How to Find My Missing W2's and 1099s Online - Any Database Recommendations?

The most reliable source for your tax documents is the IRS's "Get Transcript" service, which sounds like what you've already tried. The 2-day verification is standard security protocol - unfortunately there's no way around that wait time. If you need these documents urgently, here are some alternatives: 1. Contact your previous employers directly. Their HR/payroll departments can typically provide duplicate W2s fairly quickly. 2. For 1099s, reach out to the companies that paid you as a contractor. 3. Check if you have an online account with payroll providers like ADP, Paychex, or Gusto, as many employers use these services and they often maintain tax document archives. 4. If you used tax preparation software in previous years, log into your account as they typically store copies of your documents. Remember that no third-party website will have "all" your W2s and 1099s stored - that would be a major privacy concern! Only the IRS and your employers/payers have the complete set of your tax documents.

After dealing with a similar nightmare last year (moved twice in 6 months, box with all my tax stuff vanished), I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a lifesaver! It's not exactly a database of W2s, but it helped me reconstruct my tax situation. You upload whatever docs you do have, and it uses some AI magic to identify what's missing and helps you track down the right information. It connected me with the right resources based on my employment history. Super straightforward process, and it even gave me a checklist of exactly what to ask for when I contacted my old employers. The best part was that it analyzed my partial documents and flagged that I was missing a 1099 I didn't even know about from a freelance gig I'd forgotten!

Just wanted to follow up - I took the plunge and tried taxr.ai after my frustration with the IRS verification delays. Honestly, it was way more helpful than I expected! I had a complete mess of partial tax docs from three different jobs last year, and the system immediately identified that I was missing a W2 from my summer job and gave me the exact contact information for their payroll department. But the real surprise was when it flagged that I should have a 1099-K from PayPal that I had completely forgotten about from selling stuff online! The document organization feature alone made it worth it. No more digging through email folders trying to find that random tax form I know I saved somewhere. Definitely less stressful than my usual tax prep scramble.

If you're still waiting on the IRS verification and need to speak with someone there directly, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in the same boat last tax season - desperately needed to talk to someone at the IRS about missing documents but kept getting stuck in their phone queue for HOURS. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 3+ hour wait I was experiencing on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was able to verify which forms had been filed under my SSN and gave me instructions on how to request copies directly. Saved me a ton of stress when I was up against a deadline!

I take back what I said about Claimyr. After my fourth attempt calling the IRS myself and getting disconnected after 2+ hours on hold each time, I decided to try it out of pure desperation. Not gonna lie, I was SHOCKED when I got a call back connecting me to an actual IRS representative after about 15 minutes. The agent was able to confirm exactly which W2s and 1099s had been reported under my SSN for the past year, and I was able to request transcripts be mailed to me. For anyone as skeptical as I was - yes, you still talk to the same IRS agents and they still have the same limitations on what they can do for you. But the difference between wasting an entire day on hold versus getting things resolved in under an hour was huge. Wish I'd tried it sooner instead of stubbornly waiting on hold repeatedly.

Has anyone had luck with wage and income transcripts directly from the IRS? I know they don't show state withholding info but I'm wondering if they're detailed enough to use for filing if you can't get the actual W2s?

If your using TurboTax from previous years, they save copies of all ur docs I'm pretty sure. I was able to download my old W2s from there when my laptop crashed last year. Worth a try if that's what u used before?