Unsure If Employeer Actually Took Out Taxes?

[Olivia_M]

I am a dependent who will most likely hit the minimum amount required for filing this year. One of my past short term part time positions was in retail, and it was very informal. My employers wanted to pay me under the table at first with checks. I had to fight for my right to fill out a W4 and they never cared about a I9 form (although they just checked my license and SSN). They are immigrant workers who have been working in the US for quite some time, but yet they didn't even seem to know what pay stubs were. I refused any payment without proof of taxes being with held, and they always sent me a makeshift breakdown of my pay and how much went into taxes...but it wasn't anything formal I believe.

I doubt they'll actually send me W2 information when I need to do my taxes because I do not know how to even confirm if they actually took the amount out for taxes or if they just made estimations on a piece of paper to placate me. They could just be random numbers, given their dislike of me asking for a W4 form in the first place. This was a past multi month employment. What do I do to make sure this employment and payments are properly inputed into TurboTax taxes and CA state taxes? What do I need to be prepared to do? Do I need the IRS's help to prove they have been taking taxes? I use the desktop basic version of TurboTax, but this is the first time I will be inputting wages from such an unorganized business.

Thank you for your help in advance!

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

Employers have until January 31 to issue W-2's.   You should certainly make sure that employer knows where to send your W-2---contact them and be certain they have your current mailing address.   If they issue a W-2 to you, then you will be fine to enter it on your tax return.  They have to send the same information to the IRS, so whatever they give you will match the information they give to the IRS.  

If they fail to issue a W-2, there are steps you can take.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/income/help/what-if-it-s-february-but-i-still-don-t-have-my-w-2/00...

But you say they really wanted to pay you "under the table"----so it is also possible they are going to try to treat you as if you were an independent contractor.   They could issue a 1099NEC to you.    When you are treated like an independent contractor, there has been no tax, no Social Security or Medicare withheld from your paychecks, and you have to pay self-employment tax on that income.    You can enter self-employment income even if they do not give you a 1099NEC.

If you get a 1099NEC

If you have self-employment income for which you will pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare,  you will need to use online Premium software or any version of the desktop software download so that you can prepare a Schedule C for your business expenses.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/form-1099-nec/1099-nec/L5qTsBiSe_US_en_U...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment/00/...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct

https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/self-employed/self-employed-tax-deductions-

calculator-2021-2022-50907/

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901110-do-i-need-to-make-estimated-tax-payments-to-the-irs

If you live in a state with a state income tax, you might need to make estimated payments to your state.

If you do not want to use the expensive Premium software for your return, there are alternatives:

Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

Or—if you live in certain states you may be eligible to use the new IRS Direct File

In Filing Season 2025, Direct File will be available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

https://directfile.irs.gov/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2629

Post back for more help if you need it-----You might not know what kind of help you need until the end of January when you see what kind of tax document you receive from them.

[fanfare]

Income "under the table" is not reported to the IRS.

That's the whole point.

@Olivia_M 

[TomD8]

I hope you kept track of your own income!

My suggestion is to wait until the end of January to see if you receive a W-2 or a 1099-NEC.  If you don't receive either, then you will report your income as self-employment, and you will report it on Schedule C of your tax return.  If that happens, TurboTax will automatically generate Schedule SE, which calculates your Social Security and Medicare taxes and applies them to your tax return.

[Mike9241]

why can't you call them and ask?

[Olivia_M]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out! This is extremely helpful! They did take money out of my owed pay for "taxes," and it is just unknown if they actually took it out for taxes or simple just took out an arbitrary amount for themselves to keep. I guess I'll wait for January to see if they send the correct form,  because if they did withhold pay in my checks but still try to treat it as contract work I feel like there is something wrong in that and I'm getting doubled taxed in a way.

[Olivia_M]

I was hired as an official part time member and did fill out a W4 form. I refused to accept any under the table payments and refused to be treated as a contractor. Even then, I was working full time hours by CA standards but was paid part time wages without benefits.

[Olivia_M]

Thank you so much! If my employeer already took out money from my checks though on the pretense of taking out taxes, what can I do? Technically I would still be owed money and be doubled taxed in a way. Luckily I tracked all my earning and pays and hours and what I was owed.

[Olivia_M]

Because they always tried to reassure me that they are taking out taxes without any definitive proof. And they still didn't know what a pay stub was so I doubted they actually did anything with the money they took out from my checks. They weren't fluent in english, so it was very difficult to even discuss what I wanted (W2 in January) with them. It was the only job that got back to me at the time...Luckily I'm working else where now.

[fanfare]

If you took a job as ane employee, you must get a W-2.

If you don't get a W-2 by Feb 14, IRS says:

contact IRS with emploer name and your efforts to get a W-2.

IRS will give you instructions how to proceed.

@Olivia_M