How can I track down my old employer's EIN number for my late 2022 tax filing?

You've got a few options for tracking down that EIN without spending your life on hold: 1. Check any other tax documents you might have from that employer - sometimes EINs appear on paystubs, offer letters, or health insurance documents. 2. Request a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS. This will show all information reported to the IRS under your SSN, including W-2 information with the employer's EIN. You can get this online through the IRS website by creating an account at irs.gov/transcripts. The transcript will show all reported income and the associated EIN numbers. 3. Contact your state's Department of Labor or unemployment office. Since employers pay unemployment taxes, they often have this information. 4. If you had health insurance through this employer, your insurance documents might contain the EIN. Don't stress too much about the penalties - filing late is better than not filing at all, and if you're due a refund, there's typically no penalty for filing late (though you generally only have 3 years to claim a refund).

After spending WEEKS trying to track down EINs from two former employers for my late taxes, I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it saved me so much trouble. You upload your paystubs or whatever tax docs you have, and their system uses AI to find the missing information including EINs. It even helped me reconstruct parts of my W-2 based on my last paystub! I was skeptical at first but they somehow have access to databases that can cross-reference employer information. Definitely worth checking out since you're in the same boat I was in with an employer that's out of business.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it actually worked! Uploaded my last paystub and within minutes I had the EIN for my former employer. They were able to extract it from some database and even provided some additional tax info I was missing. Definitely saved me from having to deal with the IRS phone system. Finally got my 2022 return submitted yesterday and feel like a weight has been lifted!

If you still need to talk to the IRS directly (which might be necessary if other methods don't work), I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in the exact same situation last month - needed info from the IRS but couldn't waste hours on hold. Claimyr actually calls the IRS for you and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent picks up. Literally saved me 3+ hours of hold time. You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I initially called the IRS myself and gave up after an hour on hold, then tried Claimyr and got through to an agent who gave me all the employer info I needed from my missing W-2s.

I need to eat my words and apologize to @11. After my skeptical comment I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate to get my EIN issue sorted out. Not only did it work exactly as described, but I got through to an IRS agent who pulled up all my missing W-2 info in minutes. The agent told me they can easily look up all reported W-2s under my SSN including the EINs. After trying for weeks to handle this on my own, I'm kicking myself for not trying this sooner. For anyone else dealing with missing employer info, just call the IRS - but use the callback service to save your sanity.

Another suggestion nobody mentioned - check your state tax return or state tax documents from 2022 if you filed those. Sometimes the state forms have the EIN too. I found my missing EIN this way after searching everywhere else!

I ran into this EXACT problem last year. If you have any coworkers you're still in touch with from that job, ask if they still have their W-2s. The EIN will be the same for all employees. Saved me a ton of trouble!

One more option that hasn't been mentioned - if you remember the company's full legal name, you can try searching the Secretary of State's business records database for the state where the company was incorporated. Even if they went out of business, their registration records usually stay in the system and sometimes include the EIN or Federal Tax ID number. Each state has their own online database you can search for free. Also, if you had direct deposit from this employer, check your bank statements from 2022. Sometimes the company name on the deposit includes their EIN or at least enough identifying information that you could use to track it down through other means. Worth a shot before going through the more complex routes!

Another approach that worked for me when I had a similar situation - try searching for the company on LinkedIn or other professional networking sites. Even if the company is defunct, sometimes former employees still have it listed in their work history, and occasionally the full legal name or other identifying details are there that you can use to cross-reference with other databases. Also, if you had any 401(k) or retirement account with this employer, those documents almost always include the EIN. Check any old statements or rollover paperwork you might have saved. Same goes for any employee handbook or onboarding documents - HR departments typically include the EIN on various internal forms. One last thing - if you're really stuck and need to file soon, you can actually file your tax return without the W-2 by using Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2). You'll need to estimate your wages and withholdings based on your paystubs, but it allows you to file on time while you're still tracking down the official documents. The IRS will match it up with the actual W-2 data once they process everything.