How to get missing Taco Bell W2 after working there briefly?

For employees who haven't received their W2, there's a pretty standard process regardless of which company you're dealing with. First, have your daughter contact the specific Taco Bell location where she worked. Ask to speak with the manager or whoever handles payroll matters. They should be able to tell her how their W2s are distributed (mail, electronic, etc.) and check on the status of hers. If that doesn't work, she can contact Taco Bell corporate HR. For many Taco Bell locations, W2s are processed through Yum! Brands (their parent company). She can try calling their employee hotline at 1-888-473-7258. If neither of these options works by February 15th, she can contact the IRS for help. The IRS can reach out to the employer on her behalf. She'll need to provide them with her dates of employment, an estimate of wages earned, and federal income tax withheld. As a last resort, she can file Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2) with her tax return, using her final pay stub to estimate earnings and withholdings.

I had this exact same issue with Taco Bell last year! I worked at one for about a week and never got my W2. I spent weeks calling the store, the district manager, even Yum! Brands with no luck. Then I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out my missing W2 situation. They have this document review thing where they looked at my last paystub and helped me figure out exactly what to put on my tax forms. Saved me so much stress! They also explained how I could file Form 4852 as a substitute for my missing W2. Honestly wish I found them sooner instead of wasting time with those endless phone calls.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. Totally worth it! I was missing W2s from TWO different jobs (one being a fast food place where I worked for just 9 days). The site walked me through exactly what to do. They reviewed my paystub for one job and helped me reconstruct what I needed for the other job where I had no documentation. Much easier than I expected, and they explained everything in simple terms rather than tax jargon. Their document review feature pointed out things on my paystub I would've missed completely. Definitely recommend if you're in this situation!

Another option you might not know about - if you're still having trouble getting that W2 after contacting the store, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to finally get through to an actual IRS person who helped resolve my missing W2 problem. I was on hold with the IRS for HOURS before hanging up, multiple days in a row. With Claimyr, they held my place in line and called me when an IRS agent was about to answer. Check out how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I talked to sent a formal request to my employer (was Burger King in my case, not Taco Bell, but same situation) and I finally got my W2 about 2 weeks later. Saved me from having to estimate anything on that substitute form.

Okay I feel like I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. I actually tried it after posting my doubtful comment, and holy crap it WORKED! After failing to reach the IRS five separate times (always hanging up after 60+ minutes on hold), I used the service and got a call back when an agent was ready. The IRS person I spoke with was super helpful about my missing W2 situation. They sent an official inquiry to my former employer and explained exactly what would happen next. I'm still kind of shocked this actually worked after all my failed attempts to reach them on my own. For anyone else struggling with missing W2s, definitely worth trying!

Everyone's suggestions are good but honestly for just 2 days of work at Taco Bell the W2 is probably going to show like $100 max. The IRS isn't going to come after you for that tiny amount. My daughter had something similar happen and we just skipped it. Not worth the hassle imo.

Has anyone had success using the YUM Brands employee portal for getting old W2s? I worked at KFC (same parent company as Taco Bell) a few years ago and was able to login and get my W2 even after I quit. Don't remember the exact website but worth googling "YUM Brands employee portal" or "Taco Bell employee login

I went through something very similar with my son last year when he worked at a Pizza Hut for just a few days. Here's what ended up working for us: First, definitely start by calling the specific Taco Bell location where she worked. Even if she was only there 3 days, they're legally required to provide a W2 if any wages were paid. Ask for the manager and explain the situation - sometimes W2s get returned to sender if there was an address issue. If the local store can't help, try the corporate route. Since Taco Bell is owned by Yum! Brands, you can contact their employee services. Many locations also use ADP or another payroll company, so ask the store who handles their payroll processing. One thing that really helped us was having my son's employee ID number and exact dates of employment ready when making these calls. If she has any paystubs, that information should be on there. The IRS deadline for employers to send out W2s was January 31st, so at this point Taco Bell is actually late in providing it. If you don't get anywhere with the employer by next week, definitely contact the IRS directly. They can intervene on her behalf and often that gets employers to act quickly. Even though it's a small amount, it's worth getting the proper W2 rather than estimating on Form 4852 if possible. Good luck!