I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My former employer laid off half the staff including me, and now their HR department seems to have completely disappeared. I've been trying for weeks to get my W-2 with no luck. Reading through all these suggestions has been incredibly helpful. I had no idea about the wage and income transcript option - I'm definitely going to try creating an account on the IRS website to see if I can get that information. The Form 4852 substitute option also sounds like a good backup plan if the transcript isn't available in time. The tip about checking third-party payroll services is genius! My company used Paychex, so I'm going to try logging in there with my old credentials. I completely forgot that these services sometimes maintain their own systems separate from the company portal. Has anyone had experience with how long it typically takes for the IRS transcript to become available? I know someone mentioned late May to early June, but I'm hoping mine might be ready sooner since we're already well into tax season. I really don't want to have to file an extension if I can avoid it. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - this thread has been a lifesaver for people like me who are dealing with unresponsive former employers!

For anyone still struggling with this, I wanted to share one more approach that worked for me when I was in a similar bind. If you have access to your bank statements from last year, you can sometimes piece together helpful information for filing Form 4852. Look for direct deposit entries from your employer - these will show your net pay amounts and dates. While this doesn't give you the tax withholding details directly, it can help you verify the accuracy of information you calculate from your final paystub. Also, don't forget to check if you received any year-end bonus payments or expense reimbursements that might have been processed separately from your regular payroll. These could affect your total wages reported on the W-2, and they're easy to miss when you're trying to reconstruct everything from memory and paystubs. If you do end up filing Form 4852, I'd recommend being slightly conservative with your estimates rather than aggressive. It's better to potentially owe a small amount when you eventually get your actual W-2 information than to claim too much in withholdings and face penalties. You can always amend your return later once you have the official documents. The stress of dealing with unresponsive employers during tax season is real, but there really are multiple pathways to get this resolved. Don't panic - you have options!

This is exactly the kind of S-corp confusion I had when I first started! The key insight that helped me was realizing that your K-1 is essentially telling two different stories: (1) how much profit the business made that you need to pay tax on, and (2) how much cash you actually took out. The $39,000 on Line 1 (ordinary business income) flows to Schedule E and becomes taxable income on your 1040 - this is unavoidable. The $39,000 on Line 16c (distributions) is just informational tracking and doesn't create additional tax liability since you're already being taxed on the business profit. Think of it this way: your S-corp earned $39k in profit, which increases your "stake" in the company by $39k. Then you took out $39k in cash, which decreases your stake by $39k. Net effect on your ownership basis: zero. Net effect on your taxes: you pay income tax on the $39k profit regardless of whether you left it in the business or took it out. The beauty of S-corps is avoiding double taxation - you're only taxed once on the business income, not again when you distribute those same earnings to yourself!

One thing to watch out for that hasn't been mentioned yet is making sure your $38,000 salary is considered "reasonable compensation" by the IRS. They scrutinize S-corp owner salaries closely because there's an incentive to minimize salary (which is subject to payroll taxes) in favor of distributions (which aren't). With $77,000 in sales and $39,000 in profit after your salary, your 50/50 split between salary and distributions seems reasonable, but it's worth documenting why that salary amount is appropriate for your role and industry. The IRS has been increasing audits on S-corps where owner salaries seem too low relative to the business income. Also, don't forget that your $38,000 salary gets reported on your W-2 and goes on your 1040 as wages (subject to payroll taxes), while the $39,000 business income from the K-1 goes on Schedule E and flows to your 1040 as business income (not subject to self-employment tax). So you'll actually have income from two different sources on your return!

This has been such an incredibly helpful discussion! As someone who works in financial planning, I wanted to add one more consideration that might be relevant for your situation, Emma. Since you mentioned returning to work just 2 months ago after your partner became a stay-at-home parent, you might want to look into the Dependent Care FSA (Flexible Spending Account) for next year if your employer offers it. If you get married in December 2024, you'll be filing jointly for the 2024 tax year, but you can also plan your 2025 benefits enrollment as a married couple. The Dependent Care FSA allows you to set aside up to $5,000 per year (for married filing jointly) in pre-tax dollars specifically for childcare expenses. Since you have kids and might need occasional childcare even with a stay-at-home parent (date nights, appointments, etc.), this could provide additional tax savings on top of the marriage benefits everyone else has calculated. Also, if your employer offers dependent health insurance coverage, getting married in December means your partner and kids could potentially be added to your plan during the next open enrollment period, which might be more cost-effective than separate coverage. Between the immediate tax savings, earlier refund timing, and potential benefits planning advantages, December really does seem to align with your goal of making the smartest financial choice. Best wishes for your upcoming wedding!

This discussion has been absolutely incredible to follow! As a CPA who specializes in tax planning, I'm impressed by how comprehensive everyone's advice has been. Emma, you're definitely in a situation where December marriage will likely provide significant tax benefits. One additional consideration I haven't seen mentioned yet is the impact on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for various credit phase-outs. With your $16K higher income and your partner staying home, your joint AGI will likely keep you eligible for credits that might phase out at higher income levels if you were both working full-time. Also, since you just returned to work 2 months ago, make sure to gather all your year-to-date pay stubs and any unemployment benefits or other income your partner may have received earlier in the year. This will be crucial for running accurate projections of your tax savings. Given everything discussed here - the income splitting benefits, child tax credits, timing of refund receipt, and all the practical considerations others have raised - December appears to be the clear financial winner. Just make sure to update that W-4 immediately after the ceremony, and consider consulting with a local tax professional who can review your specific state's tax implications. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage, and it sounds like you're making a very financially savvy decision by timing it strategically!

did u verify your identity on id.me? sometimes that speeds things up

I'm in a similar situation with an 810 freeze from early March - still waiting too. From what I've read here and other forums, the 45-120 day timeline seems pretty accurate. Since your freeze started Feb 23rd, you're getting close to the 45-day mark. I'd suggest waiting until mid-April before calling since that's when your credits are scheduled to post anyway (April 15th). If nothing moves by then, definitely call the practitioner priority line. The waiting is the worst part but at least your transcript shows everything is there waiting to be released!

I'm going through something similar right now! Got a 1099-R from Schwab about a week after filing. Mine also shows an amount in Box 1 but Box 2a is empty, and it has code G in Box 7 which confirms it's a direct rollover. After reading all these responses, I feel way less stressed about it. It sounds like the consensus is that if there's no taxable amount, there's really no impact on your return. The key thing seems to be that Box 2a being empty means no additional income to report. I think I'm going to follow the TurboTax suggestion and just test it out to see if it would change anything, but based on what everyone's saying here, it probably won't. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread has been incredibly helpful for those of us dealing with this exact situation!

This is such a relief to read through everyone's experiences! I'm actually dealing with something very similar - got a 1099-R from my old employer's 401k administrator about 5 days after filing. Like you, I was completely caught off guard since I had no idea this form was coming. What really helped me understand the situation was looking at Box 7 on the form. Mine has code "G" which I learned means "Direct rollover to qualified plan." Combined with Box 2a being empty (no taxable amount), it's pretty clear this is just documenting a non-taxable transfer. I ended up calling my financial advisor who confirmed that direct rollovers between qualified retirement accounts aren't taxable events, so there's no income to report. The 1099-R is just required documentation from the distributing institution, but it doesn't create a tax liability if it was properly rolled over. The TurboTax testing suggestion is genius - I'm definitely going to try that just to triple-check before deciding whether an amendment is needed. But based on everything I've read here, it sounds like most people in our situation end up not needing to amend at all.