A Chinese company I no longer work for told me they didn't pay my taxes. But I found my employee info sheet, and it says the exact opposite. Any ideas on what to do?

[Rainman12]

Are you saying that you have written evidence that FIT and/or FICA were withheld from your gross pay, but not reflected on your W-2? If not, please elaborate.

[tarynfoxx]

Thanks so much for replying! Sorry, my post had a character limit so it was short. My paperwork from when I was hired says that my local and federal taxes are to be withheld. My W-2 does not reflect that, and when I contacted my ex-employer they said I was contracted, and that it was my responsibility for my taxes. I found the paperwork while cleaning out my computer, and now I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to drag them into legal troubles, but I owe quite a lot in taxes this year due to their negligence.

[Rainman12]

Did you get a W-2 or a 1099-MISC from the Chinese company? Were you working for them in the USA or overseas? If it was in the USA, are they still doing business here? ...

[tarynfoxx]

Sorry I misspoke earlier- I got an 1099-MISC, not a W-2. I mostly worked for them here, though I spent a month in China working for them at their Shenzhen office.

[Rainman12 · Accepted solution]

1) No way to argue about  how you were paid in China. Their turf, their rules.

2) For how you were paid in US, you Could make a Federal case out of it.  Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Wi...  can be filed with the IRS. The form may be filed by either the business or the worker. The IRS will review the facts and circumstances and officially determine the worker’s status. Takes at least six months.

3) You can also attempt to recover FICA from 'employer' : "Workers who believe they have been improperly classified as independent contractors by an employer can use Form 8919, Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages to figure and report the employee’s share of uncollected Social Security and Medicare taxes due on their compensation."

Most practical approach: Pay all taxes as if you were a self-employed contractor, then take actions as above to (maybe) recover something from Former employer.  Reference:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/independent-contractor-self-employed-o...

Ref: 

[tarynfoxx]

All of these references are extremely helpful, thank you. I can form an action plan and finally move forward with all of this!
I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me out, thank you.

[Rainman12]

You're quite welcome! Exactly how this program should work! Please tell your friends ...