Great question! As someone who works in payroll processing, I can clarify this for you. The key thing to understand is that YTD calculations are based on pay periods worked, not payment dates or number of checks received. Since you're paid semi-monthly with a $68,000 annual salary, you have 24 pay periods per year at $2,833.33 each. Your pay period of 5/7-5/21 means you completed work through May 21st, which would be your 10th pay period of the year (assuming you started January 1st). So your YTD of $28,333.30 is correct: 10 pay periods × $2,833.33 = $28,333.30. The reason your calculation of 9 paychecks was off is because you were counting physical paychecks received rather than pay periods completed. There's often a delay between when a pay period ends and when you receive the actual payment, but YTD reflects earnings through the end of the pay period, regardless of when the check is issued. This is an important distinction for tax purposes since your W-2 will reflect earnings based on pay periods worked during the calendar year, not when payments were actually received.

As someone who processes payroll for a living, I want to emphasize something that often gets overlooked in YTD discussions: make sure you're looking at the right YTD column on your paystub! Most payroll systems have multiple YTD calculations - YTD Gross, YTD Taxable Wages, YTD Social Security Wages, etc. Each can be different depending on your pre-tax deductions. For example, if you contribute to a 401(k) or pay health insurance premiums pre-tax, your YTD Taxable Wages will be lower than your YTD Gross by the amount of those pre-tax deductions. This is completely normal and actually beneficial since you're reducing your taxable income. When doing your manual calculations to verify accuracy, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. If you want to verify YTD Gross, multiply your gross pay per period by the number of periods worked. If you want to verify YTD Taxable Wages, you'll need to account for any pre-tax deductions that have been taken out. Also, keep an eye out for any one-time payments like bonuses, expense reimbursements, or corrections from previous pay periods - these will affect your YTD totals but won't follow the regular pattern of your base salary calculations.

Another option if your employer went out of business - check if they filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court records might have copies of employee records including W-2s. You can search the PACER system (pacer.gov) for their case. Also worth checking with your state's Department of Labor as they sometimes require businesses to file final wage reports even when closing.

If you're still having trouble getting your control number, you might want to try Form 4506-T to request a wage and income transcript directly from the IRS. It's free and shows all the income reported to them for a tax year, including the control numbers from your W-2s and 1099s. Takes about 5-10 business days if you mail it in, or you can sometimes get it immediately online if you can verify your identity through their system. Way more reliable than trying to call them right now.

I had a similar situation a few years back with a temp job that lasted only three days. The key thing to remember is that even though the amounts seem tiny, the IRS computer systems will automatically flag any discrepancies between what employers report and what you file. Here's what I'd suggest: First, try logging into those employers' payroll systems online if you still have access - many companies use ADP, Paychex, or similar services where you can download your W2 electronically even after leaving. If that doesn't work, you have until the end of February to receive them by mail before you can take action. If you still don't have them by then, definitely file Form 4852 as others mentioned. The most important thing is to be as accurate as possible with your estimates. Even if you're off by a few dollars, showing good faith effort to report the income properly is what matters to the IRS. One last tip - keep records of all your attempts to get the W2s (emails, phone calls, etc.) in case you ever need to show you made reasonable efforts to obtain the proper documentation.

Just to add another perspective - I work in payroll and can confirm that employers are legally required to send W2s by January 31st, regardless of how small the amount. If you worked even one day and were paid as a W2 employee (not 1099), you should receive one. That said, small disorganized companies sometimes mess this up. If you don't receive them by early February, definitely start the process others mentioned - contact the employer first, then the IRS if needed. One thing to keep in mind: even though the income amounts are tiny, if these employers withheld ANY federal taxes from your paychecks (which they might have done automatically), you're essentially giving the government free money by not claiming those refunds. For such small amounts, you probably had more withheld than you actually owe in taxes, so you'd likely get it all back. The good news is that filing Form 4852 is pretty straightforward if it comes to that, and the IRS is generally understanding about situations where employers fail to provide required documents.

Just wanted to add my experience since I went through this exact same situation last tax season. I had a Pell Grant and was trying to maximize my refund with my two dependents, and I made the same mistake of trying to enter it under wages initially. What ended up working for me was going to the "Income" section and finding "Scholarships and Fellowships" under the less common income types. When I entered my information there, I put "SCH" as the payer and only entered the amount that exceeded my qualified education expenses (which I calculated using my 1098-T form). The really important thing I learned is that you want to be strategic about this. In my case, reporting about $3,200 of my Pell Grant as taxable income actually increased my Earned Income Tax Credit by almost $900 because it bumped me into a higher income bracket that was more favorable with my dependents. So even though I was "adding income," my overall refund was significantly higher. Make sure you run the numbers both ways - with and without reporting the excess Pell Grant - to see which scenario gives you the better refund. The tax software should help you calculate this, but it's definitely worth double-checking since the EITC calculations with dependents can be complex.

I just went through this same process a few weeks ago and can confirm what others are saying - you definitely don't want to enter your Pell Grant under wages! Here's the step-by-step that worked for me in TurboTax: 1. Go to Federal Taxes → Income → Less Common Income 2. Look for "Scholarships and Fellowships" 3. Enter "SCH" as the payer (no employer ID needed) 4. Only enter the amount that exceeded your qualified education expenses The tricky part is calculating that excess amount correctly. I used my 1098-T form to see what I paid for tuition and fees, then added up my required textbooks and supplies. Whatever was left over from my total Pell Grant after subtracting those qualified expenses - that's what I reported as taxable income. With three dependents like you have, this could really help your EITC! In my case with two kids, reporting about $2,100 of excess Pell Grant income actually increased my refund by $750 because of how the earned income credit calculations work. One tip: make sure you keep good records of all your qualified education expenses (receipts for books, documentation of required supplies, etc.) in case the IRS ever asks. And definitely run the calculation both ways in your tax software to see which gives you the better refund before you submit!

Does anyone know if there's a dollar limit for meal deductions? Last year I had a few expensive client dinners (around $300-400 each) that were definitely business related, but I'm worried they might look excessive to the IRS.

Great discussion here! Just wanted to add one more important point about Schedule C Line 24b meal documentation. Beyond keeping receipts and noting business purpose, I've found it helpful to take photos of the business cards of people I meet with during meals. This creates an easy backup record of who attended and their business connection to you. Also, if you're using a business credit card for meals, make sure the statement description clearly shows it's a restaurant/meal expense. Some merchants code differently than you'd expect, and having clear records helps during tax prep. I learned this the hard way when my accountant questioned a "business meal" that showed up as a generic merchant code on my statement. For anyone still confused about the 50% limitation - you deduct 50% of the actual meal cost on your Schedule C. So if you spent $100 on a qualifying business meal, you can deduct $50 as a business expense.