Had a nasty breakup and employer sent W2 to old address. Ex opened it and won't give it to me. Former employer ignores calls. What are my options?
Title: Had a nasty breakup and employer sent W2 to old address. Ex opened it and won't give it to me. Former employer ignores calls. What are my options? 1 I went through a really awful breakup about 2 months ago and moved out of the apartment we shared. I updated my address with most places but completely forgot about my previous job where I worked until November. They sent my W2 to my old address and my ex received it, opened it (which I'm pretty sure isn't legal?), and is now refusing to give it to me. She's being incredibly petty about the whole thing. I've called my former employer like 8 times trying to explain the situation and get another copy, but they either don't pick up or transfer me to HR voicemail that nobody ever checks apparently. I'm getting stressed because I need to file my taxes and don't have my W2! What are my options here? Can I report my ex for opening my mail? Can I force my old company to send me another copy? Help!!
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GalacticGladiator
6 You have several options to get your W2 without dealing with your ex or unresponsive former employer: First, you can contact the IRS directly. Call them at 800-829-1040 and they'll reach out to your employer on your behalf. You'll need to provide your personal info, employer's name and address, and employment dates. They can also provide you with Form 4852 (Substitute for W2) that you can file with your tax return. You can also get your W2 information by requesting a wage and income transcript from the IRS online through their website. This contains all the information reported to the IRS by your employer. Be aware that transcripts might not be available until late May for the current tax year. As for your ex opening your mail - yes, tampering with mail is illegal under federal law. However, pursuing that might create more drama and still wouldn't solve your immediate W2 problem.
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GalacticGladiator
•9 If I use the Form 4852, do I need to put in the exact amounts or can I estimate? And how long does it take for the IRS to contact my employer? I'm really trying to file soon because I'm expecting a decent refund.
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GalacticGladiator
•6 You should try to be as accurate as possible with Form 4852. If you have your final paystub from that employer, it will have year-to-date totals that are very close to what's on your W2. The difference would just be any earnings between your last paystub and December 31st. The IRS typically contacts employers within about 2 weeks, but there's no guaranteed timeframe. If you're eager to get your refund, the wage and income transcript might be your fastest option if it's already available for 2023, though as I mentioned, it sometimes isn't uploaded until May.
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GalacticGladiator
13 Hey, I had a nearly identical situation last year! My ex was being super vindictive about my mail too. I tried the IRS route but was getting frustrated with the wait times. Then I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me reconstruct all my tax documents. I uploaded my last pay stub and some bank statements, and their system analyzed everything and generated a super accurate substitute W2 that I could use for filing. Saved me from having to deal with my ex or wait for my old company to get their act together. They have this cool document analyzer that pulls all the relevant tax info from whatever docs you still have access to.
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GalacticGladiator
•18 Did you need to provide them with your social security number? I'm always a bit cautious about giving that info out to services I'm not familiar with.
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GalacticGladiator
•22 How accurate was the substitute W2 they created? Did you ever get your actual W2 later to compare? I'm worried about filing with incorrect info and then getting in trouble with the IRS.
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GalacticGladiator
•13 They do need your SSN since it's needed for tax documents, but they have really good security protocols - everything's encrypted and they don't store your sensitive info after processing. I was hesitant at first too but their security page convinced me. The substitute W2 they generated was almost identical to my actual W2 which I eventually got months later (found out my company had been sending it to the wrong address for 2 years!). The difference was literally like $12 because of some weird health insurance adjustment. The IRS accepted my return with no issues, and taxr.ai includes documentation that explains everything if you get questioned.
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GalacticGladiator
22 Just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread. I had the same W2 issue but with a roommate who moved out owing me money and taking some of my mail. The service was actually super helpful! I uploaded my last two pay stubs and a bank statement showing my direct deposits, and they generated a perfectly usable substitute W2 form. I was able to file my taxes last weekend and already got notification that my refund is being processed. Saved me weeks of trying to chase down my old employer (who also never returned my calls). Definitely worth checking out if you're in this situation.
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GalacticGladiator
15 I feel your pain! I had a similar issue getting through to the IRS last year when my employer messed up my W2. After spending HOURS on hold, I discovered this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS person in less than 20 minutes. They basically hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to explain my situation to the IRS agent who helped me get a wage transcript with all my W2 info. Saved me from having to deal with my unresponsive employer or filing an incomplete return. Might be worth a try since the IRS can definitely help with this situation.
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GalacticGladiator
•8 How does this actually work? Are they somehow skipping the line or something? Seems too good to be true when the IRS wait times are so ridiculous.
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GalacticGladiator
•17 I'm skeptical. Couldn't this just be done by using the IRS website to get a transcript? Why pay for something when you can just do it yourself online for free?
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GalacticGladiator
•15 They don't skip the line - they basically use an automated system that waits on hold for you. When someone from the IRS picks up, they connect you. It saves you from having to personally sit on hold for hours with your phone tied up. The IRS website is definitely an option for transcripts, but in my case I needed to talk to someone directly because there were some complications with my filing status. Some things require actually speaking to a human. Plus not everybody can easily get verified for an IRS online account - it's gotten pretty strict with their ID verification process. I failed it twice before giving up.
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GalacticGladiator
17 I was definitely skeptical about Claimyr when I first saw it mentioned, but I was desperate after trying to get through to the IRS for three days straight. I decided to give it a shot, and I'm actually impressed. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes after spending HOURS trying on my own previously. The agent was super helpful and walked me through getting a wage transcript and filing Form 4852. My tax situation wasn't simple because I had multiple W2s and one was missing, but they sorted it all out. Definitely saved me more time than I expected. The IRS actually has the power to help in these situations, you just need to be able to speak to a human!
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GalacticGladiator
4 Have you tried going to your former employer in person? Sometimes physically showing up at HR is the only way to get past the ignored calls. Just be polite but persistent. They're legally required to provide your W2. Also, most payroll systems now offer digital W2s. Check if your former employer uses ADP, Paychex, Workday or something similar - you might be able to create/login to an account and download it yourself.
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GalacticGladiator
•12 This worked for me! My ex-employer was ignoring my calls about a missing 1099, but when I showed up in person they printed me a new one on the spot. Sometimes the old-school approach works best.
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GalacticGladiator
•4 Showing up in person definitely cuts through the bureaucracy. Most HR departments are overwhelmed this time of year but they'll prioritize someone standing right in front of them. As for digital systems, that's absolutely right. Many companies use these platforms, and employees retain access even after leaving. The login credentials should still work, and you can usually download W2s from the past few years. It's worth checking your email for any registration information you might have received when you started working there.
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GalacticGladiator
11 Your ex is 100% committing a federal crime by opening your mail. Mail tampering is taken seriously by the USPS Postal Inspection Service. You could file a complaint at https://www.uspis.gov/report. But honestly, the fastest solution is probably just getting the W2 info directly from the IRS with a wage transcript rather than going down the ex drama route.
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GalacticGladiator
•19 The mail tampering angle might feel satisfying but it's probably not worth the hassle. My cousin went through something similar and filing the complaint just created more drama without actually solving the immediate problem. The IRS transcript route is definitely cleaner.
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