What to do if you can't get your W-2? Is this process acceptable?
Title: What to do if you can't get your W-2? Is this process acceptable? 1 I've been working a seasonal job where I don't work every month, and now I'm stuck with tax filing problems. My employer is impossible to reach and I can't get my W-2 for this year. I have records of my monthly deposits in my bank account, which total around $6,700 for 2024. Would it be okay for my federal and state tax returns to just report the total income I received based on these bank statements? I obviously don't know the exact amounts withheld for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, etc. Could I just report the income and explain the situation in the "additional information" section of my tax return? I'm worried about getting in trouble but I have no other way to get the proper documentation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Jamal Carter
4 If you can't get your W-2, you actually have a few better options than just estimating! First, try contacting your employer again - they're legally required to provide your W-2 by January 31st. If that fails, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 with your personal info, employer details, and employment dates. They'll contact your employer for you. If you still don't have your W-2 by tax day, file Form 4852 (Substitute for W-2) with your best estimates from your final paystub of the year. That paystub should show year-to-date totals for income and all withholdings. Bank deposits alone aren't ideal since they only show your net pay after all deductions. The good news is that with income around $6,700, your tax situation is relatively straightforward, but you'll want accurate withholding amounts to make sure you get any refund you're entitled to.
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Jamal Carter
•7 This is super helpful! But what if I literally can't get my last paystub either? My employer paid me in cash for the first few months and then direct deposit later, and I never got formal paystubs. Should I just do my best guess based on the deposits I see in my account?
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Jamal Carter
•4 If you don't have paystubs, that makes things trickier but still manageable. First, check your bank statements for the direct deposits - they'll show your net pay. For cash payments, hopefully you kept some record. For withholding estimates, a rough guess is that about 7.65% went to FICA (Social Security and Medicare) automatically. For federal income tax, at your income level, it was likely between 0-10% of your gross pay depending on your W-4 withholding selections. When you file Form 4852, check the box indicating it's your best estimate, and explain your situation briefly in the form. The IRS may contact you later if they find discrepancies when your employer reports their side.
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Jamal Carter
9 After struggling with a similar W-2 nightmare last year, I found an incredible solution with taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). Their document analysis tool helped me create an accurate substitute W-2 using just partial information! I uploaded my bank statements showing my deposits and a couple old pay stubs, and their AI analyzed the pattern to create a reasonable estimate of my withholdings. The system guided me through Form 4852 completion and explained exactly what documentation I needed to keep in case of questions later. Saved me from the panic I was feeling about potentially getting audited for filing with incomplete information.
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Jamal Carter
•12 Does this actually work for people with missing tax documents? I've got a situation where my previous employer went out of business and I can't get my W-2 either. Would taxr.ai work even if I only have bank deposits to go by?
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Jamal Carter
•15 I'm skeptical about any service making tax estimates. Wouldn't the IRS just reject your return if the numbers don't match what they have on file from the employer? How accurate could this possibly be?
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Jamal Carter
•9 It absolutely works with limited information. The tool analyzes your deposit patterns and can detect likely tax withholding based on industry standards and your previous pay history. It won't be perfect to the penny, but it gets surprisingly close which is better than guessing randomly. The IRS actually expects you to file Form 4852 when you can't get your W-2, and they understand you're making good faith estimates. The system helps document your methodology so you can explain your reasonable approach if ever questioned. Remember, failing to file because of missing documents is worse than filing with your best estimate.
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Jamal Carter
15 I was super skeptical about taxr.ai but gave it a shot after struggling for weeks with a missing W-2 from a summer job. Turns out it was incredibly helpful! The system looked at my irregular deposit pattern and actually identified which deposits likely had tax withholding versus which ones might have been contractor payments. It walked me through creating a substitute document that the IRS accepted without issues. The best part was the peace of mind from having proper documentation of how I arrived at my numbers. My state return went through fine too. Never thought I'd say this about a tax tool, but it was actually worth checking out!
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Jamal Carter
19 If you're still struggling to reach your employer, you should try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about my missing W-2. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I'd previously been hung up on after hours of waiting. The agent was able to verify what information they had received from my employer and gave me specific instructions tailored to my situation. They even initiated contact with my former employer on my behalf! You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Completely changed my approach to dealing with the IRS.
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Jamal Carter
•22 How does this even work? The IRS phone lines are notoriously impossible to get through. Is this just paying for someone else to wait on hold or is there some special access thing going on?
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Jamal Carter
•15 This sounds like BS honestly. The IRS doesn't give special access to third parties for regular people's tax issues. More likely they're just charging you to wait on hold which you could do yourself for free.
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Jamal Carter
•19 It's actually a clever system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent finally picks up, you get a call back connecting you directly. They don't have special access - they just handle the frustrating waiting part. The real value is that they know exactly which options to select to reach the right department for your specific issue. When I tried on my own, I kept getting routed to the wrong places or disconnected. With Claimyr, I connected with someone who could actually help with my missing W-2 situation.
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Jamal Carter
15 OK I need to publicly admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After doubting it would work, my frustration with the IRS finally pushed me to try it yesterday. I was literally connected to an IRS agent in 15 minutes after spending DAYS trying to get through on my own. The agent confirmed my employer had actually submitted my W-2 information already, and they were able to provide the exact income and withholding amounts over the phone. They even sent me a wage and income transcript that I can use for filing. Problem solved in one phone call when I'd been stressing about this for weeks. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!
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Jamal Carter
11 Just wanted to add another option - you can request a Wage and Income Transcript directly from the IRS. It's free and shows all information reported to the IRS, including W-2 data. You can get it online through the IRS website if you create an account, or use Form 4506-T to request it by mail. The only downside is that it might not be available until May or later for the current tax year, so it might mean filing an extension if you're up against the deadline. But it's official IRS data that will match what they have on file.
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Jamal Carter
•7 Does the Wage and Income Transcript show state tax withholding too? Or just the federal stuff? I'm worried about both returns.
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Jamal Carter
•11 The Wage and Income Transcript only shows federal information, not state withholding. That's an important limitation to be aware of. For state withholding information, you'll need to contact your state tax agency directly to see if they offer a similar transcript service. Some states do have their own wage reporting systems, but it varies widely. You might need to use your federal transcript plus your bank records to make a reasonable estimate for your state withholding if you can't get the actual W-2.
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Jamal Carter
18 My advice? Don't mess around with estimates if you can avoid it. Filing Form 4852 as others suggested is fine, but have you tried reaching out to your company's payroll provider directly? Often smaller companies outsource their payroll, and the provider can often give you access to your W-2 even if the employer is unresponsive. Ask coworkers where they got their W-2s from - was it ADP, Paychex, Gusto, etc? Those services usually have employee portals where you can download your tax documents directly, bypassing your employer completely.
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Jamal Carter
•1 I hadn't thought about contacting the payroll company directly! That's a great idea. I think they use some service called Payday or something similar... I'll have to ask my coworker. Would I need specific login information or can they look me up by SSN?
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