Has anyone tried requesting records directly from the Social Security Administration? They keep track of your earnings history and might be able to provide verification of your income for that year.

I went through almost the exact same situation a few years ago! My former employer was being completely unhelpful and I was panicking about my audit deadline. Here's what worked for me: First, definitely try the IRS Wage and Income Transcript that others mentioned - it's free and contains everything from your W-2. But if you're having trouble accessing it online (their identity verification can be tricky), you have another option. Contact your state's Department of Labor or Employment Security office. They often have records of wages reported by employers for unemployment insurance purposes. While this isn't a perfect substitute for a W-2, it can provide additional documentation to support your case with the auditor. Also, don't be afraid to push back a little with the auditor about your employer's non-cooperation. Document every attempt you've made to contact them (dates, methods, responses) and present this to the auditor. Sometimes they can issue a formal request to the employer on your behalf, which carries more weight than your individual requests. The key is showing good faith effort to obtain the documents. Most auditors are reasonable when they see you're genuinely trying to comply but facing obstacles beyond your control.

This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding the multi-generational wealth transfer potential of 529 plans! I'm curious about one aspect that hasn't been fully explored yet - the investment growth implications over long time horizons. If you're truly using 529 plans as a multi-generational strategy, you could potentially have funds growing tax-free for 50+ years before they're needed for education expenses. The compounding effect could be massive, but I'm wondering about the practical considerations: 1. How do you balance aggressive growth investments (appropriate for long time horizons) with the need for more conservative allocations as beneficiaries approach college age? 2. Do most 529 plans offer age-based portfolios that automatically adjust, or do you need to actively manage the asset allocation as beneficiaries age and new ones are added? 3. If you're changing beneficiaries frequently across generations, how do you handle the fact that different beneficiaries might be at very different life stages and need different investment approaches? I'm thinking about setting up 529s for my newborn grandchildren, but I want to make sure I'm not just focusing on the tax benefits while ignoring the investment strategy that will actually determine how much wealth gets transferred. Anyone have experience managing 529 investments across multiple generations with varying time horizons?

The investment management aspect is crucial and often overlooked when people get excited about the tax benefits of 529s for wealth transfer. I've been managing a multi-generational 529 strategy for about 8 years now, and here's what I've learned: Most age-based portfolios are designed around a single beneficiary's timeline, so they don't work well when you're planning to change beneficiaries across generations. I ended up using static allocation portfolios instead - maintaining separate 529 accounts with different investment strategies based on likely usage timelines. For example, I have one account with aggressive growth investments for my youngest grandchildren (won't need funds for 15+ years), another with moderate allocation for kids who are 10-12 years from college, and a third with conservative investments for near-term education expenses. When I need to change beneficiaries, I can move them between accounts based on their timeline rather than trying to manage one account with conflicting investment needs. The key insight: treat it like a family of 529 accounts rather than trying to make one account serve multiple generations. Yes, it's more administrative work, but it lets you optimize the investment strategy for each time horizon while maintaining the beneficiary flexibility that makes this wealth transfer strategy work. One tip: Vanguard and Fidelity both offer good static allocation options and make it relatively easy to transfer funds between accounts when changing beneficiaries. The investment growth potential over 20-50 year horizons really is substantial if you can stay appropriately aggressive in the early years.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I just want to summarize what I'm understanding as the key takeaways for anyone else in a similar situation: 1. The pickup/removal fee itself is NOT deductible as a charitable donation, even if the removal company works exclusively with charities 2. You CAN deduct the fair market value of the donated furniture (if you itemize) 3. Make sure to get your donation receipt directly from the 501(c)(3) charity, not the removal company 4. Document everything well - photos, descriptions, comparable values from secondhand stores 5. Consider whether itemizing vs. standard deduction makes more sense for your overall tax situation One follow-up question - for documenting fair market value, how specific do I need to be? Should I be looking up each individual piece of furniture on sites like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist to establish comparable values, or is a general "good condition dining set worth $X" sufficient for the donation receipt? Also wondering if anyone has experience with what happens if the charity ends up not being able to use/sell certain items I donate - does that affect the deduction in any way?

This has been such a thorough discussion - thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and expertise! As someone who's dealt with similar donation situations, I wanted to add one more consideration that might be helpful. If you're doing multiple furniture donations throughout the year (like during a move or major decluttering), it might be worth keeping a donation log or spreadsheet. I started doing this after my accountant suggested it, and it's made tax time so much easier. I track the date, charity name, items donated, condition, and my research for fair market value all in one place. Also, for anyone considering the "sell then donate cash" approach that was mentioned - don't forget that if you sell items for more than you originally paid, you might owe capital gains tax on the difference. This is pretty rare with used furniture since it typically depreciates, but it's something to keep in mind for valuable antiques or collectibles. One last thing - some charities have their own valuation guides or can provide guidance on fair market value for common donation items. It's worth asking when you schedule your pickup. The more documentation you have supporting your valuation, the better prepared you'll be if there are ever any questions down the line.

Another possibility - are both W2s actually identical copies? Sometimes employers will send duplicate W2s by mistake or if you requested an additional copy. Double check the control numbers on the forms (usually in box d) - if they're different, they're separate forms that both need to be entered. If they're identical, it's just a duplicate.

Great question! I was in a similar situation last year. Yes, you absolutely need to enter both W2s separately in TurboTax - never combine them. Each W2 has its own unique control number and the IRS receives copies of both, so your return needs to match exactly what they have on file. The most common reasons for multiple W2s from the same employer include mid-year changes like promotions, department transfers, payroll system changes, or even temporary leaves of absence. Each form represents a different classification or period of your employment. TurboTax makes this pretty straightforward - just follow the prompts to add each W2 individually. The software will automatically combine all your income and withholdings when calculating your taxes. Make sure to enter the employer information exactly as it appears on each form, even if it looks identical. Don't worry about it looking repetitive - that's completely normal and expected! One tip: keep both W2s handy when you file and double-check that the total wages from both forms matches your final paystub from December. This helps catch any potential errors before you submit.

Update your address with USPS first! Sometimes they forward IRS mail even tho they say they dont

Just went through this exact same situation last month! The phone route is definitely your best bet, but here's what worked for me: Call the IRS Identity Protection PIN line at 800-908-4490, but also have Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) filled out beforehand just in case they ask for it. They were able to generate a new PIN for my dependent on the spot once I verified all the info. Also make sure you've updated your address with the IRS using Form 8822 - that helped speed things up for me. Good luck!