Receiving a Form 1099-NEC indicates that the company did not consider your wife an employee. They considered her an independent contractor. The Form 1099-NEC replaced Form 1099-MISC for reporting non-employee compensation. Form 1099-MISC would not have shown any taxes withheld either. Receiving a W-2 would indicate that she was an employee and it would have shown taxes that were withheld.
If taxes had been withheld from your wife's paychecks, then there should be check stubs showing that information.
That being said, since you have Form 1099-NEC, the IRS will expect to see if being reported on Schedule C for Business Income and Expenses. If there were any expenses related to your wife's work that she had to pay, be sure to include those as well.
Where do I enter Schedule C?
It sounds like the business in question may not even still be in business, but if you want to have the IRS check into the situation you can consider filing Form SS-8 on its own (not with your tax return). Take a look at the following for more information: Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?
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