Thank you so much for this suggestion! I didn't know the SSA would have that information. Do they show the tax withholding amounts too or just the total income? And how quickly does that information get updated?

The SSA only shows your total earnings, not the withholding amounts. So it will help confirm your income, but you'll still need to estimate your federal and state tax withholding from the pay stubs you have. It typically gets updated a few months after the end of each quarter, so there might be some lag. But it's a good way to verify your total earnings when you don't have complete records. Even partial confirmation is better than nothing when you're filing a substitute W-2 form.

This is definitely an option, but there can be a significant delay. W-2s aren't required to be filed with the IRS until January 31st, and then it takes time for them to be processed and appear in your transcript. If the company closed and never filed them at all (which sounds possible in OP's case), they won't show up at all.

I tried Free File last year and still ended up getting charged when I had to enter my self-employment income. Do any of the Free File partners actually support Schedule C without upgrading?

Yes, some Free File partners do support Schedule C without upgrading, but you need to be careful about which one you select. TaxSlayer and OnLine Taxes (OLT) both handle self-employment income through the Free File program if you meet the income requirements. The trick is to always access these services through the official IRS Free File portal (www.irs.gov/freefile) rather than going directly to the company's website. If you go directly to their sites, you'll often get routed to their commercial products which have more limitations and upsells.

Credit Karma Tax (now Cash App Taxes) is completely free for federal and state including self-employment. Been using it for 3 years with no issues.

Thanks for pointing this out! We've actually been taking the standard deduction because we don't have enough itemized deductions to exceed it. But I hadn't considered the student loan interest factor - that's definitely important for us. Is there a certain income threshold where filing separately starts to make more sense? Or is it really just about those specific situations with medical expenses and student loan repayment plans?

There isn't a specific income threshold where filing separately automatically makes sense. It's almost always situation-specific rather than income-specific. The most common scenarios where filing separately can be beneficial are: When one spouse has income-based student loan payments, filing separately can sometimes keep those payments lower, which might outweigh the tax benefits of filing jointly. This requires calculating the long-term loan forgiveness benefit versus immediate tax savings. The other main scenario is when one spouse has very high medical expenses compared to their individual income. Since medical expenses must exceed 7.5% of AGI to be deductible, separating incomes can sometimes allow one spouse to exceed that threshold when they couldn't jointly.

This is such an important point! I live in Wisconsin and we have to file the same status for state as federal. Made that mistake one year and had to amend everything.

So if OP files with the new W-2 info, will they get flagged for audit since the IRS has the old numbers?

It's not an automatic audit trigger, but it does create a mismatch that could result in a notice from the IRS. Their systems will show the original W-2 amounts reported by your employer, while your tax return will show different figures. This discrepancy typically results in a CP2000 notice (proposed tax adjustment) rather than a full audit. The IRS will basically say "We have different numbers than what you reported" and ask for an explanation. You'd then need to respond with copies of your new W-2s and explain the situation. It's manageable but definitely an unnecessary headache that proper W-2 C forms would avoid.

This is terrible advice. The IRS absolutely notices these discrepancies and it's not about them "having bigger things to worry about" - their automated systems flag mismatches between what employers report and what individuals report. I do tax prep professionally and have seen numerous clients get notices because of exactly this situation.

Maybe I just got lucky then! I guess everyone's experience is different. I was just trying to reassure OP that it might not be the end of the world if they can't get proper W-2 Cs.

Do you know if having the wrong address on a CP148A could cause issues with state unemployment insurance taxes? I'm worried that if the IRS has wrong info it might mess up my state UIT reporting too.

Having the wrong address on a CP148A won't directly impact your state unemployment insurance taxes. State and federal systems are separate, though they do share information occasionally. However, the underlying issue - incorrect address information in government databases - could potentially cause problems with both agencies. It's important to ensure your address is correct with both the IRS and your state tax authority to avoid missing important notices from either one. State UIT reporting is primarily handled at the state level, but keeping consistent information across all agencies is always good practice.

This makes sense - I've seen similar data sharing trigger notices. The government agencies definitely talk to each other. Better to make sure all your info is consistent across every agency.