I started working for an employer in May of 2008. I was laid off February of 2009 and then the business closed down shortly after. When I applied for unemployment benefits, there was no record of me having worked for this company in their system. Another person I worked with had the same problem. We both had to jump through hoops to prove we worked there in order to receive unemployment. Now jump to current day, I just received my Social Security’s benefits outline in the mail (not that I receive SS but it outlines taxes paid, wages earned, etc). Long story short, it basically shows that this employer did not report my earnings to the government while I was employed with them. I also believe that all of the taxes they withheld from my paychecks were never paid to the state and federal government. I am really upset about this. What can I do? Who should I report this to? But is it even worth it being that the company no longer exists? I would really appreciate your help on this. I will not make a huge deal about this if it isn’t worth it but at the same time, he took those taxes from me and I want to know what he did with the money.
Hi,
Go straight to the IRS and give them all the information you have. Be specific! Hand over all the information you have from when you worked there, names addresses, phoone numbers. They will know what you should do and you will avoid more trouble later down the line.
Best Wishes!
Contact the State of Illinois Labor Board and report them. They will go through process with you and if employer does not pay government or you, they can be reported to Attorney General's office. Also, you most likely w/not receive a W2 for your taxes. Look up IRS.gov and find what form you need to fill in stating that you worked for company but have not received a w2. They will ask you to fill in amount of estimated earnings and deductions and they will go after employer for that.
Like to add that I was a licensed employment counselor for 15 years and this is the only way to handle it. They have until end of January to send you w2. If you expect them not to, then you need to the w2 replacement form from IRS and file that with your taxes. The IRS takes over from there. Don't waste time going to police or social security, as they w/send you back to IRS.
You definately need to report this. IF SS is still around when you need it, you want credit for everything that you paid into it. Also if you are audited for your personal tax returns it could be 3-4 years down the road and you could get in trouble for not paying appropriately.
You should contact the IRS withholding department. Go to IRS.gov and definately file a complaint. If you did not recieve a W-2 for 2008 or now 2009, you are responsible for contacting them. You know you did the work and if you do not file a personal tax return with that included then you are a part of the cover up.
Also contact your states department of Revenue and report it there too. Every tax department is a separate entity. By reporting it to unemployement you have notified one place, but they wont nessacerily notify the other tax agencies. That being said the other agencies now have proof you did work and can come after you with the personal withholding taxes you are liable for. So cover YOUR back.
The employer is still responsible for paying all the taxes even if he closes the business. This could be as simple as he was off on your SSN by a digit or his company IDs were off just by a number and no one was credited for payments. Or it could be that he just got in over his head, but there are programs to help him.
Please save all of your check stubs and anything that would show how much you made, where you worked, what you did. You will probably be asked to help prove that you did pay your taxes and a check stub can say it was withheld from your check which gets you credit for doing your part. If you can't prove that later then you could be forced to pay again.
Go straight to the IRS, because I bet you will also not receive a W-2 for taxes.
This is frustrating but happens more often than you would think when a business fails. Your former employer spent the money elsewhere instead of paying taxes. Businesses pay withholding quarterly so the amount can become considerable. Since you had to make a claim to receive unemployment benefits I'm sure the government is aware of his actions and following through with penalties. Unless he left the country or went underground (works without filing taxes or using his SS #) he will eventually have to face consequences.
I would contact the IRS. There may be a reward for turning this guy in. I believe the president/ceo of the company is liable and I think it is considered tax evasion and may include jailtime.
I'm not sure what can be done about that, but if it were me, I would start with your local police. They should be able to tell you what you can do or if you need to talk to a certain department.
And/or you could try finding a lawyer that you could talk to for free, just to find out what can/should be done.
My first two thoughts are:
Did you receive W-2s for working with this company? You use these to prepare your taxes each year.
Upon your hiring, did you ever complete an W-4 form? With every new hire, you fill out a W-4 form to establish allowances/deductions etc.
Both of those will help to establish the paper trail in proving that you actually worked for the company.
