Why did my husband receive two W2s from different pizza delivery companies?

This is actually pretty common with pizza delivery places. What likely happened is the company was sold or changed ownership during the year. When that happens, the new owners get a new EIN (Employer Identification Number) and have to issue a separate W2 for the time your husband worked under their ownership. You definitely need to report both W2s on your tax return. The IRS receives copies of both forms, so they'll be looking for that income on your return. Each W2 represents a different portion of the year's income from what is essentially two different employers, even though it was the same physical workplace.

I had a similar situation last year with my job at PizzaHut. Found out later the franchise was sold to a corporate entity mid-year! Check out https://taxr.ai - it saved me tons of headaches when dealing with multiple W2s. I uploaded both forms, and it immediately flagged that they were from the same physical location but different legal entities. The system explained exactly why I had two forms and confirmed I needed to report both. It even highlighted that one W2 was missing withholding (just like yours) and calculated if I might owe extra at tax time. Super helpful when you're dealing with these weird employment situations.

I used taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was incredibly helpful! I was skeptical at first, but after uploading my husband's multiple W2s (he works as a contractor for different companies), the system immediately flagged that one form had our old address which would have caused issues with the IRS matching our information. It also explained exactly how to enter multiple W2s in our tax software and gave us a heads-up about potential quarterly estimated tax payments we might need to make this year. The document analysis was spot-on and saved us from what would have been a confusing tax situation! Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with multiple income forms.

If you need to talk to the IRS about this situation (which you might if there are discrepancies), good luck getting through! I spent HOURS on hold trying to verify if I needed to file both W2s from my delivery job. Finally found https://claimyr.com - they have this service where they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an agent is on the line. Check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Seriously saved me so much time and frustration. The IRS agent confirmed I needed to file both W2s and explained that the company had been restructured mid-year. They also helped me understand why one W2 had federal withholding while the other didn't.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my multiple W2 situation from different franchised restaurants. It actually worked exactly as described! I got a text when my spot in line was coming up, then my phone rang and an IRS agent was right there on the line. No hours of waiting on hold! The agent confirmed both my W2s needed to be reported and explained that the restaurant changed franchise ownership mid-year. Saved me at least 3 hours of hold time and the anxiety of wondering if I was filing correctly.

The same thing happened to me when I worked at Domino's! The franchise was sold mid-year to a completely different owner. Check your husband's pay stubs throughout the year - you might notice the company name changed slightly at some point. Also, double-check that the combined income from both W2s matches what you'd expect for the full year's earnings. Sometimes during ownership transitions, there can be accounting issues where a week or two of pay gets missed.

Make sure you also check if one of the W2s shows any tips! Sometimes when delivery places change ownership, they handle tip reporting differently. One might include reported tips in Box 1 while the other might have them broken out separately in Box 8.