So, after filing my taxes, I made a discovery that my now former employer was committing tax fraud. What do I need to do before contacting the IRS?

[sherrickjimmy]

My former employer was taking out state taxes from each paycheck, however he was NOT depositing the money to the state income tax account. I extrapolated the numbers based off recent (2021) paystubs (assuming he did not change my W4 information behind my back without my knowledge) and I've determined he was definitely taking the money out. However, I ended up only paying a limited amount of state taxes according to my W2.  However the money came out of my checks. I did not claim unemployment at any point during the coronavirus pandemic, and claim no dependents.
What do I need to do before contacting the IRS and reporting him? I do not have any paystubs from 2020 as he did mostly direct deposit and always dragged his feet about me asking for pay stubs. I am employed and live in Indiana.

[DianeW777]

You should provide any detail you have including your payroll deposits, your hourly rate and the hours you worked each week for this employer.

The IRS and the state would receive separate payments from your employer and separate payroll reports. Try to get his employer ID number, it would be on your W-2.

Once you have the necessary information you can start by contacting the IRS.  

1. Calling is extremely time consuming right now. If you want to try, call very early or very late based on the times below.
   • January - April  800-829-1040
     • Telephone service wait times can average 15 minutes. Some telephone service lines may have longer wait times.
     • Telephone service wait times are higher on Monday and Tuesday
     • Employer-Employee Responsibility-Employment Tax Responsibility
2.  Contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). 
   • Select Contact Us, then select to download and complete Form 911, Request for TAS Assistance
   • If you have not opened a case with TAS, call 877-777-4778 
   • TAS is an independent organization within the IRS. Their job is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated fairly and that you know and understand your rights.
3. Indiana Action for Wage and Withholding issues start here:  If your employer has withheld your last check, has not paid what was due to you or has withheld monies from your check that you did not agree with a complaint will need to be filed with the Indiana Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division or call 317-232-2655.

[sherrickjimmy]

Do I have any ways to acquire paystubs or payroll records without going through him?  He insisted on direct deposit and always dragged his feet on giving me paystubs so I have no records from last year.  And he's unlikely to give me any paystubs this time around if I ask.  Then hourly rate changed depending on write ups (he called it incentive pay, he dropped everyone's pay rates 2$ but provided us all with a 3$ bonus if we didn't get written up. (I started at x6$/hr,  then he dropped it to x4$/hr but gave a 3$/hr incentive pay, so my hourly was x7$/hr as long as I didn't get written up.) and it was an electronic clock system so getting my hours also falls to his intuit quickbooks account. I can't access any of it unless there's a way to get that without going through him. 

[DawnC]

Not really.   You have a history of your direct deposit amounts from your and any paystubs you were able to get throughout the year.   There is a federal minimum wage for hourly employees that he has to abide by.   Just collect all of the information you can.   You should also have a W-2 that reports the YTD amounts for every category of income, deductions and tax.   

Collect anything and everything; better to have too much information than not enough.   And contact the agencies that Diane listed above.   You can't demand his payroll records (other than your paystubs of course) but the IRS can so get them involved.