Help with calculating withholdings on Form 4852 when employer won't send W-2

You're in a common but frustrating situation! Let me help break this down for you: For your withholding questions: - Social Security tax is a flat 6.2% on earnings up to $168,600 (for 2025) - Medicare tax is a flat 1.45% on all earnings (plus an additional 0.9% for high earners over $200,000) - Federal income tax varies based on your tax bracket, filing status, and deductions, so there's no single percentage For your W-2 question, Box 1 shows your taxable wages AFTER certain pre-tax deductions (like 401k contributions or health insurance) have been removed, but BEFORE income tax withholding. Your Social Security and Medicare taxes are calculated on a slightly different wage amount (Box 3 and Box 5). For calculating this yourself, the IRS has a withholding estimator on their website that might help: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator Also, look at your final paystub from 2024 if you have it - it should show year-to-date totals that would match what should be on your W-2!

I was in almost the exact same situation last year with a missing W-2. What saved me was using taxr.ai - it's a tool that helps reconstruct your tax information when you don't have all your documents. I uploaded my last paystub (though it sounds like you don't have one) and it worked backward to help calculate all the withholding amounts and my total earnings for Form 4852. I also gave it a photo of my previous year's W-2, and it was able to help estimate the current year values based on that comparative data. The site (https://taxr.ai) basically walks you through exactly what to put on each line of Form 4852 when your employer hasn't provided a W-2. It's a lot easier than trying to figure out all these calculations yourself.

I just tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it actually worked with just my bank deposits! I was super skeptical but I uploaded screenshots of my bank statements showing my direct deposits and my previous year's W-2 for comparison, and it calculated pretty accurate estimates of what my withholdings should have been. The best part was it showed me exactly what to put on each line of Form 4852 - even explaining which boxes corresponded to which lines on the form. It also calculated the correct Social Security and Medicare withholdings automatically using the correct percentages. I'm actually relieved because I was getting really stressed about meeting the filing deadline!

Hey! If you're still having trouble getting your W-2 from your employer, you should try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS to report my missing W-2 and request a replacement. Their phone lines were constantly busy or had 2+ hour wait times. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 12 minutes who was able to see what my employer had reported and give me the exact numbers I needed for my Form 4852. They also officially noted in my file that I had attempted to get my W-2 multiple times, which protects you if there are any discrepancies later. Their service basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to pick up. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Getting the official numbers from the IRS is actually better than estimating because it ensures your Form 4852 matches exactly what the IRS has on file.

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment earlier. I was desperate after waiting on hold with the IRS for 3+ hours and getting disconnected twice, so I decided to try Claimyr despite my doubts. I'm honestly shocked - it actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 20 minutes, and suddenly I was talking to a real IRS agent. The agent was able to see what my employer had reported for my wages and withholdings and gave me all the exact numbers I needed for Form 4852. The whole call took maybe 15 minutes once I was connected. Had I known about this earlier, I would have saved myself days of stress. I was able to complete my Form 4852 with the correct information and submit my return. Just wanted to follow up since I was so publicly doubtful before.

Another tip for filling out Form 4852: if you have any of your paystubs from the same job last year (even if not the final one), you can use the withholding percentages shown there as a guide. The percentages for Social Security and Medicare will be the same (6.2% and 1.45%). For federal tax withholding, if your salary was relatively stable, the percentage might be similar too. Also, don't forget that when you submit a tax return with Form 4852, the IRS may take longer to process your refund because they'll likely do additional verification. Make sure to be responsive if they contact you for more information.

I just wanna point out that if your employer is failing to provide your W-2, you should report them to the IRS using Form 4852. There's literally a box on the form where you indicate whether you've attempted to obtain your W-2 from your employer. Employers are required BY LAW to provide W-2s by January 31st, and they can face penalties for not doing so. Some crappy employers try to avoid sending W-2s to avoid payroll taxes. Dunno if that's happening in your case but thought you should know.

Pro tip from someone who's been doing taxes for years - when you file with Form 4852, KEEP A COPY of everything. If your employer eventually sends a W-2 that doesn't match your estimates (even if it arrives after you've filed), you'll need to file an amended return with Form 1040X. If the differences are small, you might not need to amend, but if there's a significant difference in income or withholding, the IRS will eventually notice the discrepancy when they match documents.