How to get my W-2 from small business that won't provide it

8 You don't need to wait forever for your employer to give you your W-2! If you haven't received it by February 15th, you have options. First, try one more time with your employer - send an email so you have it in writing that you've requested your W-2 multiple times. Explain that employers are required by law to provide W-2s by January 31st and they're now past the deadline. If that doesn't work, contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. You'll need to provide your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, and any employment dates you have. Also try to estimate your wages and withholding based on your final paystub if you have it. The IRS will contact your employer on your behalf. They'll also send you Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2), which you can use to file your taxes if you don't receive your W-2 in time. You'll need your last pay stub to complete this form as accurately as possible. Keep in mind that using a substitute form might delay your refund as the IRS will need to verify the information.

12 I went through something similar last year and wasted WEEKS trying to get my W-2 from a store that kept giving me excuses. I finally discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me solve this exact problem! You can upload your last paystub to their system, and it uses AI to extract all the tax information for you. It saved me so much stress because it accurately pulled all the withholding information and earnings data from my paystub. Then it guided me through creating a substitute W-2 form that I could use for filing. The whole process took me less than 20 minutes instead of the weeks I spent chasing my employer. Their document analysis is really impressive - it even caught some deductions on my paystub that I would have missed. Definitely worth checking out if you're in this situation!

21 I just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I was skeptical but tried it after seeing this post and it honestly worked perfectly! I uploaded my last three paystubs since I didn't have one with YTD totals, and it analyzed all of them together to calculate my annual earnings and withholdings. The system walked me through filling out Form 4852 with the exact numbers I needed, and I was able to file my taxes last weekend. Already got confirmation that my return was accepted by the IRS! No more waiting around for my unresponsive former employer to get their act together. Such a relief to have this done before deadline!

6 After dealing with non-responsive employers about W-2s for years, I finally found that calling the IRS myself just led to endless hold times. Last month, I discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) - it literally got me through to an IRS agent in 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own! I explained my missing W-2 situation to the agent, and they started the employer contact process immediately. They also emailed me Form 4852 directly while on the phone and walked me through exactly how to fill it out using my last paystub. The agent even flagged my account with notes about the missing W-2 so there wouldn't be delays in processing my return. Seriously, getting through to an actual human at the IRS made all the difference. They know exactly how to handle these situations and gave me the confidence to file without the W-2.

7 I need to eat my words and follow up about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to the IRS about my missing W-2. Holy crap it actually worked! I got a call back in about 20 minutes and was connected to an IRS agent who was super helpful. She took all my information about the employer who hadn't sent my W-2, and started a formal inquiry for me. She also emailed me Form 4852 while we were on the phone and explained exactly what information I needed from my paystub to complete it. I filed my taxes yesterday using the substitute form, and it was so much easier than I expected. Definitely worth it to actually speak with someone who could give me official guidance rather than trying to piece together advice from online forums!

3 Just an additional tip if you have a Paycor account - have you tried logging into their employee self-service portal? Many payroll companies allow employees to download their own W-2s electronically. Try going to https://secure.paycor.com/login and see if you can access your account. You might need to register first if you haven't before, but you should be able to use your SSN to set it up.

11 This happens way too often with small businesses! One thing nobody mentioned - if you file an extension (Form 4868), you get until October to file your complete return. This might be worth considering if you really want the actual W-2 rather than using the substitute form. Just remember that an extension gives you more time to FILE, but you still need to PAY any taxes you owe by the regular April deadline to avoid penalties. So you'd need to estimate what you owe based on your paystubs.