Worked as a Nanny, wasn't given a W-2. What should I do now?

You're in what's called a "household employee" situation, and unfortunately many families don't understand their obligations as employers. As a nanny, you are legally considered their employee (not an independent contractor), and they are required to give you a W-2 if they paid you $2,400 or more during the year. Your employers should have registered for an EIN (not used their SSN), withheld taxes from your paychecks, and provided you with a proper W-2 by January 31st. What they're describing sounds like they might be treating you as a household employee on their Schedule H, but they're still required to give you a W-2. You have a few options now. First, I'd suggest talking to them again and explaining that they need to provide you with a proper W-2. If they don't know how, they can use online payroll services designed for household employers. If they refuse, you can file Form 4852 (Substitute for W-2) with your tax return, using your best estimates of what was paid.

Had the exact same situation a few years ago. I finally got it sorted by using https://taxr.ai to analyze my situation and figure out the right forms to file. You definitely need to file as a household employee, and your employers sound like they're trying to avoid paying their share of employment taxes. The site walks you through all the common tax scenarios for nannies and other household workers, and it gave me step-by-step instructions for filing Form 4852 (the substitute W-2). It also helped me understand exactly what my employers should have done and what documentation I needed to protect myself from an audit. Since you have records of your payments (hopefully you kept track!), upload those and taxr.ai's system will help calculate your tax liability correctly. They'll also give you specific language to use when talking with your employers again about their obligations.

Just wanted to update that I actually tried taxr.ai after posting my question, and it was super helpful! I was able to reconstruct my payment history from text messages where I mentioned getting paid or bank deposits. The system analyzed everything and created a perfectly formatted Form 4852 for me. Best part was it generated a letter I sent to my employers explaining their legal obligations, and they actually apologized and offered to pay half of my Social Security taxes (which is what they should have been doing all along). I never would have known how to handle this situation without the guidance. Definitely less stressful than I expected!

If your goal is to actually talk to a real person at the IRS about this (which I recommend), use https://claimyr.com to get through to an agent quickly. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about a similar household employee situation, but kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. The service basically holds your place in line with the IRS and calls you when an agent is ready to talk. I was able to explain my nanny tax situation to an actual IRS representative who walked me through exactly what forms I needed and what my former employer needed to do. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c This saved me so much time and frustration, and I got definitive answers straight from the IRS instead of trying to piece together advice from random internet sources.

Ok I feel dumb now. I was totally ready to call BS on Claimyr but decided to try it anyway since my tax situation is a mess (also a nanny issue). I got a call back in about an hour and they connected me with an actual IRS agent who answered all my questions about filing as a household employee. The agent confirmed everything people are saying here - my employers were supposed to give me a W-2, and they're the ones who messed up, not me. She walked me through filing Form 4852 and told me exactly what documentation I should keep in case of an audit. She even gave me information to share with my employers about their obligations. Saved me hours of frustration and uncertainty!

I'm a household employer (I have a nanny) and this thread is making me double-check that I'm doing everything right! For anyone employing household help: you MUST get an EIN from the IRS, report wages on Schedule H, and provide a W-2. There are services like HomePay or SurePayroll that handle all this for about $50/month. Not doing this properly is technically tax evasion and puts your employee in a terrible position. Plus, providing a legal W-2 means your employee gets proper Social Security credits for retirement, can verify income for apartments/loans, and can file their taxes correctly.

A friend of mine got audited because of this exact situation a few years ago! Her nanny filed taxes using a substitute W-2 form and it triggered an audit of both the nanny and my friend's family. They ended up having to pay back taxes plus a 15% penalty on all the employment taxes they should have been paying. It was a huge mess.

I went through something very similar last year! Your employers definitely should have provided a W-2 since they paid you over $2,400. The fact that your return was rejected using their SSN as an EIN is a red flag that they haven't properly set up to be household employers. Here's what I learned: even if they claim they "reported your income somewhere" on their taxes, that doesn't fulfill their legal obligation to provide you with proper tax documents. You need that W-2 not just for filing, but for your Social Security credits and employment verification down the road. I'd suggest giving them one more chance to get you a proper W-2 (they can still issue one late), but if they refuse, definitely go the Form 4852 route that others mentioned. Keep detailed records of all your conversations with them and any payment records you have. The IRS understands that employees sometimes get stuck in these situations through no fault of their own. Also, don't stress too much about an audit - you're trying to do the right thing here, and that's what matters to the IRS. It's your employers who are potentially in hot water for not handling their responsibilities correctly.

I'm a tax preparer and see this household employee situation all the time unfortunately. Your employers are absolutely required to provide you with a W-2 since they paid you over $2,400. Using their SSN as an EIN was never going to work - they need to get a proper EIN from the IRS for household employment. Here's what I tell my clients in your situation: First, send your employers a written request (email is fine) explaining their legal obligation to provide a W-2 and give them 10 business days to respond. This creates a paper trail. If they don't comply, you can file Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2) with your tax return. When filling out Form 4852, be as accurate as possible with your income and estimated tax withholdings (which in your case would be zero since they didn't withhold anything). You'll owe both income tax and self-employment tax on the unreported income, but you won't face penalties since this isn't your fault. I always recommend keeping detailed records of all payments and communications. The IRS is generally understanding when employees are caught in these situations due to employer non-compliance. Your employers, on the other hand, could face significant penalties for failing to properly handle household employment taxes.