How to handle missing W2 from failed direct deposit only company?
Yes, there's a way. I actually wrote a blog post about it. Its a new service from the IRS which allows you pulling your account online. IRS also has an instruction page just for this case here.
There are some people that still get an old-fashioned paycheck but for the most part if you are an employee at a company you get a paystub while the money is direct deposited into your accounts.  Paying for stuff at a store with a check is not very common.  Most people use credit cards for that purpose.  A significant percentage of the population still use checks for paying there regular bills through the mail.  Although the more internet savvy people will most likely use online bill pay from their bank so they don't have to mail checks.  Personally I have only written about 15 checks in 5 years.  Mostly to people and not to businesses setup for receiving bill payments electronically. &gt; Isn't it strange how hard labor fights on the side of capital?  Like the top comment or the geniuses downvoting us?   &gt; Imagine if workers directed even a fraction of that passion toward helping workers instead of companies.  No need to imagine. Plenty of failed backwards socialist countries who've done this like Germany. Strong unions and labour laws, free post-secondary education and 3.9% unemployment. Sounds absolutely horrible, who'd want to live in such a hellhole. "Yesterday I have received a call from my local bank. They told the the payment had arrived, but the money sender failed to specify my account number. They have only specified SWIFT code and my address. And in order to receive my money, money sender has to send an additional SWIFT message, where my account number must be specified. And the money transfer will remain ""frozen"" (or ""blocked"") until such a message would be received. In this case normally your local bank has to send a SWIFT MT199 to the sending Bank that the account number quoted is missing. The Sending Bank would contact the company and send back a SWIFT message with required info." Here is how it should look: 100 shares of restricted stock (RSU) vest. 25 shares sold to pay for taxes. W2 (and probably paycheck) shows your income going up by 100 shares worth and your taxes withheld going up by 25 shares worth. Now you own 75 shares with after-tax money. If you stop here, there would be no stock sale and no tax issues.  You'd have just earned W2 income and withheld taxes through your W2 job. Now, when you sell those 75 shares whether it is the same day or years later, the basis for those 75 shares is adjusted by the amount that went in to your W2.   So if they were bought for $20, your adjusted basis would be 75*$20. You can sign over the check, of course. However, you'll probably need to deal with 1099 issued to you personally instead of the corporation later on. You'll have to add it to your tax return as income and negative income on the same line (line 21 of your 1040) and attach a statement explaining that the income was erroneously reported to you and will be reported on the corp form 1120. Another option is to return the check to the payer and ask them to reissue in the correct name. Next time, make sure to provide the properly filled W9 to your payers with the details of the corporation, not your own details. In the U.S., there are laws that protect both employees and employers. Ask for proof of overpayment, and time to respond. If you feel you have a case, consult a lawyer that specializes in wage disputes. Otherwise, let them have their money, out of your last check if necessary. You don't want to have to go to court if you really do owe them. If you tell them a lawyer has accepted your case based on evidence, they may choose to settle out of court to avoid public embarrassment and legal fees, since, if you win, they also have to pay your court fees and legal fees, plus possible punitive damages. Conversely, if you go to court, but you owe them, you'll be subject to pay back what you owe plus their legal fees, which will be far more than you intend to pay them, or even what you'd get if you won. Losing would cost you dearly. Nobody can tell you what the outcome of your specific case will be, but unless the sum is significant, I would recommend that you accept the losses and walk away. While I know this can be hard, as someone who also lives the middle class paycheck-to-paycheck life, you probably can't afford to lose, and your company has expensive lawyers. Losing a few thousand dollars is easier than losing tens of thousands (or more) in a court battle. You can always seek assistance, such as unemployment, welfare, utility assistance, and other government programs to get back on your feet. If you owe them more than you can actually repay, try to negotiate. You want to stay out of court if at all practical. Their lawyers run hundreds of dollars per hour, so if they choose to, they can bury you financially if they have a case. I am in a very similar situation. My wife and I made decent money in the early to mid-2000's but handled the tax end of the business VERY poorly. However for the last 5 years we've been close to poverty and owing the IRS close to 60K because of the accumulated penalty and interest. On top of that, they started garnishing my wife's paycheck putting ourselves further in the whole. Finally got the courage to call them and explain the situation and was classified as a 'CNC' or Can Not Collect. Basically, there is nothing they can take from us and removed the garnish from my wife's check almost immediately. Now they will review our returns yearly and if we do start making real money again, we'll have to set up a payment agreement at that time. Also there is a 10 year limitation on them being able to collect from you so every year that passes removes another year of the past due taxes. Call them, explain your situation and see what happens. I was floored at how understanding they were and completed the paperwork over the phone that determined us to be CNC. "It is not allowed to pay refunds to anyone other than the taxpayer. This is due to various tax return fraud schemes that were running around. Banks are required to enforce this. If the direct deposit is denied, a check will be issued. In her name, obviously. What she does with it when she gets it is her business - but I believe that tax refund checks may not be just ""endorsed"", the bank will likely want to see her when you deposit it to your account, even if it is endorsed. For the same reason."