Unsent W-2 from employer who still owes me a month's salary - how to file?

You're in a frustrating but unfortunately common situation. The good news is that you're taking the right steps by filing Form 4852 as a substitute for your missing W-2. For the withholding amounts, check your final paystub if you have it - it should show year-to-date withholding figures. If you don't have paystubs, make your best estimate based on the payments you did receive. Look at the withholding from those months and use that to calculate a reasonable estimate for your total employment period. Filing with Form 4852 might delay your refund slightly as the IRS may need to verify the information, but it shouldn't prevent you from getting your refund eventually. The IRS is aware that sometimes employers fail to provide W-2s, which is exactly why Form 4852 exists. As for the unpaid wages, keep pursuing that through the department of industrial relations. That's separate from your tax situation, but you're entitled to those wages regardless of what your employer calls it. "Bad debt" is nonsense - they owe you for work performed.

I was in a similar situation last year with a missing W-2 and ended up using this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that was super helpful. It's an AI tool that analyzed my paystubs and bank deposits to help estimate what my withholdings probably were. I was nervous about filing with estimates, but their system made it way easier to come up with reasonable numbers for Form 4852. The coolest part was that they could look at my banking history and help identify which deposits were from that employer so I could back-calculate what was likely withheld. They also gave me a document explaining how they estimated everything which I attached to my return just in case. Made me feel way more confident in filing with my substitute W-2.

Just wanted to update about that taxr.ai service. I was super skeptical (as you could probably tell from my comment lol), but I ended up trying it after struggling for weeks with my own situation. I had a contractor who didn't send me a 1099, and I was totally stuck. The service was way more legit than I expected. They helped me calculate reasonable estimates based on my contract and bank deposits. Their documentation was actually really detailed and professional - not at all what I was expecting. Filed my return with their backup documentation and got my refund without any issues. Definitely changed my mind about them.

Have you tried calling the IRS about this? I had a missing W-2 situation last year and spent DAYS trying to get through to someone. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the usual forever wait. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with was actually super helpful and filed a complaint against my employer for not providing my W-2. They also gave me specific guidance on what documentation I should include with my Form 4852. The IRS can actually penalize companies that don't provide W-2s, which I didn't know before.

I'm eating my words here. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my missing 1099-G from unemployment. Usually when I call the IRS, I waste my entire afternoon on hold only to get disconnected. With this service, I got a call back in about 25 minutes with an actual IRS person on the line. They helped me figure out how to report my unemployment income without the form and what documentation I needed. Honestly saved me hours of frustration and probably saved my mental health too. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!

Don't forget to report that employer to the IRS! They're legally required to provide W-2s by January 31st. You can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to report them. I did this when my employer "forgot" to send my W-2, and miraculously they "found" it and sent it within a week after the IRS contacted them. Also check your state's department of labor about those unpaid wages. Some states have penalties for employers who withhold pay, and they can sometimes get things moving faster than you can on your own.

Just to add something important - make sure you keep REALLY good records of all your attempts to get your W-2 and your communications with this employer. Save emails, text messages, write down dates of phone calls, etc. This will help you if the IRS has questions about why you filed with Form 4852. Also, when you estimate your withholding, err on the side of caution and estimate a bit LOWER than you think it might be. It's better to potentially owe a small amount later than to claim too much withholding and raise red flags.