Can I change my state on my W2 if the employer put the wrong state?

Technically, you can't change your W2 yourself - that would be altering a tax document which is a big no-no. You need to contact your employer's payroll department ASAP and ask them to issue a corrected W2 (sometimes called a W2-c). This happens more often than you'd think, especially with people who moved between states. What matters for state taxation is where you physically performed the work, not where the company is based. If you worked entirely in Washington during 2024, you shouldn't have any Oregon withholding on your W2 either. Check if they were actually withholding Oregon state tax from your paychecks all year - if so, you'll definitely need that corrected and might be due a refund from Oregon.

I had nearly the identical issue last year and found an incredible service that saved me a ton of time and headache. I was about to file with the wrong state info when someone recommended I try https://taxr.ai to check everything over. The system caught the state discrepancy immediately and generated a detailed explanation I could send directly to my HR department. What's cool is it analyzes all your tax docs and creates a readable summary of issues it finds - the state mismatch was flagged with a big warning. I uploaded my lease agreement from Washington as proof of residency and it created a perfect letter template for requesting the W2-c. My employer fixed it within a week!

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai for my state tax issue! I tried it after seeing it mentioned here and wow - total game changer. I uploaded my W2 (wrong state - NY), my lease for my New Jersey apartment, and a utility bill. The system immediately flagged the state mismatch and created a detailed explanation showing exactly which dates I was in each state and how much income should be allocated to each. The best part was the letter it generated for my employer - super professional with all the relevant tax codes cited. My HR person actually thanked me for making it so clear what needed to be fixed! Got my corrected W2-c in just 4 days. Definitely less stressful than my previous tax nightmares.

If your employer is being slow or unresponsive about fixing your W2, I found that getting through to the IRS directly can help put pressure on them. But we all know how impossible it is to reach anyone at the IRS - I literally wasted 3 days trying to get through. I finally used https://claimyr.com and it completely changed my experience. They held my place in the IRS phone queue and called me when an agent was about to pick up. You can see exactly how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it's basically like having someone wait on hold for you. The IRS agent I spoke with sent a formal notice to my employer, and suddenly my corrected W2 became a priority for them! Sometimes you just need that official pressure to get things moving.

Well I'm eating my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway out of desperation for my own tax issue. I've been trying to get clarification on an audit letter for WEEKS. I used the service yesterday afternoon and got a call back in about 45 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. I almost fell out of my chair. The agent not only helped resolve my question but also put notes in my file about the state tax withholding issue I was having with my employer. This morning my company HR reached out saying they'd received communication from the IRS and would be issuing my corrected W2 immediately. So yeah... it actually works. I'm still shocked.

So there's actually a tax form specifically for this problem too. If your employer isn't being helpful, you can file Form 8919 "Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages" with your return. You'd check box "d" to indicate your W2 is incorrect. This way you can still file on time even if the corrected W2 is delayed.

Has anyone else noticed how common these W2 state errors are getting? I swear the payroll systems are getting worse not better. I've had this happen twice in the last three years with different employers!

This is exactly why I always double-check my W2 as soon as I get it! For future reference, you can also prevent this by making sure to update not just your address with HR when you move, but specifically asking them to verify your "work state for tax purposes" is correct too. I learned this the hard way when I moved from California to Texas mid-year and they kept withholding CA state tax for months. The key is being very explicit about what needs to change - don't assume updating your mailing address will automatically fix the tax withholding state. Always ask to see your next paystub after a move to confirm the right state taxes are being withheld (or in your case with WA, that NO state tax is being withheld). Good luck getting this sorted out! The corrected W2 route is definitely your best bet rather than trying to work around it on your return.

I went through this exact same situation last year when I moved from California to Nevada! The key thing to remember is that you absolutely cannot modify the W2 yourself - that's considered tax document fraud. What worked for me was calling my employer's payroll department and explaining that the W2 shows the wrong state for where I actually performed work. I had to provide documentation of my move (lease agreement, utility bills) to prove I was a Nevada resident during the tax year. They issued a corrected W2-c within about 10 days. One tip: when you call, don't just say "I moved" - be specific that the STATE shown on the W2 is incorrect for where you physically performed your work duties. That helps them understand it's not just an address change but a tax withholding issue. Since Washington has no state income tax, make sure they didn't withhold any Oregon state tax from your paychecks either - if they did, you'll want that corrected too so you can get a refund from Oregon. The sooner you contact them the better, especially with the filing deadline approaching!