What if my employer didn’t take federal income tax withholding from my paychecks throughout 2024 year?

[h_c2021]

On my W2 box #2 is blank what can I do?

[DoninGA]

You may be alright.  What is the amount in box 1 and what is your filing status, ie Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, etc.?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

All you can do at this point is enter your W-2 as it is, with box 2 empty, and see what happens. It's too late to have any tax withheld for 2024.

If you end up owing a large payment on your 2024 tax return, you should give your employer a new W-4 for 2025. You can use the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site to figure out what to put on your W-4 form to get the approximate refund amount that you want.

[Opus 17]

There is nothing to do, you had no tax withheld.

If you owe tax, then either your W-4 was filled out incorrectly or your employer processed it incorrectly.  You should fill out a new one, use the IRS calculator to get an idea of what you should claim.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

If you owe tax and a penalty, pay the tax but wait for the IRS to bill you for the penalty.  You can apply for a waiver/penalty relief at that time (for example, because this was your first time, or because your employer handled your W-4 wrong and you didn't notice.)

But you may not owe tax, depending on your income and family size.  We would need to know more.