My 2009 employer has gone out of business, but I still have valid contact information for the former partners. Effectively, they ended one business and reconstituted it under a new name. When I was hired, the company had offices in Utah, where I live, but by the time it closed, offices were entirely in Rhode Island (the location of the partners, who were president and vice-president).
Things did not end well between us and we haven't been in contact since August 2009. Come January 31st of this year, I hadn't received a W-2 from the company. Checking with the IRS, they told me to contact the partners, which I did, on February 2nd.
They replied quickly and indicated they had send the W-2s to an old address of mind (where I hadn't lived since 2008); they had had my current address since March of 2008. When I asked them to send a new or corrected copy, they refused, claiming I have some computer equipment of theirs. They also indicated that they figured in advance that this would be an issue. In other words, they seemed to know they had the wrong address and sent it there anyway.
They are now demanding that I return this equipment before sending a W-2, despite refusing to provide serial numbers so I can properly identify the hard drives. They are also claiming that if I don't send it, they'll file a 1099 to report it as income I've received in the form of property. Of course, I have no way of knowing if they've already done this, so even if I send them these ambiguous items, there may already be a 1099 submitted stating I have to pay taxes on them.
I just contacted the IRS on the phone and they've said that since the business has closed, they were only obligated to send a single copy of the W-2, even if it went to an address known by the employer to be incorrect. The IRS simply indicated that I should use Form 4852 as a substitute.
That's where things are at. Besides using this form, do I have any recourse? Is there a way to force my former employers to send the W2 to my correct address?
Things did not end well between us and we haven't been in contact since August 2009. Come January 31st of this year, I hadn't received a W-2 from the company. Checking with the IRS, they told me to contact the partners, which I did, on February 2nd.
They replied quickly and indicated they had send the W-2s to an old address of mind (where I hadn't lived since 2008); they had had my current address since March of 2008. When I asked them to send a new or corrected copy, they refused, claiming I have some computer equipment of theirs. They also indicated that they figured in advance that this would be an issue. In other words, they seemed to know they had the wrong address and sent it there anyway.
They are now demanding that I return this equipment before sending a W-2, despite refusing to provide serial numbers so I can properly identify the hard drives. They are also claiming that if I don't send it, they'll file a 1099 to report it as income I've received in the form of property. Of course, I have no way of knowing if they've already done this, so even if I send them these ambiguous items, there may already be a 1099 submitted stating I have to pay taxes on them.
I just contacted the IRS on the phone and they've said that since the business has closed, they were only obligated to send a single copy of the W-2, even if it went to an address known by the employer to be incorrect. The IRS simply indicated that I should use Form 4852 as a substitute.
That's where things are at. Besides using this form, do I have any recourse? Is there a way to force my former employers to send the W2 to my correct address?