Forgot a small W2 after already filing my taxes - what to do?

If they amend and end up owing a tiny amount, would there be any penalties involved? I had something similar happen with a forgotten 1099 for like $200 and was worried about getting in trouble.

For very small amounts like this, penalties are typically minimal to non-existent. The IRS calculates penalties based on the amount of unpaid tax, so with such a small W2, any potential penalty would be negligible. If the amendment results in you owing additional tax (which may not even be the case here), interest would technically accrue from the original due date. But on such a small amount, we're talking pennies. The IRS is generally much more concerned with substantial unreported income rather than these kinds of honest mistakes with minimal tax impact.

Does that work for other tax situations too? I just realized I forgot to include some charitable donations and I'm wondering if I need to amend for that.

I'm a bit skeptical about using online tools for tax stuff that involves my personal info. How does this actually work? Do you have to upload your entire return?

Yes, it absolutely works for charitable donations too! It can analyze pretty much any tax situation where you need to determine if amending is worth it. You just tell it what you forgot and it calculates the impact. For security concerns, I totally get that. You don't have to upload your entire return - just the relevant information needed for the calculation. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your personal details permanently. I was hesitant at first too, but it's actually pretty straightforward and secure.

How does this service actually work? Does it just hold your place in line somehow? Seems too good to be true considering how impossible it is to reach the IRS.

Yeah right. No way this works. I've tried calling the IRS like 20 times this year and never got through. If this actually worked everyone would be using it. Sounds like a scam to me.

It basically monitors the IRS phone lines and calls you when it's your turn to speak with an agent. It's like having someone wait on hold for you. When they get an agent, your phone rings and connects you directly. As for the skepticism, I totally get it. I thought the same thing initially! But it's actually legitimate - they use an automated system to continuously redial and navigate the IRS phone tree until they get through to an agent. Then they connect you. It's not magic, just technology making the process more efficient. The IRS is understaffed and their phone system is outdated, which is why it's so hard to get through normally.

Thanks for bringing that up! I actually filed through TurboTax but didn't get an advance. I've decided to go ahead and file the amendment after reading everyone's advice. Since it's such a small amount and taxes were already withheld, I'm going to use my refund for bills as planned and then deal with the amendment next month.

That's a great plan. Since you filed through TurboTax and didn't get an advance, you should be able to easily file the amendment through them as well. They actually have a pretty straightforward amendment process built into the software. Just sign back into your account, select the option to amend your return, and follow the prompts to add the missing W2. The system will recalculate everything and prepare the 1040-X for you. Since taxes were already withheld on that small amount, you're right that it probably won't change your situation much at all.

Yes, they absolutely do have automated matching. Every W2 has a copy that goes to the IRS, and their systems eventually match them against your return. Usually happens a few months after filing season ends. For super small amounts though, I've heard they sometimes have thresholds where they don't bother pursuing it.