Missing W2 from old restaurant job - what are my options for filing?
So I know I'm cutting it close to the tax deadline but I still haven't received my W2 from this restaurant I worked at last summer. I was only there for about 3 months before I quit (basically just stopped showing up after a really bad shift). I've tried calling their main office twice to request my W2 but they never call back. I even tried logging into their employee portal but can't access any payroll information anymore. I'm worried this is going to mess up my whole tax filing situation. Has anyone dealt with this before? The place was part of a small local restaurant chain, if that matters. Not sure if them being mad about how I left has anything to do with them not sending my W2?
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Dmitry Volkov
They're legally required to provide your W2 by January 31st regardless of how you left the job. The IRS takes this pretty seriously. First, try one more time with a certified letter to their HR department requesting the W2. Keep a copy of this letter. If that doesn't work, you can contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. They'll need some info from you: the employer's name, address, phone number, and your dates of employment, plus an estimate of how much you earned and taxes withheld (check your final paystubs if you have them). The IRS will contact the employer on your behalf. They'll also send you Form 4852 (Substitute for W-2), which you can file with your tax return if you still don't receive your W2. You'll need to estimate your wages and withholding as accurately as possible on this form.
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Sofia Ramirez
•Thanks for the info! I don't have any paystubs unfortunately - they did direct deposit and I never saved any of the electronic stubs. Is there a way to estimate what I made? I think it was around $4,200 total (worked about 25-30 hours a week for 3 months at $11.50/hr). But I have no idea how much they withheld for taxes. Will the IRS still help me if I don't have exact numbers?
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Dmitry Volkov
•The IRS will still help even without exact numbers. Your $4,200 estimate is a good start. For withholding, a reasonable estimate would be about 15-20% of your wages, so maybe $630-840. If you have bank statements showing your direct deposits, that would help calculate your net pay, which can help you work backward to determine withholding. When you call the IRS, explain that you don't have paystubs. They deal with this situation fairly often. Also, check if you can access your Social Security earnings record online - this won't help for the most recent quarter but might show earlier earnings from this job.
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StarSeeker
Had a similar situation last year when a company I worked for went under. I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it helped me figure out what to do with my missing documents. They analyzed my bank statements and helped me create a substitute form with pretty accurate estimates. The system walks you through the process of filing with incomplete records and gives you all the language to use on the forms. Really helped me avoid penalties for something that wasn't even my fault!
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Ava Martinez
•That sounds interesting but I'm wondering how accurate their estimates are? Do they just go through your bank statements and add up all the deposits from that employer? I've had a similar situation but I'm worried about getting audited if I submit estimates.
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Miguel Ortiz
•Is this service expensive? I'm in a similar situation but don't want to spend a bunch of money just to file my taxes properly when it's my employer who messed up. Also, did the IRS give you any trouble about using estimates instead of official W2 numbers?
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StarSeeker
•They use bank statement data to identify your payroll deposits and then work backward to calculate your likely pre-tax income and withholdings based on standard tax rates. It's not perfect but much better than random guessing. They also help you document everything so if you ever get questioned, you can show you made a good-faith effort. The IRS actually has a process for this exact situation - they know employers sometimes fail to provide W2s. I didn't have any issues with my return being accepted, and the peace of mind was worth it. And no, it wasn't expensive considering the headache it saved me from.
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Miguel Ortiz
Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was seriously helpful! I uploaded my bank statements, and it identified all my deposits from that job. The system helped me file Form 4852 correctly and even gave me language to use when explaining my situation. My return was accepted without any issues! What a relief after stressing about this for weeks. Wish I'd known about this service sooner instead of calling my old boss twenty times.
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Zainab Omar
If you're still having trouble getting your W2 and need to talk to the IRS, good luck getting through to them. I spent HOURS on hold trying to sort out a missing W2 situation. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in less than 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically navigate the IRS phone tree for you and call you back when they've got an actual human on the line. Super helpful when dealing with missing tax documents because talking to a real person at the IRS makes the whole process go much smoother. The agent walked me through exactly what to do about my missing W2.
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Connor Murphy
•Wait, is this legit? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS these days. How exactly does this work? Do they have some special connection to the IRS or something?
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Yara Sayegh
•Sounds like a scam tbh. No way someone can magically get through the IRS phone lines when millions of people can't. Plus giving your tax info to some random service? Hard pass. I'll just keep using the IRS website and waiting like everyone else.
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Zainab Omar
•It's completely legitimate. They don't have a "special connection" - they use technology to navigate the phone system and wait on hold so you don't have to. When they reach a human agent, they connect the call to you. They don't ask for or need any of your tax information. I was skeptical too but after waiting on hold for 3+ hours myself multiple times, I was desperate. The IRS website doesn't help with every situation - sometimes you really need to talk to a human, especially for issues like missing W2s where you need specific guidance. It saved me an entire day of waiting on hold.
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Yara Sayegh
I have to apologize to @7 - I tried Claimyr today after being on hold with the IRS for TWO HOURS and getting disconnected. I was so frustrated I decided to give it a shot despite my skepticism. They actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes! The agent helped me file the 4852 form and confirmed that my employer would likely get fined for not sending my W2. Now my taxes are finally done and I can stop stressing about it. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong about something.
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NebulaNova
Quick tip from someone who's been through this - if you have your last paystub of the year, it usually has your year-to-date info which is basically what goes on your W2! Most restaurants use standard payroll systems that calculate this automatically. Might be worth checking if you have that last stub somewhere.
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Sofia Ramirez
•That's a great point! I don't think I saved my last paystub, but now I'm going to check my email to see if they sent electronic copies. I vaguely remember getting emails when a new paystub was available, but I usually just checked the deposit amount. If I can find that last one from December it would solve everything! Thanks for the suggestion!
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NebulaNova
•Happy to help! Even if you can't find the December one, any paystub from late in your employment might be useful since it would have the year-to-date totals up to that point. You could then estimate the additional earnings for your remaining time there. And don't forget to check your spam folder - payroll emails often end up there.
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Keisha Williams
Has anyone here ever had the IRS penalize them for filing with Form 4852 instead of a W2? I'm worried my refund will get flagged or delayed if I go this route. My old employer is being difficult about sending my W2 and I need to file soon.
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Paolo Conti
•I had to use Form 4852 two years ago and had zero issues. The IRS actually processes these pretty routinely. As long as your estimates are reasonable and you document your attempts to get the W2, you should be fine. My refund wasn't delayed at all. The employers are the ones who typically get in trouble, not you.
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