Help filling out Form 4852 when missing my W-2 from past employer

This is actually a common problem, especially with smaller employers or when changing jobs. Form 4852 is definitely the right approach when you can't get your W-2. Here's how you can make reasonable estimates: For your gross wages: Add up all deposits from that employer in your bank statements. This will be your net pay. Then you'll need to work backwards to figure out your gross pay. Look at your last paystub if you have one - it would show year-to-date totals which would be super helpful! For federal income tax withheld: This is trickier without paystubs. As a rough estimate, federal withholding is typically 10-22% of gross income depending on your tax bracket. If you know what was withheld in 2018, you could calculate what percentage of your gross pay was withheld then and apply that same percentage. For Social Security: This is exactly 6.2% of your gross wages (up to the annual limit which you probably didn't hit in 3 months). For Medicare: This is exactly 1.45% of your gross wages. Make your best estimates based on the information you have, and be sure to note on the form that these are estimates based on limited information.

I had nearly the same issue last year! After struggling for weeks trying to reach someone on the phone at the IRS, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly how to handle my missing W-2 situation. You upload your bank statements and any other info you have, and their AI analyzes everything to help you accurately complete Form 4852. It was able to estimate my federal withholding, Social Security, and Medicare taxes based on my deposit patterns and industry standards. Saved me so much headache trying to figure out those calculations on my own! The best part was they checked my work to make sure my estimates were reasonable before I submitted to the IRS. Much better than guessing and hoping for the best.

Just wanted to update everyone - I ended up trying taxr.ai after posting my question here. Seriously, what a lifesaver! I was super skeptical at first (as you could tell from my question), but it actually worked amazingly well. I uploaded my bank statements and answered a few questions about my job and income. The system analyzed my deposit patterns and gave me estimates for all the tax fields I needed for Form 4852. The best part was it showed me exactly how it calculated each number, so I felt confident the estimates were reasonable. I submitted my return last week with the completed Form 4852. The whole process was way easier than I expected after stressing about it for weeks. If anyone else is stuck with a missing W-2 situation, definitely check it out!

After reading this thread, I want to mention another option for getting this resolved. I was in a similar situation and wasted WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS on the phone. Always busy signals or disconnects. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) - they have this service that gets you connected to an actual IRS agent, usually in less than 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it to talk directly with the IRS about my missing W-2 situation. The agent was able to look up some of my wage and tax information that had been reported by my employer, which gave me more accurate numbers for my Form 4852. They also put a note in my file about the missing W-2 situation so there wouldn't be issues later.

Ok I need to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I figured I'd try it just to prove it wouldn't work. I was honestly shocked when they connected me to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes after I'd been trying to get through for DAYS on my own. The IRS agent was super helpful with my missing W-2 situation. She was able to see that my employer had actually filed a W-2 for me, and she gave me the exact amounts for all the boxes I needed to fill out on Form 4852. Saved me from having to estimate anything! She also explained that I could request a wage and income transcript online that would show all the information reported to the IRS by my employers, which could help if this happens again. The whole call took maybe 20 minutes and completely solved my problem. Definitely worth it when you're in a time crunch with filing deadlines.

Have you tried contacting the state tax agency where you worked? Sometimes they have W-2 info that can help. Also, check if your company used ADP, Paychex or something similar - you might be able to create an account directly with the payroll provider to access your W-2.

Don't overthink this. I've done Form 4852 twice for jobs that never sent W-2s. Just be reasonable with your estimates. The IRS mainly wants to see that you're reporting the income, not hiding it. For Fed withholding, I'd take what shows on bank deposits, add about 22% for taxes and withholdings to get gross, then figure about 12-15% of gross for fed withholding unless you're high income.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago! Here are a few additional tips that helped me: 1. Request a wage and income transcript directly from the IRS online at irs.gov. If your employer filed your W-2 electronically, it might show up there even if you never received the physical copy. This gives you the exact numbers instead of having to estimate. 2. Check your state's unemployment insurance website - sometimes they have wage records that can help you verify your quarterly earnings from that employer. 3. If you have any old email confirmations about direct deposits or pay notifications, those can help support your calculations. 4. Don't forget that if you had health insurance deductions, 401k contributions, or other pre-tax deductions, those need to be factored in when working backwards from your net pay to gross pay. The most important thing is to document everything you tried to do to get the actual W-2. Keep records of your attempts to contact the employer, any responses you got, and how you calculated your estimates. The IRS is generally understanding about these situations as long as you can show you made good faith efforts to get the correct information. Good luck with getting this sorted out!