How to obtain old W2 forms for previous years' tax filing?

You've actually got several options for tracking down your old W2s, so don't panic! First, if you've accessed your tax transcripts through the IRS, you're on the right track. While the EINs are masked for security reasons, you should still be able to see the company names and wage amounts on your wage and income transcripts. Look for the "Wage and Income Transcript" specifically, not just the account transcript. For employers you can't identify, try checking your Social Security Statement, which shows all employers who reported wages for you. You can create an account at ssa.gov and access your complete earnings record which will list all employers who paid you. Also, try checking with previous tax preparers if you ever used one, or looking through old emails for digital W2s that might have been sent to you. Many employers use digital W2 services like ADP or Paychex that keep records for several years. If all else fails, you can file Form 4506-T to request a complete wage and income transcript by mail that might have more details than what you see online.

After dealing with a similar nightmare trying to file several years of back taxes, I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) to be incredibly helpful with my old W2s situation. I was missing W2s from 3 different years and couldn't remember all my employers. Their document analysis tool helped me make sense of the partial information I had from my IRS transcripts. I uploaded what I had, and their system helped identify missing information and guided me through what I needed to complete my returns. They even helped decode some of the masked employer information by cross-referencing with other data points. It saved me hours of trying to track down old employers and getting the runaround from HR departments that didn't want to help with old records.

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing this recommendation, and it was genuinely helpful. I was skeptical about how they could help with masked information, but their system was pretty clever about it. I uploaded my IRS transcript and it was able to match some of the masked employers with deposits in my bank statements I also uploaded. For places I couldn't identify, their guided interview asked about jobs I remembered having during certain periods, and it helped fill in the blanks. I successfully filed 3 years of back taxes last month using the information I was able to piece together. Way less stressful than I expected it to be!

If you need to talk to an actual IRS agent about your transcript (which I definitely recommend), don't waste days trying to call them directly. I used a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) after spending 2 weeks trying to get through to the IRS about a similar issue with masked employer info. They basically hold your place in the IRS phone queue and call you when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I got through to an IRS rep in about 40 minutes instead of trying for hours and getting disconnected. The agent was able to see the unmasked employer information and helped me identify several companies I couldn't remember. This saved me sooo much hassle trying to guess where I had worked.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it anyway because I couldn't get through to the IRS after trying for 3 days straight. It actually worked exactly as described. Their system called me when an IRS agent was about to pick up, and I got to speak directly with someone who could see my full unmasked transcript. The agent gave me the names of all five employers I was missing, which let me track down my W2s much more easily. Honestly, it saved me so much time and frustration. Sometimes it's worth paying for a service when the alternative is banging your head against the wall for days.

Another option nobody mentioned is contacting your state's department of revenue/taxation. In many states, employers have to report wage information to the state as well as the feds. I had a similar issue last year and my state tax office was able to provide me with a wage and withholding report that showed all my employers for the past 5 years. It listed the full company names and wages. This was actually easier than dealing with the IRS!

Does anyone know if there's any penalty for filing really late taxes if you're actually OWED a refund? I'm in a similar situation (missing 3 years of W2s) but I'm pretty sure I overpaid taxes for those years.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that you can also try contacting payroll processing companies directly if you remember any of them. Companies like ADP, Paychex, and Ceridian keep W2 records for years even after employers switch services. If you can figure out which payroll company your former employers used (sometimes this info is on old pay stubs if you have any), you can contact them directly. They usually require some identity verification, but they can often provide duplicate W2s going back several years. Also, don't forget to check if any of your employers were government entities (federal, state, or local). Government employers typically have much better record-keeping and are usually more helpful about providing historical W2s. They also often have online portals where former employees can access old tax documents. The combination of your Social Security earnings record, state tax department records, and these payroll company records should help you piece together most of your missing employment history. Good luck!

One more resource that might help - if you've ever had a credit report pulled during those years, some credit monitoring services keep employment history in their records. Services like Credit Karma, Experian, or even your bank's credit monitoring might show previous employers listed on old credit applications. Also, if you filed for unemployment benefits at any point, your state's unemployment office keeps detailed records of all your employers and wages. You can usually request this information even if it was years ago. For the IRS transcript issue specifically, try requesting a "Record of Account" transcript instead of just the standard transcript. Sometimes this version shows more detailed information that might help you identify masked employers. You can request it using Form 4506-T and specifically ask for all years you need. Don't give up - I know it seems overwhelming, but with all these different approaches, you should be able to piece together most of your employment history. The key is trying multiple sources since each one might have different pieces of the puzzle.