09/23/2026
As an employee, the law gives you the right to a pay stub with each paycheck. The pay stub shows the total hours you worked in the pay period, your rate of pay, your gross earnings, and all the taxes and other deductions your employer takes out.
By January 31st, your employer must file a W-2 form showing your total wages for the year and the total federal, state, and local taxes withheld from your pay.
Your employer must file that W-2 with the Social Security Administration, which then sends it to the IRS, and your employer must also give you a copy to use when filing your tax return.
Sometimes, even if an employer gives a worker a W-2, that W-2 does not reach the IRS.
If the IRS doesn’t get the W-2, then they will usually not issue a refund that is based on federal income tax that was withheld or on refundable credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which depend upon the amount of the taxpayer’s earned income.
If your employer didn’t properly file your W-2 with the Social Security Administration, or if Social Security didn’t send it to the IRS, unfortunately, the IRS won't accept the copy your employer gave you as proof that you earned that income and had that amount of tax withheld.
The IRS wants more proof than a copy of your W-2. The best way to fix it is to have your employer correct the issue or provide a signed letter on their letterhead confirming all the information on your W-2. Sometimes it is hard to communicate with an employer, and not all employers are willing to take the time to do this.
That is why pay stubs are important! If you have all your pay stubs for the year and can submit them to the IRS, the IRS is more likely to accept the information on your copy of the W-2 and issue your refund.
Employers may issue pay stubs online rather than in paper. Whichever way your employer issues your pay stubs, it is good practice to save each pay stub for the year until you receive your refund after filing your tax return the following year. If you have already thrown out some of this year’s pay stubs, see if you can get replacements from your employer!
Also, if you have your pay direct deposited into your bank account, it can help to have bank statements showing all your pay deposits.
If you haven’t received a refund and you think it may be because your W-2 wasn’t properly filed with Social Security or the IRS, call us to see if we can help!
Also, if your employer isn't giving you pay stubs, we may be able to help with that, too!
Our services are free and confidential. Call 215-981-3800, Monday through Thursday from 9:30 to 12:00, or apply online at philalegal.org/apply.
