In 2020 I filed my taxes normally, then I got a letter from the IRS saying I owed $4k and I had to pay it within a 2 week deadline. I called the local IRS office and they said the letter was legitamate and I started panicing. I filed normally, using the W2 provided by my employer and got a refund check, so why did the IRS think I earned like 2 times what I actually did.
I called the company I worked for, and it turns out, because they switched payroll providers mid year, both payroll providers sent income statements to the IRS, but I only got one. The IRS assumed I had worked 2 jobs and taxed me as such, but didn't bother to tell me until now. So to remedy this the CEO had to send me an affidavit, I had to fill out a corrected W2, and a statement explaining the situation, and send it via certified mail before the deadline.
Thankfully it was all ironed out and I didn't owe an extra $4k, but every year I file I wonder if something like that will happen again, like I'll miss something and they'll take my papers, but won't bother to tell me what I actually owe until it's too late.
Employers please send me a fucking paper copy of my W2 instead of going "paperless" for "the environment" because i need a hard copy that isn't going to disappear suddenly one day or something I forget the login for
