Should I file my taxes before 4/15 or wait on a pending Form W2C?
I relocated to a different state in 2023, and I've run into a bit of a situation with my taxes. When reviewing my documents in February, I noticed my employer continued withholding state taxes for my former state all through last year, even though I'm now living in a new state. The old state has a higher tax rate than my current one, which means I've been overpaying. I immediately contacted my company's HR to request a Form W2C to correct this issue. The problem is their payroll vendor is dragging their feet and can't even give me an estimate of when I'll receive the corrected W2C. Super frustrating! Since Tax Day (April 15) is coming up fast, I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and file with my current W-2 as is, then file an amended return once I finally get the W2C? I'd rather file on time, get whatever refund is currently due, and deal with the amendment later than file an extension and potentially pay a premium for tax preparation later in the year. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? Any downsides to filing now and amending later versus waiting for the W2C? Thanks in advance for any advice!
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Sofia Gutierrez
This is a common situation when relocating between states. You have a couple of options here, both perfectly fine with the IRS. You can absolutely file your return now using your current W-2, then file an amended return (Form 1040-X) after you receive the W2C. The advantage is getting most of your refund sooner rather than later, and meeting the April 15 deadline without an extension. The only downside is the extra step of filing the amendment later. Alternatively, you could file an extension using Form 4868, which gives you until October 15 to submit your return. Remember though, an extension to file is not an extension to pay, so you'd still need to estimate and pay any federal taxes owed by April 15. If you're confident you'll be getting a refund at both federal and state levels, filing now and amending later is often the simpler approach. Just keep in mind that amended returns can take up to 16 weeks to process, and you'll need to file amended state returns as well.
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Dmitry Petrov
•Thanks for this explanation. If OP files now and amends later, would they need to pay any penalties or interest on the state taxes for the new state that weren't properly withheld? Or since they overpaid in the previous state, does that somehow balance out?
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Sofia Gutierrez
•Great question! Since the original state's tax rate is higher than the current state's rate, OP has actually been overpaying in total state taxes. So when they file the amendment, they'll likely be due a refund rather than owing additional tax. In situations where someone has been overpaying to one state but underpaying to another, they generally won't face penalties because the total tax withheld exceeds what was required. However, each state handles this differently, so if this were reversed and OP had underpaid in total, they might face penalties from the state that was shorted, regardless of overpayment to another state.
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StarSurfer
Just wanted to share my experience with something similar. I was stuck waiting for a corrected tax document last year and decided to use https://taxr.ai to analyze my situation. The service helped me understand exactly what to do with my pending W2C situation. What's cool is they reviewed my original W-2 and helped estimate what the corrected W2C would show based on my relocation details. They confirmed that filing first and amending later was the right move in my situation since I was owed money. Their document review feature highlighted exactly what would change on my W2C.
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Ava Martinez
•How accurate was their estimate compared to when you finally got your W2C? I'm in almost the same situation but worried about doing all this work twice.
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Miguel Castro
•Does taxr.ai handle the amendment filing for you too? Or do they just analyze the original documents?
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StarSurfer
•Their estimate was surprisingly close - within about $40 of the actual numbers on my W2C when I finally received it. They use state tax tables and your income info to calculate what should have been withheld in each state. They don't file the amendment for you, but they do provide a detailed report showing exactly what numbers will change on your tax return when you amend. I used their report as a guide when filing my 1040-X amendment. They also have some helpful tools that show you the specific lines that will change on your amendment form.
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Ava Martinez
Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after asking about it here. Honestly, it was super helpful! They analyzed my W-2 and residence change situation and showed me exactly what would happen with my W2C. Their breakdown made it clear I should file now and amend later since I'd be getting a decent refund from my high-tax former state. The coolest part was they created this side-by-side view of what my current W-2 shows versus what the W2C will likely show. Made me feel confident enough to file my original return yesterday. Definitely recommend if you're in a similar situation with state tax withholding issues!
