Need to file my deceased brother's taxes but his employer refuses to provide W-2

I'm really sorry about your brother. Filing taxes for a deceased person is already challenging enough without an uncooperative employer. You have a few options here. First, you can contact the IRS directly about this issue. Call them at 800-829-1040 with your brother's personal information, approximate employment dates, and estimated earnings. The IRS can send a formal request to the employer and provide you with Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2). This form lets you estimate your brother's wages and withholding based on the pay stubs you have. Alternatively, you can file Form 4506-T to request your brother's wage and income transcript directly from the IRS, which would show information from any W-2s reported to them. This might take a few weeks though. In the meantime, gather whatever documentation you have - final pay stubs, bank statements showing deposits, etc. Even his prior year's W-2 from this employer can help establish a pattern if he was paid similarly.

I had a similar situation last year when my mom passed and was going in circles with her former employer. I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was honestly a game-changer. It helped me analyze the partial pay stubs I had and built an accurate substitute for her missing W-2. The tool has a specific feature for handling deceased taxpayer situations - you upload whatever documents you have (even incomplete ones), and it extracts all the relevant tax information. It then helps you prepare the substitute form with proper documentation of your good-faith effort to obtain the actual W-2. I was skeptical at first but their document analysis was incredibly accurate.

Just wanted to update - I was the one who asked about taxr.ai above and I ended up trying it for my cousin's tax situation. It was actually really helpful! I uploaded the few pay stubs we had plus her bank statements showing the deposits, and it calculated everything correctly. The system even helped me draft a letter explaining the situation to the IRS and documented all our attempts to get the W-2 from the now-defunct employer. The return was accepted without any issues and we even got her refund faster than I expected. Wish I'd known about this tool earlier - would have saved me a lot of stress and guesswork.

Have you tried reaching out to the IRS directly? I was in this exact situation with my father's final return and spent WEEKS trying to get through to a human at the IRS for help. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold before giving up. The agent was able to access his wage information directly and helped me through the whole process of completing Form 4852 correctly. They also sent an official notice to the employer. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - was shocked that it actually worked after all the frustration of trying to handle this alone.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After commenting above that it sounded like a scam, I was so frustrated with my own IRS situation that I decided to try it anyway. Completely shocked that it actually worked exactly as described. Got a call back within about 40 minutes with an IRS agent on the line. The agent accessed all the W-2 information that had been reported for my brother and confirmed everything we needed for the return. They also filed a report against the employer for failing to provide the W-2 (apparently there are penalties for this). Saved me countless hours of stress and potentially filing incorrect information. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!

Another option - check if your brother had an online account with the payroll system his employer uses. Many companies use ADP, Paychex, Gusto, etc., and employees can often access their W-2s directly through those platforms. If you have access to his email, you might find registration info there. Also, don't forget that as the executor, your dad has legal standing. A lawyer can send a more formal letter that might get better results than your requests. Sometimes just letterhead from an attorney is enough to get companies to comply.

Make sure you're filing as "deceased" correctly. The tax return should have "DECEASED" written across the top with the date of death. The signature line should be signed by the executor as "Personal Representative for [brother's name]." Also, you might need to file Form 56 to notify the IRS of fiduciary relationship. And don't forget that your brother's standard deduction amount doesn't change just because he didn't live the full year - he's entitled to the full amount.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Sarah. Dealing with uncooperative employers during an already difficult time is incredibly frustrating. Here's something that might help - you can also try contacting your state's Department of Labor or Wage and Hour Division. They often have authority over employers who fail to provide required tax documents and can sometimes get faster results than going through the IRS alone. Additionally, if your brother had direct deposit, his bank statements showing the exact deposit amounts and dates can be very helpful for the IRS. They can often match this up with what the employer actually reported (or should have reported) to verify the accuracy of your estimates. One more thing - make sure you're keeping detailed records of every attempt you've made to get the W-2. Document dates, who you spoke with, what they said, etc. This documentation will be valuable if the IRS has any questions later and shows you made good-faith efforts to get the correct information. You're doing a great job helping your family through this difficult process. Don't let this employer's lack of cooperation add unnecessary stress - you have options and the IRS understands these situations happen.