Anyone actually successful using Tax Form 4852 to recover missing wages?

Form 4852 is definitely a legitimate way to file when your employer hasn't provided your W-2. I've helped several clients through this process. The key is making your best good-faith estimate of your income and withholdings. The best approach is to use your final pay stub of the year since it typically shows year-to-date totals for your wages and all withholdings. If you don't have that, use whatever pay stubs you do have and extrapolate the full year amounts. You should also document your attempts to get the W-2 from your employer (dates you contacted them, how you contacted them, etc.). When the IRS processes your return with Form 4852, they'll compare your reported information with what they eventually receive from your employer. Small discrepancies usually aren't an issue, but significant differences might trigger questions. The important thing is that you're making an honest effort to report accurately based on the information available to you.

After struggling with missing W-2s from a restaurant that went out of business, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it made the whole Form 4852 process so much easier! Their system helped me reconstruct my income and tax withholding based on my pay stubs. It even helped identify some deductions I didn't know I could claim. The tool walked me through exactly what information needed to go where on the form, which was a lifesaver since I was really confused about how to fill it out properly.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my missing W-2 situation. I was SUPER skeptical at first but it actually worked great! I only had pay stubs from half the year but it helped me figure out reasonable estimates for the Form 4852. The coolest part was when it found some deductions related to my job that I had no idea about! The whole process took about 30 minutes and I already got my refund (took about 3 weeks). Tax season was stressing me out so much but this totally saved me from having to hire an expensive accountant.

If you're still having trouble getting those W-2s and the employers aren't responding, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in the same boat last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS to get them to pressure my employer. After hours on hold, I'd just get disconnected. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS person in like 15 minutes who documented my missing W-2s and reached out to my employer directly. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Made a huge difference in my situation.

I've gotta eat my words on this one. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr on a whim because I was desperate to resolve my Form 4852 situation. Not only did I get through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes (instead of the 3+ hours I spent failing to get through on my own), but the agent was able to confirm they had no W-2 on file from my employer! They documented everything and told me exactly how to proceed with Form 4852. Saved me so much time and stress. Sometimes I hate being wrong but in this case I'm glad I was!

One thing to watch out for with Form 4852 - if you claim a refund of ALL your withholding, it'll probably trigger extra scrutiny. The form is legit for missing W-2s, but there are some tax protestor groups that misuse it to falsely claim they're exempt from taxes. Make sure you're using it properly just to substitute for a missing W-2, not to try to get out of paying taxes completely.

Has anyone dealt with filing Form 4852 when you worked for a company that's completely gone out of business? My employer from last year literally closed up shop and disappeared - no contact info works anymore. Not sure how to handle the part where I have to describe my attempts to get the W-2.

I successfully used Form 4852 two years ago when my employer failed to send my W-2. The process was actually smoother than I expected, but there are a few key things that helped me avoid issues: First, I kept detailed records of every attempt to contact my employer - emails, phone calls, even certified mail. The IRS wants to see you made a good faith effort to get the proper W-2 first. Second, I used my final pay stub from December which showed my year-to-date totals. This gave me the most accurate numbers for wages, federal withholding, state withholding, and FICA taxes. If you don't have your final stub, add up all the stubs you do have. My refund took about 6 weeks to process, which was only slightly longer than normal. The IRS did send me a letter asking me to verify some information, but it was just standard verification - nothing scary. Once I responded, everything went through fine. The most important thing is to be as accurate as possible with your estimates. Don't round numbers significantly or guess wildly. Use whatever documentation you have and extrapolate reasonably from there. The IRS is generally understanding about Form 4852 situations as long as you're being honest and thorough.