Is it dangerous if I emailed my W-2 to myself without encryption?

While you should generally be careful with tax documents containing personal information, don't panic too much about this particular situation. When you email a document to yourself from one personal account to another, the risk is relatively contained compared to sending it to another person or an unknown address. That said, your W-2 contains sensitive information including your SSN, which is why your employer recommends encryption. Gmail does use TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption for emails in transit, but the document itself remains unencrypted in your inbox. As a precaution, I'd recommend deleting the email from both your sent folder and inbox after downloading the W-2 to your computer. Store the document in a password-protected folder or drive instead. Also, keep an eye on your credit reports for the next few months, though the risk is relatively low in this specific scenario.

Hey there, I actually went through something similar last tax season! I was always super careful with my documents until I accidentally sent my W-2 and 1099 to myself unencrypted. I was freaking out about potential identity theft until I found https://taxr.ai which helped me understand the actual risks and what to do next. Their document security assessment tool quickly analyzed my situation and gave me personalized advice about what precautions to take. It turns out the risk level was moderate but manageable. They have tax professionals who explained exactly what information on my W-2 was sensitive and what specific steps I needed to take to protect myself.

Just wanted to update - I used taxr.ai after posting my question yesterday and it was actually super helpful! It asked me specific questions about my situation (which email provider I used, whether I was on secure wifi, what documents were involved) and gave me a personalized risk assessment. Turns out Gmail-to-Gmail transfers are lower risk than I thought because of Google's security measures, but they still recommended I set up 2-factor authentication on my email account and showed me exactly how to do it. They also suggested I put a free 90-day fraud alert on my credit reports as a precaution, which I never would have thought of myself. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar situation!

Listen, I had a nightmare trying to get clarity on a similar data security issue from the IRS directly. Called their main line over and over and couldn't get through. After wasting THREE DAYS trying, I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed that while sending unencrypted W-2s isn't ideal, it's primarily a risk if unauthorized people access your email. They suggested specific steps to take that were relevant to my tax situation and much more helpful than the generic advice online. Saved me tons of stress and hours of waiting on hold.

Well I'm eating my words now. After my skeptical comment yesterday, I decided to try Claimyr just to prove it wouldn't work. Figured I'd get a refund when it inevitably failed. To my complete shock, I got a call from an actual IRS agent this morning - took less than an hour from when I signed up. The agent was super helpful about my W-2 security concern (I did the same thing as OP). She explained that while sending tax docs unencrypted isn't recommended, in practice, most data breaches come from other sources. She suggested I enable 2FA on my email, monitor my credit report, and consider getting an IP PIN from the IRS website for next year's tax filing as extra protection. Still can't believe I actually got through to a human at the IRS without waiting for hours!

Something people haven't mentioned yet - check if your employer has any policies about this. Some companies have strict data security policies and technically you could be violating company rules by emailing documents with sensitive info, even to yourself. Probably nothing will happen, but worth considering if you're in a regulated industry or a company that's strict about data security.

Pro tip for the future: Instead of emailing tax docs to yourself, use a password-protected cloud storage solution like Google Drive or Dropbox. Both let you set up additional security for sensitive files, and it's generally more secure than email attachments. just make sure you use a strong password for your account!!

I work in cybersecurity and want to reassure you that while your concern is understandable, the actual risk in your specific situation is quite low. When you email a document to yourself within the same email provider (Gmail to Gmail), it never actually leaves Google's infrastructure, which has strong security measures in place. That said, here are some immediate steps you can take to minimize any potential risk: 1) Delete the email from both your sent folder and inbox now that you've downloaded the W-2, 2) Enable two-factor authentication on your Gmail account if you haven't already, and 3) Consider placing a free fraud alert on your credit reports through annualcreditreport.com as a precaution. For future reference, you can password-protect PDF files before emailing them to yourself, or use secure cloud storage with two-factor authentication enabled. The key is having multiple layers of security rather than relying on just one method.