Former Employer Hasn't Provided W-2 - Need IRS Form 4852 Guidance

I would... proceed carefully with this situation. There are several avenues you could pursue to obtain your wage information without direct employer contact. First, consider requesting your Wage and Income Transcript directly from the IRS. This might show your reported wages even if you don't have the actual W-2 yet. You can request this through the Get Transcript Online tool or by submitting Form 4506-T. If that doesn't work, check your final paystub from 2023 - it should show year-to-date totals that will be close to what would appear on your W-2. Not perfect, but it gives you something to work with. I was in a similar situation last year... it was incredibly stressful but I finally got everything resolved.

I had this exact situation with a toxic former employer who "forgot" to send my W-2. After two weeks of trying to get through to the IRS on their standard number (1-800-829-1040), I discovered Claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 30 minutes. The agent was able to access my wage information in their system and guided me through completing Form 4852 correctly with the proper withholding amounts. Honestly shocked at how complex this process is - the tax code really doesn't account for employment disputes! https://claimyr.com/?ref=reddit

Back in 2022, I faced an identical predicament with a company that went bankrupt. What worked for me was filing IRS Form 3949-A (Information Referral) to report the employer for failing to provide tax documents. Within 14 days of submitting this form, my W-2 mysteriously appeared in my mailbox. The employer likely received notification from the IRS and decided compliance was easier than dealing with penalties. Sometimes formal escalation is the most efficient path forward when standard channels are exhausted.

Have you checked if your wage information is already available on the IRS website? I was in a similar situation and discovered that even though I didn't have my physical W-2, the IRS already had my wage data in their system. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my tax transcript and it showed all my income sources including the missing W-2 information. The tool identified exactly where to find my wage data on the transcript and calculated my withholdings. Saved me from having to estimate anything on Form 4852. Have you tried pulling your transcript to see if your wage information is already there?

Be extremely cautious about estimating your income on Form 4852. I made a $1,247 error on my withholding estimate in 2022, which triggered an automated review and delayed my refund by exactly 87 days. The IRS eventually corrected it based on what the employer had reported, but the delay caused me to miss a time-sensitive payment. If you must estimate, I'd recommend being conservative on the withholding amount - it's better to potentially owe a small amount than to claim a larger refund than you're entitled to, which raises more flags in their system.

I processed payroll for 7 years, and there's a specific timeline you should follow. As of April 15, 2024, you're well past the legal deadline for W-2 distribution (January 31, 2024). On February 15th, you became eligible to contact the IRS directly about the missing form. By March 1st, you should have submitted Form 4852. Since you're now in mid-April, I'd recommend filing for an extension using Form 4868 by April 18th, which gives you until October 15th to file your complete return. During this extended period, continue pursuing your W-2 through the IRS channels others have mentioned.

There appears to be some misunderstanding regarding Form 4852 completion requirements. The earnings estimation section doesn't require absolute precision - it's designed for situations exactly like yours. Per IRS Publication 5, you're permitted to use your final paystub, bank deposits, or other financial records to make a reasonable estimation. The key term here is "reasonable basis" for your figures. Should the IRS later receive your actual W-2 data from your employer, they'll automatically reconcile any discrepancies without penalty to you, provided your estimate was made in good faith.

Word of warning from someone who's been there - don't wait for the IRS letter method to work before taking action. 😅 I sent a letter similar to what you're planning and waited... and waited... and waited. Six months later, I got a form response suggesting I file Form 4852. By then, I was dealing with failure-to-file penalties that took another three months to get removed. The IRS mail system is... how do I put this nicely... not exactly known for its speed. File that extension ASAP while you work on getting the actual information!

Based on collective experience from this sub, your most efficient path forward is: 1. Request your Wage and Income Transcript from irs.gov/transcripts 2. File Form 4852 using data from your last paystub or transcript 3. Submit Form 3949-A to report the employer's failure to provide W-2 4. File Form 4868 for an extension if needed The consensus here is that waiting for employer compliance rarely works if they've already missed the deadline by this much. The IRS actually has your wage data in their system already - employers submit this information separately from sending you your copy. Your focus should be on accessing that information rather than waiting for an uncooperative employer.