these apps all the same fr just pick one and pray 😭

I've used both actually! DailyPay was solid for my refund last year - took about the same time as Chime (2-3 days after IRS sent). The main difference I noticed was DailyPay's customer service was more responsive when I had questions. But honestly @Zoe Papadakis makes a good point about traditional banks being more reliable overall. If you're already set up with Chime and it's worked fine, might not be worth switching unless you have other reasons to use DailyPay.