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Zainab Abdulrahman
Don't know if this helps, but I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to my state tax department about a similar issue last year. Finally found this service called https://claimyr.com that got me through to a human at the tax office in less than 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had to file an amended return due to a W2C situation (employer had my address wrong and withheld for the wrong jurisdiction). Was stressed about getting answers on how to handle the amendment, but the state tax rep I spoke to was actually super helpful once I got through. Saved me hours of frustration and waiting on hold.
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Connor Byrne
•Wait is this legit? How does a third party service get you through government phone lines faster? Sounds sketchy tbh.
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Yara Elias
•I've been calling the tax department for TWO DAYS straight with no luck. How much does this service cost? Is it worth it?
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Zainab Abdulrahman
•It's completely legitimate. They use an automated system that navigates the phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when a human representative answers. The government phone systems still work the same way, but they handle the waiting part. Regarding whether it's worth it - if you value your time at all, absolutely yes. I spent hours trying to get through on my own with no success. With Claimyr, I was talking to a real person at the tax office in under 20 minutes. The representative was able to tell me exactly how to handle my amended return with the W2C and even flagged my account with notes about the situation.
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Yara Elias
I feel like I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr in my earlier comment. After spending another full morning failing to get through to the state tax department, I decided to give it a try. I was honestly shocked when I got a call back in about 15 minutes telling me they had a tax department representative on the line! The agent was super helpful and walked me through exactly how to handle filing with a pending W2C. Turns out I needed to file in both states but could do a special amendment process they have for this exact situation. Saved me so much stress - wish I'd known about this service weeks ago when I first discovered my employer's withholding mistake!
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QuantumQuasar
Just to add another perspective - I was in this EXACT situation last year (moved from CA to TX mid-year). My employer took forever with the W2C so I just filed with what I had and amended later. The only annoying part was paying for tax prep twice, but I used a cheaper online option for the amendment. The peace of mind from filing on time was worth it to me. Plus I got my federal refund right away, which was the bigger portion anyway.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Did you have any issues with your state returns when amending? That's my main concern - I'm moving from NY to NC, so both have state income taxes but at different rates.
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QuantumQuasar
•Since I moved from California to Texas, my situation was a bit different because Texas doesn't have state income tax. For the California amendment, I just needed to show I was only a partial-year resident. For your NY to NC situation, you'll need to file part-year resident returns for both states. When you amend, you'll basically be correcting how much income was allocated to each state. The important thing is to keep good records of your exact moving date and when your residency officially changed. Most tax software handles amendments pretty well, especially for common situations like relocating between states. Just make sure you follow both states' procedures - some require additional state-specific amendment forms beyond the federal 1040-X.
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Keisha Jackson
Accountant here. Many employers mess up state withholding after employee relocations. The W2C may take months - I've seen them take until August or September in some cases! If you're getting a refund, file now and amend later. If you'd owe money, definitely file an extension and wait for the W2C. The April deadline is about PAYING not filing - as long as you pay what you owe, the extension to file is automatic and penalty-free.
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Paolo Moretti
•Is there any way to force an employer to issue the W2C faster? Mine has been "processing" for over 3 months now!
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Keisha Jackson
•Unfortunately, there's no real mechanism to force an employer to issue a W2C faster. The IRS doesn't impose strict deadlines on corrected forms the way they do with original W-2s. Your best recourse is persistent follow-up with HR and payroll. Document all your communication attempts in case you need to explain the situation to tax authorities. If it's getting ridiculous (beyond 3-4 months), you might mention to HR that you're considering contacting your state's department of labor about the delay, which sometimes motivates them. But in reality, many large companies' payroll systems are just slow with corrections.
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GalacticGuru
I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! Moved from Massachusetts to Florida in late 2023, and my employer kept withholding MA state taxes for months after I relocated. The frustrating part is that Massachusetts has a 5% flat rate while Florida has no state income tax, so I've been massively overpaying. Based on what everyone's shared here, I think I'm going to go ahead and file my return as-is this week. The math works out that I'll get a substantial refund just from the federal side, and then when I finally get my W2C (whenever that happens), the Massachusetts refund will just be a nice bonus later in the year. Has anyone had experience with Massachusetts specifically for this type of amendment? I know some states are more complicated than others when it comes to part-year resident returns and corrected withholding.
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