ADP Failed to Send My W-2 to the IRS - What Should I Do?

15 This issue happens more often than you'd think when companies switch payroll providers mid-year. The good news is that you can definitely get this fixed, but you'll need to be persistent. First, you should know that employers (including payroll companies acting on their behalf) are required by law to both provide W-2s to employees AND submit them to the Social Security Administration by January 31st each year. The SSA then shares this data with the IRS. If ADP failed to submit your W-2 to the SSA, they're definitely not in compliance. The fastest solution is probably to have someone from your HR department contact ADP. Even though you're no longer clients, they still have legal obligations for the period they handled your payroll. Your HR department should have contact information for your former ADP account representative who can escalate this. If that's not possible, you can try reaching ADP's W-2 services directly at 1-800-426-4729. Explain you're a former client's employee with a W-2 reporting issue. Sometimes asking for the "client resolution team" can help bypass the automated system. As a last resort, you can file your taxes using the paper W-2 you received, but include Form 4852 (Substitute for W-2) explaining the situation. This isn't ideal though, as it might delay your refund and could trigger correspondence from the IRS.

9 I went through something similar with ADP last year after our company switched to Gusto. The frustrating phone tree was driving me crazy until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It's basically an AI tool that specializes in analyzing tax documents and identifying discrepancies. I uploaded my paper W-2 from ADP and my earnings statement, and it immediately flagged that my W-2 hadn't been properly reported to the government. The tool generated a detailed report explaining exactly what was missing and the steps I needed to take to resolve it. It even drafted a formal letter I could send to ADP citing the specific regulations they weren't following. The best part was it connected me with the right ADP department on the first try. Saved me hours of being bounced around their phone system. Within two weeks, ADP had properly submitted my W-2 to the SSA and I was able to confirm it on my wage transcript.

22 Just wanted to update that I actually tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. It was surprisingly helpful! I was skeptical at first, but it saved me so much time. The document analysis pinpointed exactly what was missing from my reporting and generated a super professional letter that I sent to both ADP and my HR department. The letter included all the relevant tax codes and filing requirements that ADP had failed to meet. Two days after my HR director forwarded it to our former ADP rep, they called to apologize for the oversight and confirmed they would be submitting the missing W-2 data immediately. I just checked my SSA account yesterday and my earnings history now shows the complete year! Problem solved way faster than I expected.

11 After dealing with a similar nightmare last year (not ADP but another payroll company), I finally got my issue resolved by using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get through to a human at the IRS. After weeks of trying to reach someone, Claimyr got me connected in under 45 minutes. The IRS agent confirmed that my employer's payroll company had never submitted my W-2 and walked me through exactly what documentation I needed to gather to resolve it. They even put a note on my account about the situation. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS ended up contacting my former payroll provider directly, which lit a fire under them in a way my calls never could. Within a week, everything was properly filed. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind heading into tax season.

3 I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After complaining here, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about an unrelated tax notice for weeks. Got connected to an IRS agent in 37 minutes without having to do anything other than answer my phone when they called to connect me. The agent was super helpful about my situation and even gave me her direct extension for follow-up questions. Saved me taking another day off work to sit on hold. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong - this service actually delivers what it promises.

5 You might want to check if this affects your Medicare wages too. We had an issue where our company switched from ADP mid-year, and not only were the regular wages not reported, but the Medicare wages were missing too. This created a huge headache for a couple of older employees who were calculating their IRMAA brackets for Medicare premiums. Definitely make sure they fix ALL aspects of the W-2 reporting.

17 This happened to me with a different payroll company last year. If you're filing your taxes soon and don't want to wait for this to get resolved, you can use the information from your physical W-2 and attach Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2) to your tax return. You'll need your last pay stub from ADP to verify the information. This puts the issue on record with the IRS and allows you to file on time even if ADP is dragging their feet on fixing their mistake.

This is a serious compliance issue that unfortunately happens more than it should when companies switch payroll providers. As a tax professional, I've seen this exact scenario multiple times with ADP and other major payroll companies. Here's what I recommend for immediate action: 1. **Contact your former employer's HR department first** - they have the strongest leverage with ADP since they were the client. ADP is still legally obligated to correct W-2 reporting errors regardless of current client status. 2. **Document everything** - keep records of all your attempts to contact ADP, including dates, times, and any reference numbers. This creates a paper trail if you need to escalate. 3. **File a complaint with the SSA** if ADP doesn't respond within a reasonable timeframe. You can report employers who fail to file W-2s at ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm. 4. **Consider involving your state's labor department** - many states have regulations about timely W-2 reporting and can put additional pressure on ADP. The fact that this affected 35 employees makes it a significant violation. ADP faces penalties of $50-$280 per W-2 for late or missing filings, so they should be motivated to fix this quickly once properly notified. Don't wait too long to address this - while you can file with Form 4852 as others mentioned, it's much cleaner to get the actual W-2 properly reported to the government systems.