LITTLETON, Colo. — Several former employees at Littleton Auto Repair say they’re still waiting on important tax forms.
“We still have yet to this day get a W-2,” said Cody Schuck, who left his job at Littleton Auto Repair in April – two months before speaking with Denver7.
He says he's been trying to get his W-2 for months so he can pay his taxes. A W-2 is a tax form that contains information about income earned and taxes withheld from a person's paycheck, and is used to pay both state and federal taxes.
“It’s the middle of January," Schuck recalled. "[I asked my employer,] 'Do you know when we're gonna get our W-2's?' 'Oh yeah, we'll get them very soon for you' was the reply."
When he still hadn't heard anything months later, he decided to reach out to Contact Denver7.
"Where are they? Oh, there was an accounting error and the company doing our payroll is having trouble figuring it out,” said Schuck.
Schuck shared this text conversation he had with the owner of the business in April:
Schuck: "I require a W-2 by tomorrow night. If you can't do it, I want a written statement on why so I can attach to my taxes."
Business owner: "I've been working with ADP this week trying to sort through what happened. I’m trying my best to get whatever's needed so I can provide the documents needed."
He continued to text the owner days and months after with no response.
“He blocked my number," Schuck said. "He won't answer any calls from me."
Schuck said he filed an extension just to be safe and called the IRS for help. They sent him a letter in return on April 18 saying they were sending Littleton Auto Repair a letter asking them to send Schuck his W-2.
The IRS suggested he file a Form 4852 – a substitute for a W-2 in the event an employer doesn't provide one – if he didn't hear from the auto shop two weeks prior to the due date of his return.
Schuck told Denver7 he was waiting to fill out the Form 4852 until closer to the expiration of his extension in October, in hopes he gets his W-2 beforehand.
"I don't believe they actually filed any paperwork. I have called the state of Colorado for the state holdings and stuff,” said Schuck. "The state told me they have no record of any withholdings for my name or any employees from Littleton Auto Repair.”
Contact Denver7 went to Littleton Auto Repair to get some questions answered and a manager behind the counter told us Schuck is a 1099 employee, which is considered a contractor rather than a full-time employee. Schuck said that's not true.
He said he should get a W-2 since taxes were taken out of his paychecks, sharing with Contact Denver7 a stub from November of last year that showed federal, social security and state deductions.
Contact Denver7 also talked to two other former employees who wanted to remain anonymous.
“I repeatedly asked him for my W-2's and he repeatedly told me oh yeah, we're working on it,” said one former employee.
The former employee shared with Contact Denver7 documents he said he received from Littleton Auto Repair, showing calculations made from ADP’s website which is a company that offers human resources services like payroll, tax and benefits.
“I’ve watched my mother-in-law do it and actually print the check out," the former employee said. "She puts the numbers into the website and it calculates everything."
He and another former employee shared their paychecks with Contact Denver7, saying every one they received was handwritten.
Contact Denver7 tried calling and texting the auto shop owner on his cell, but didn't receive a response.
Contact Denver7 then reached out to a local tax expert to ask what employees in this situation can do. He said the first step is to notify the IRS, who will then contact the employer to send a W-2.
“If the employer doesn't do that and there is a W-2 issued to the employer, the employee can go to irs.gov, and search transcripts, create an account and request an income transcript for tax year 2022,” said Carlos Castro with SmartTax & Accounting.
If a W-2 doesn't exist, he said something else could be going on.
“That means an employer never submitted it or he never created one to submit,” said Castro.
Schuck said he just wants to move on with his life and not get penalized by the government.
“Get me the proper forms so I can get on with my life and go on my merry way,” he said.
Contact Denver7 reached out to ADP to see if they still work with Littleton Auto Repair. ADP said they can confirm Littleton Auto Repair is no longer an client, and that the company doesn't have any insight into any matters that occurred at the business.
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