Employer issued two W2s in different states (NY and CA) - what's the correct way to file?

This is definitely a payroll error that needs to be corrected. Your W-2 should reflect where you physically performed the work, not where the company is headquartered or where you previously worked. Since you worked entirely in New York for 2024, you should only have a W-2 showing New York state wages and withholding. The first step is to contact your employer's payroll department immediately. Explain the situation and request a corrected W-2 (called a W-2c) that properly reflects your work location for 2024. Make sure to emphasize that you physically worked in New York for the entire year and did not perform any work in California. Don't file your taxes until this is resolved - filing with incorrect W-2s will likely result in notices from both state tax agencies and potentially cause you to pay taxes to a state where you didn't actually work.

Had almost the exact same thing happen to me last tax season, and I found this amazing service called taxr.ai that really helped me figure it out. I uploaded both of my W-2s to https://taxr.ai and their system immediately flagged the inconsistency between the state withholding amounts. The AI gave me specific instructions on how to handle multiple W-2s with incorrect state allocations and even generated a letter template I could send to my HR department. The coolest part was that the service explained exactly what sections of the tax code applied to my situation and showed me how to properly report this on my tax return while waiting for the corrected forms. It saved me hours of stressful research trying to figure out what to do.

Just wanted to update - I was skeptical about taxr.ai but decided to give it a try with my own multi-state W-2 issue. Honestly impressed with how detailed the analysis was! It identified that my employer had incorrectly coded my remote work days and gave me the exact wording to use with HR. My payroll department immediately understood the issue when I explained it using the terminology from taxr.ai and issued a corrected W-2c within days. Definitely saved me from what would have been a mess dealing with two state tax returns incorrectly.

If your employer isn't responsive about fixing this W-2 issue, you might want to try Claimyr. I was in a similar situation last year and couldn't get anywhere with my company's outsourced payroll department. After weeks of frustration, I used https://claimyr.com to get connected directly to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of spending hours on hold. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to do regarding the incorrect state W-2 and even put notes in my file about the situation. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call when an agent is ready. The IRS agent I spoke with walked me through filing Form 4852 (substitute W-2) and explained exactly how to document the error on my return.

I need to apologize and eat my words about Claimyr. After dismissing it as impossible, my curiosity got the better of me and I tried it for a complex withholding issue I've been trying to resolve for months. Within 45 minutes I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS representative who had the authority to help with my case. I've literally spent over 12 hours on hold with the IRS over the past few months trying to get this resolved myself. The agent confirmed my employer had miscoded my remote work location and explained exactly what documentation I needed to submit with my return. This service literally saved me days of frustration.

Have you checked if your employer maybe has a corporate office in CA and that's why they're still processing some of your payroll there? My company does this weird split where HR is in one state but payroll processing happens in another, and it messed up my W-2s one year. Worth asking your payroll department if that's what's happening.

Make sure you don't ignore the California W-2 even if it's wrong! California is super aggressive about collecting taxes and will automatically assume you owe them if they get a W-2 showing income there. I learned this the hard way when I moved from California to Texas and my employer messed up my final W-2. I had to file a non-resident California return showing zero California source income and include a written explanation. Such a pain!

This is definitely a frustrating situation, but you're right to be suspicious - this sounds like a clear payroll error. Since you worked entirely in New York during 2024, all your wages and withholdings should be reported on a single W-2 showing New York as your work state. The split you're seeing (federal withholdings on the CA form, state withholdings on the NY form) suggests their payroll system might still have outdated location codes from your 2022 internship. This is more common than you'd think, especially with companies that have offices in multiple states. I'd recommend calling your HR/payroll department first thing Monday morning. Be specific about what you need: a corrected W-2c that consolidates all your 2024 wages and withholdings under New York, since that's where you physically performed all work during the tax year. Don't file your return until this is fixed - it'll save you major headaches with both state tax agencies later. If HR gives you pushback or delays, you can always contact the IRS directly, but most employers will fix this pretty quickly once they understand the issue. Keep documentation of all your communications in case you need to reference them later.