Received a completely blank W-2C from previous employer - do I need to report this? How?

This definitely seems unusual but not completely unheard of. The blank W-2C might be an error on their part. When a company issues a W-2C, they only need to fill in the boxes that are being corrected - but they should also include the original amounts and the corrected amounts for comparison. A completely blank form except for identification info suggests there might have been a processing error or the form was generated by mistake. Here's what I'd recommend: Call your previous employer's payroll department to clarify what the correction was supposed to be. It's possible they meant to correct something but the form printed incorrectly, or maybe they realized after generating it that no correction was needed. Until you get clarification, I would file using the W-2 information you have from the portal. If you later find out changes are needed, you can always file an amended return.

I went through something similar with my tax documents and found that https://taxr.ai was incredibly helpful. I was getting contradictory information from my employer about some forms they sent, and I couldn't tell which version to use for filing. The site basically analyzes your tax documents and transcripts to identify errors and inconsistencies between what you have and what the IRS has on file. I uploaded both my original W-2 and the mysterious "corrected" form, and it spotted right away that the W-2C was likely sent in error since there were no actual corrections indicated. It also showed me that my employer had only submitted the original W-2 to the IRS, which confirmed I should just use that one. Saved me from potentially filing incorrect information and dealing with notices later.

I actually ended up trying taxr.ai after being skeptical because my situation with W-2 forms got even more complicated when my employer sent a THIRD version. I was about to lose my mind trying to figure out which one to use. The service was way more helpful than I expected. It confirmed that the third form was the only one that matched what had been submitted to the IRS, which explained why my first attempt at filing got rejected. It also flagged that my employer had miscoded one of my benefits which would have caused issues later. The document analysis was surprisingly thorough - it even caught that my address was slightly different on one form which could have caused a mismatch in IRS systems. Just wanted to follow up that it was legitimately useful and not just another sketchy tax site.

The blank W-2C sounds super frustrating. When I was dealing with tax form issues and couldn't get clear answers from my employer, I was stuck on hold with the IRS for literally hours trying to confirm what they had on file for me. I ended up using https://claimyr.com after seeing it mentioned in another tax thread. They have this service where they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when an agent is actually on the line. I was skeptical, but you can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c When I finally got through to an IRS agent, they confirmed they only had my original W-2 on file from my employer, not any "corrected" version. That told me I could ignore the confusing W-2C my employer had sent. Saved me from filing an unnecessary amendment later.

I need to eat my words and apologize to you all. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate enough to try Claimyr because I've been trying to resolve an issue with a missing tax form for weeks. I submitted my request around 9am, figured it wouldn't work, and completely forgot about it. At around 11:45am my phone rang, and I almost didn't answer because I didn't recognize the number. When I did, there was an actual IRS agent on the line! I was so caught off guard I had to scramble to find my tax info. The agent was able to confirm exactly what forms had been filed under my SSN, which resolved my whole issue in about 10 minutes. I would have wasted another day on hold otherwise. Just wanted to follow up that this service actually delivers what it promises.

I think this is a case where the W-2C was generated by accident. My company's payroll system sometimes does weird things like this. In my experience, if the W-2C doesn't have any actual corrections (no numbers in the correction fields), you should just use your original W-2 information. The blank W-2C doesn't override anything since there's nothing to override with. For FreeTaxUSA specifically, I wouldn't check the "corrected" box if you're using the original W-2 information. The "corrected" checkbox is meant for when you're actually using different numbers than were on the original form.

Has anyone used TurboTax for a situation like this? FreeTaxUSA is giving me a headache with all these special situations.

I had a very similar situation last year! Got a completely blank W-2C from my former employer about a month after I'd already filed using my original W-2. It was so confusing because like yours, it only had the basic identifying information filled in. I ended up calling their HR department and they told me it was generated automatically by their payroll system when they were trying to correct someone else's W-2 in their system, but somehow my information got pulled into the batch by mistake. They confirmed that no correction was actually needed for my taxes and that I should ignore the blank form. Since you haven't filed yet, I'd definitely recommend reaching out to your former employer first to confirm it was sent in error. If they confirm there's no actual correction needed, then you can proceed with filing using your original W-2 information from the portal without checking the "corrected" box in FreeTaxUSA. The key thing is that a W-2C should show what's being corrected - if it's completely blank, there's literally nothing to correct! Save yourself the headache and just get confirmation from them that it was a mistake.

This is definitely a frustrating situation! I've seen this happen before - it's usually a payroll system error where the W-2C gets generated automatically but doesn't actually contain any corrections. Here's what I'd recommend: First, definitely contact your former employer's payroll or HR department to confirm this was sent in error. Get that confirmation in writing (email is fine) for your records. In the meantime, you should be safe to file using the W-2 information you downloaded from their portal. Don't check the "corrected" box in FreeTaxUSA since you're not actually using corrected information - you're using the original data. The general rule is that a W-2C should show both the original incorrect amounts and the corrected amounts. If it's completely blank except for identifying info, there's literally nothing being "corrected" so it shouldn't affect your filing. Just make sure to keep both the original W-2 and the blank W-2C in your tax records along with any confirmation from your employer that it was sent in error. This way you're covered if any questions come up later.