My W-2 has Boxes 1-6 completely empty - is this an error?

What happens if they don't fix it before the filing deadline? Can they get in trouble for this? My brother had a similar situation last year with a small company.

If your employer doesn't provide a corrected W-2 by the filing deadline, you have a few options. You can file for an extension to give yourself more time, which extends your filing deadline to October 15th, though you'd still need to pay any estimated taxes owed by the regular April deadline to avoid penalties. Employers can indeed face penalties for failing to provide correct W-2s. The IRS can impose penalties ranging from $50 to $290 per W-2, depending on how late they are and whether the failure was intentional. For small businesses, these penalties can add up quickly.

Does it actually work with restaurant payroll systems? Those are notoriously weird with how they handle tipped employees. Would it understand the difference between reported tips and automatic gratuities?

I'm a bit skeptical about using third-party services with my payroll info. How secure is this? Did you have to give them your SSN or anything like that?

It absolutely works with restaurant payroll systems! I used it when I was working at a chain restaurant last year. The system correctly identified my base wages separate from my reported tips and automatic gratuities, which was super helpful since my employer had miscategorized some of my income. Regarding security, I was initially concerned too. You don't need to provide your SSN - just your paystubs. They use the same encryption as banks, and you can always block out your SSN on the paystubs before uploading if you're worried. They just need the wage and tax withholding information to do the analysis.

How exactly does this work? Do they just dial the IRS number for you or something? I don't understand how they can get you through faster than calling yourself.

This sounds like BS. If it was this easy to get through to the IRS, everyone would be doing it. I spent 3 hours on hold last month and eventually gave up. No way some service can magically skip the line.

They don't dial for you or let you skip the line - it's more clever than that. They use an automated system that waits in the IRS phone queue for you. The system monitors the hold music and can detect when it changes (meaning an agent is about to pick up). When that happens, they call you and connect you to the IRS call just as the agent comes on the line. It works because most people can't sit on hold for 2-3 hours during a workday. With Claimyr, you can go about your day, and they'll only call you when an agent is actually available. It saved me hours of hold time, but you're still going through the normal IRS queue - you just don't have to personally wait on hold.

Thanks for the advice about Form 4852! I do have my December paystub with all the YTD numbers. Would I need to attach my paystub to the form as proof? And do I need to tell my employer I'm doing this, or will the IRS contact them directly?

You don't need to attach your paystub to Form 4852, but definitely keep it for your records in case the IRS has questions later. You should make a good faith effort to get a corrected W-2 from your employer first - document your requests by email if possible. The IRS will contact your employer about the discrepancy, so they'll find out eventually. It's generally better to tell them what you're doing as a courtesy, but you're not legally required to inform them. The most important thing is getting your taxes filed accurately and on time using the information you have available.

Is "statutory employee" that checkbox in Box 13? What exactly does that even mean and why would it cause Boxes 1-6 to be empty?

Yes, "statutory employee" is checkbox 13-2 on the W-2. Statutory employees are a special category where you're treated as an employee for Social Security and Medicare purposes, but as an independent contractor for federal income tax purposes. This means no federal income tax is withheld from your pay (which is why boxes 1-2 would be empty), but Social Security and Medicare taxes are still withheld (boxes 3-6 should still have numbers). Most restaurant managers definitely shouldn't be classified as statutory employees - that's typically for certain salespeople, life insurance agents, and piece-work workers in specific industries. If you're a regular restaurant manager on salary or hourly wages, you should be a regular employee with all boxes filled out normally.