Mid year payroll provider change - potential W-2 issues when filing 2025 taxes

Thanks for explaining! Quick question - when filing with two W-2s from the same employer but different payroll companies, do I need to do anything special on my tax return? Will the IRS automatically know these are from the same employer or could this trigger some kind of audit flag?

When filing with two W-2s from the same employer but different payroll providers, you'll simply enter both W-2s separately in your tax software or on your tax forms. The IRS systems are designed to handle multiple W-2s, so this won't automatically trigger an audit flag. The key thing to verify is that both W-2s show the same employer name but possibly different Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) if the payroll providers used different ones. When entering the W-2 information, make sure the employer names match exactly as they appear on the forms. The combined income will be correctly calculated for your tax liability.

Did it actually work with payroll provider changes specifically? My situation is a little complicated because my employer is saying they'll issue a full-year W-2 even though I already have a partial one from their old provider. Would the tool help figure out if I'm getting correct advice?

I'm a bit skeptical about tax tools, especially with something specific like this. Did it just give generic advice or did it actually analyze the specific numbers on your W-2s to identify problems? And how did you upload your forms - was that secure?

It definitely works with payroll provider changes - that's exactly what I used it for. You can upload both W-2s and it will analyze them to determine if there's duplicate reporting or missing income. It would immediately flag if your employer incorrectly issued a full-year W-2 when you already have a partial one from another provider. The security is really solid - they use bank-level encryption for uploading documents. And it's not generic advice at all. It specifically analyzed my actual numbers across both W-2s, compared year-to-date totals, and even caught that my 401k contributions weren't properly tracked between providers, which would have messed up my tax deductions.

How does this Claimyr thing actually work? I don't understand how they can get you through to the IRS faster than everyone else. Seems like it would just be the same wait time for everyone?

Yeah right. I've tried EVERYTHING to get through to the IRS and nothing works. They're completely unreachable. I seriously doubt any service can magically get you connected when millions of other people are calling. Sounds like a scam to take your money for something that's impossible.

It works by using an automated system that continuously calls the IRS and navigates the phone tree until it reaches a point where you can be connected to a representative. When a spot opens up, they immediately call you and connect you to that open line. Basically they're doing the waiting for you, and you only get on the line when there's actually someone available. As for the skepticism, I totally get it. I was incredibly frustrated too after trying for weeks. But the system actually does work - they've found a legitimate way to navigate the IRS phone system efficiently. It's not a scam or magic - it's just smart automation that handles the most annoying part (waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected).

Thanks for bringing this up - I just checked and the EINs ARE different! The ADP W-2 has a different EIN than what our company normally uses. Does this make the situation more complicated? Should I specifically mention this to my employer when I talk to them?

Yes, you should definitely mention the different EINs to your employer. This makes it even more critical that they only issue a W-2 for the period they handled payroll themselves. With different EINs, the IRS system will absolutely treat these as separate employers, so if your company issues a W-2 for the entire year, the IRS computers will see this as you working for two different companies - one for part of the year (the ADP EIN) and one for the whole year (your employer's direct EIN). This would make your reported income significantly higher than your actual earnings and would definitely trigger tax issues.

I had a similar issue! Also watch the Social Security wages box. When my company switched payroll providers mid-year, the second provider didn't know I had already hit the Social Security wage base limit, so they kept withholding Social Security taxes when they shouldn't have. Had to file for a refund of the excess.

This is such valuable advice! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and hadn't even thought about the HSA contribution limits. My company switched from Paychex to their own internal system in August, and I've been contributing to my HSA all year through payroll deduction. I just realized I need to check that both W-2s don't show my full annual HSA contribution - if they both report the contributions for their respective periods incorrectly, it could look like I over-contributed when I actually stayed within the limits. Thanks for pointing this out, it could have saved me a lot of headache come tax time! Also wondering - for the dependent care assistance, is there a specific box on the W-2 I should be looking at? I've been using our company's DCAP benefit but I'm not sure how to verify it's being reported correctly across the two different payroll systems.