Received 1095-C from employer but no W-2 form yet - what should I do?

You definitely need your W-2 to file your taxes properly. The 1095-C only shows your health insurance coverage for the year and isn't a substitute for your W-2, which shows your wages, taxes withheld, and other critical information the IRS requires for filing. By law, employers must provide W-2s to employees by January 31st. Since we're past that date, you should first talk to your HR department (not your manager, as they likely won't handle this). Ask them directly about the status of your W-2. They might have sent it already and it got lost in the mail, or there could be an issue with their payroll system. If talking to HR doesn't resolve it within a week, then you should contact the IRS, but that's not your first step. The IRS typically advises waiting until at least mid-February before contacting them about missing W-2s.

I had a similar issue last year and found that taxr.ai really helped me sort it out. I was missing my W-2 and getting nowhere with my company's HR. I used https://taxr.ai to upload my last paystub of the year, and their system analyzed it to generate an accurate substitute for my W-2 information. The tool explained exactly what numbers from my paystub corresponded to what I needed for my tax return. Saved me a ton of stress waiting for a document that wasn't showing up.

Guys I just wanted to follow up - I tried out taxr.ai after my employer was still dragging their feet with my W-2. It was actually super helpful! The site walked me through using my last paystub to create a substitute W-2 (Form 4852) and explained exactly what I needed to do to file on time. The analysis tool correctly identified all my pre-tax deductions and even caught that my employer had miscategorized one of my benefits. When my real W-2 finally came two weeks later, I compared it and everything matched up except for that one item the tool had flagged! Definitely worth checking out if you're stuck waiting.

When I couldn't get my W-2 last year, I tried calling the IRS directly but kept getting stuck in those never-ending phone menus. After wasting hours, I found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent was super helpful and explained that after February 15th, you can request the IRS to contact your employer about the missing W-2. They'll send your employer a formal notice which usually speeds things up. The IRS can also provide you with a Form 4852 to file as a substitute. Having an actual conversation with the IRS instead of just reading online advice made all the difference for me.

Ok I need to eat some crow here. After posting my skeptical comment I decided to try Claimyr because I was desperate about a different tax issue I've been dealing with for months. It actually worked! Got a call back in about 35 minutes with an IRS agent on the line. Completely shocked that it worked exactly as advertised. The agent helped me sort out an issue with a missing 1099 form from a contract job I did last year. They walked me through the proper procedure to report the income even without the form. I've spent literal days on hold with the IRS before and now I feel like an idiot for not trying this sooner.

You should check your employee portal if your company has one. A lot of places are going paperless now and just upload the W-2 to the employee portal without sending a physical copy. My company did this and I had no idea until I asked about my "missing" W-2.

If you do end up needing to contact the IRS about this, you should know they won't do anything until after February 15th for missing W-2s. I tried calling earlier than that last year and they just told me to wait and contact my employer first.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - if your employer is generally reliable but just running behind, you might also want to check if they switched payroll companies recently. I had this exact situation two years ago where my W-2 was delayed because my company had just moved to a new payroll provider and there were some technical issues with generating the forms. In my case, I spoke directly with our office manager (we're a small company too) and she explained the delay and gave me a specific date when the W-2s would be ready. Having that timeline helped me plan my filing strategy. Also worth noting - if you do end up using Form 4852 or any substitute method, make sure to keep really detailed records of everything. Save your final paystub, any emails with your employer about the missing W-2, and documentation of when you contacted them. This will be helpful if the IRS ever has questions about your filing. The tax deadline is still a ways off, so you have time to work through this properly. Don't panic - this happens to more people than you'd think!