Previous employer refusing to provide W-2 - what are my options?

This happens more than you'd think, especially with smaller businesses. The good news is you have options! First, your employer was legally required to mail your W-2 by January 31st. Since they haven't, you should: 1. Try one more formal request in writing (email or certified mail) stating that you're requesting your W-2 as required by law and keep a copy. 2. If they still don't provide it, contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040. Have your personal info ready along with your employer's name, address, phone number, and your dates of employment and estimated wages. 3. The IRS will contact the employer for you and send you a Form 4852 (substitute W-2) that you can use to file your taxes. 4. You'll need to estimate your wages and withholdings as accurately as possible. Check your final pay stub of the year if you have it - it should show year-to-date totals. This won't necessarily delay your refund if you act quickly, but you'll want to get this process started ASAP.

I had almost the exact same issue last year and was pulling my hair out until I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helps with tax document issues. They have this feature where you can upload your paystubs and they'll help create a substitute W-2 with all the correct calculations. I was skeptical at first, but they made the process super easy, especially for figuring out all the withholding amounts which I was totally confused about. They even helped me fill out the Form 4852 correctly. The best part was that I could chat with a tax expert who explained everything clearly.

Just wanted to follow up - I ended up trying taxr.ai after seeing this recommendation and it was seriously a lifesaver! I uploaded my last three paystubs and their system calculated all my YTD totals. The expert I chatted with walked me through exactly how to fill out Form 4852 and what to do with my state tax forms too. I was worried about getting the withholding amounts right but they explained how to verify everything. Just filed my taxes yesterday using their calculations and it was way easier than I expected!

Another option that worked for me when I was in this EXACT situation - I tried for weeks to get my W-2 from my old job with no luck. I got fed up with getting nowhere, so I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get through to a human at the IRS without waiting for hours. They have this service where they wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when an agent is on the line. There's a video that shows how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was able to explain my situation to the IRS agent, and they not only sent me the Form 4852, but they also contacted my employer directly. Magically, my W-2 showed up in the mail a week later. I think my employer got scared when they heard from the IRS lol.

Ok I need to apologize and eat my words here. I was super skeptical about this Claimyr thing but I was desperate after waiting on hold with the IRS for 2+ hours and getting disconnected TWICE. I decided to try it yesterday and it actually worked exactly as described. Their system waited on hold for almost 3 hours (I was doing other things) and then called me when an agent was on the line. The IRS agent was super helpful once I explained my W-2 situation, and they're sending me the Form 4852. They also said they'd contact my employer, so hopefully that lights a fire under them. Never been so happy to be wrong about something!

Another thing to try - check if your W-2 is available on the IRS website. You can create an account at irs.gov and sometimes they have W-2 info reported by employers even if they didn't send it to you. I found mine there last year when my employer claimed they "mailed it" but it never showed up.

You should definitely report them to your state's labor department too! It's illegal for them to withhold your W-2. My cousin's employer did this and got fined pretty heavily when the state found out. They were doing shady stuff with the payroll taxes.