Confused: Why did my employer list Decision HR (a payroll company from another state) as the employer on my W2?

So if I understand correctly, my company basically "rents" me from Decision HR? That seems weird since I interviewed directly with my company and have never spoken to anyone from Decision HR. Does this setup change anything about my employment rights?

Not exactly "renting" - it's more of a shared employment arrangement. Your company hired you directly and makes all the decisions about your role, pay, etc. Decision HR just handles the administrative side - processing payroll, tax filings, and often benefits administration. Your employment rights remain the same. Your actual workplace is still responsible for following labor laws, providing a safe work environment, and all the other employer obligations. The PEO relationship is mostly invisible to employees except for this exact situation - when you notice a different company name on your W-2.

Does this tool work for other confusing tax situations too? I've got a weird 1099-NEC from a company I only did one project for, plus my regular W-2, and I'm not sure how to handle it all.

I'm skeptical about uploading my tax docs to some random website. How secure is this really? And do they store your documents or information after analysis?

It definitely works for 1099 situations too! I actually used it first when I had a mix of W-2 and 1099 income and wasn't sure how to handle the self-employment tax portion. It breaks everything down really clearly and explains what forms you'll need. They use bank-level encryption for all document uploads and don't store your documents after analysis - they're deleted once you're done with your session. I was concerned about security too, but they explain their privacy approach right on the site, and they don't even require you to create an account to use the basic analysis features.

How does this actually work? Do they have some special line to the IRS or something? Seems too good to be true that they can somehow get through faster than the rest of us.

There's no way this works as advertised. The IRS doesn't let third parties hold your place in line. This sounds like a scam to get your phone number or payment info.

They don't have a special line - they use automated technology to wait on hold for you. You put in your phone number, and their system calls the IRS and navigates the phone tree, then sits on hold. When a human IRS agent answers, their system automatically connects you to the call. You're talking directly to the IRS, not through any intermediary. The reason it's not a scam is that you're never giving them any tax info - they're just handling the hold time. When you get connected, it's just you and the IRS agent talking. I was suspicious too until I watched their demo video and then tried it. The call connected exactly as described and I was able to get my PEO W-2 issue resolved directly with the IRS.

Thanks for confirming! I was still a bit worried because my employer never actually explained this arrangement to any of us. Is that unusual? Should companies typically notify employees when they're using a PEO?

Companies should absolutely inform employees when they start using a PEO! It's a significant administrative change that affects how payroll is processed, and employees deserve to know why a different company name will appear on their tax documents. Most companies do provide some explanation during the transition to a PEO, often through meetings or email announcements. It's possible your company did communicate this but perhaps it wasn't clear or got lost in other communications. I'd suggest asking your HR department if they have any documentation about the PEO relationship that they can share with you and other employees.

This is good advice. I use FreeTaxUSA and it has a specific section where you can clarify that you work in a different state than your employer is located. Makes the whole process simple.

This is such a helpful explanation! I'm actually dealing with something similar right now - my company just switched to using a PEO this year and I was wondering what would happen when I get my W-2 next January. It's reassuring to know that the tax software will handle it automatically and I won't need to do anything special. One question though - if the PEO is handling benefits too, does that change anything about how I report things like health insurance premiums or HSA contributions on my taxes? Or do those just flow through normally on the W-2 regardless of the PEO arrangement?

Great question! Benefits handling through a PEO actually flows through pretty seamlessly on your tax documents. Your health insurance premiums, HSA contributions, 401(k) deferrals, etc. will all show up in the appropriate boxes on your W-2 just like they would if your company handled payroll directly. The PEO processes all of this information and reports it correctly to the IRS, so you don't need to do anything different when filing. Box 12 will still show your HSA contributions with code W, health insurance premiums will be reflected in the appropriate sections, and pre-tax deductions will be handled normally. The only thing that might look slightly different is if your company switched benefit providers when they moved to the PEO - but even then, the tax reporting requirements remain the same. Just make sure to keep any benefit statements or summaries your company provides, as those can be helpful for your records even though the W-2 will have all the info you need for filing.

This is really valuable insight from a professional perspective! I hadn't even considered the unemployment benefits angle - that's something worth knowing about PEO arrangements beyond just the tax implications. Quick follow-up question: when you mention calling the number on the W-2 to verify processing, what specific things should someone ask about? I want to make sure I'm asking the right questions if I need to contact Decision HR directly. Should I be asking about state withholding calculations, or are there other verification points that are important? Also, do you find that most people have issues with the tax software correctly handling the state filing when there's a PEO involved, or does it usually work smoothly once they indicate their actual work location?