When is a paycheck counted for W2 - deposit date or pay/advice date?

Thanks for the explanation. This makes sense. But what if my employer already told me the December 30 deposit will be counted as 2024 income on my W2? Is that allowed or are they making a mistake?

The employer is making a mistake if they told you that. According to IRS rules, income is taxable when the employee receives it or when it's made available without restriction. Since you had the money in your account on December 30, 2023, that's when it counts - regardless of the official pay date. If they're planning to count it for 2024, you should speak with your payroll or HR department as soon as possible to have them correct this before they finalize your W2. Otherwise, your W2 won't accurately reflect when you actually received your income, which could cause problems when filing.

How does the system work? Like do I have to download all my bank statements and stuff or can it connect directly? My situation is similar but I have multiple deposits right at year end and I'm trying to sort out which ones belong where.

Sounds like another tax prep service trying to charge $$$ for basic info you can get for free. What's so special about this one compared to TurboTax or talking to an actual accountant?

You can either upload PDFs of your documents or take photos of paper statements. Their system reads everything and organizes it automatically. For bank statements, you can also connect your accounts directly if you're comfortable with that, which makes it easier if you have multiple deposits. The difference is they don't just prepare your taxes - they actually analyze discrepancies and provide documentation citing specific tax law. Unlike most tax prep software that just asks you questions, taxr.ai evaluates your actual documents against IRS rules. And unlike accountants who charge by the hour, you get unlimited document analysis. That's why it was perfect for my deposit date issue - they provided actual regulatory citations I could show my employer.

Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you or what? The IRS is super strict about privacy so I'm confused how a third party can help with this.

This sounds like a total scam. No way the IRS would allow some random company to "hold your place in line." They have strict verification procedures before discussing anything. Plus why would I trust some company with my tax info just to avoid being on hold?

They don't call the IRS for you - they just navigate the phone menus and wait on hold, then call you when they reach a human. You're the one who actually speaks with the IRS agent, so there's no privacy issue. You verify your identity directly with the IRS agent yourself. No, it's not a scam at all. They don't need any of your tax info - they're just acting like a sophisticated callback service. The IRS actually has their own callback option now too, but it's often unavailable during peak times. Claimyr just waits on hold in your place when the IRS's own callback system isn't working. It's basically like having a friend wait on hold for you and then call you over when someone answers.

Can you explain more about this "constructive receipt doctrine"? Does this apply to all types of income or just employment? Asking because I had a client pay me on Dec 31 but the check didn't clear until Jan 3.

Constructive receipt doctrine applies to all types of income. The IRS defines it as income being constructively received when it's credited to your account, set apart for you, or otherwise made available so you can draw upon it. For your situation with the check, it's a bit different. If you received a paper check on Dec 31, but didn't deposit it until January, it's still considered income for the year you received the check (2023). The clearing date doesn't matter - it's when you physically received the check that counts because at that point you had control over the funds, even if you chose not to deposit it immediately.

Yes, I had to amend last year because of this exact issue. Don't file with the incorrect W2. Tell your employer they need to issue a corrected W2. If they refuse, you'll need to file Form 4852 (substitute for W2) with your correct income amount and attach documentation showing when you received the funds. Then file Form 8082 to explain the discrepancy.

You're absolutely correct! The constructive receipt doctrine applies to your bonus situation too. Since the money was deposited into your account on December 29, 2023, that's when you had unrestricted access to it, so it should be reported as 2023 income on your W2. It doesn't matter when your employer thinks you "earned" it - what matters is when you actually received it and had control over the funds. Your employer is making the same mistake that several others have mentioned in this thread. You should definitely push back on this with your payroll department and reference the constructive receipt rules.

You're absolutely right to push back on this! The pay period end date is irrelevant - what matters is when you actually received the money, which was December 31st, 2023. Your employer's HR department is confusing pay period dates with constructive receipt rules. I'd definitely recommend fighting this before accepting it and filing Form 4852. Start by providing your HR/payroll department with documentation about constructive receipt doctrine - you can find the official IRS guidance in Publication 15 (Employer's Tax Guide). If they still refuse, escalate to a supervisor or the finance department. Many payroll people simply aren't familiar with these rules and assume the pay period date is what matters. The reason I'd push for correction rather than just filing Form 4852 is that having an incorrect W-2 can create complications down the road, especially if the IRS questions the discrepancy. It's much cleaner to get your employer to issue a corrected W-2 now than to deal with potential issues later. Plus, you're probably not the only employee affected by this mistake, so fixing it helps everyone.

Thank you for the professional perspective! As someone new to dealing with year-end payroll issues, this is really reassuring. I was getting stressed about potentially having to argue with my employer's payroll department, but now I feel more confident about the rules. Quick question - if my employer does refuse to correct my W2 and I have to file Form 4852, will that trigger an audit or cause problems with the IRS? I want to make sure I understand all my options before I decide whether to push back or just accept their mistake and work around it.