- HelpMeLogin is not Target and is not your employer. It hosts no login form, cannot reset a password and cannot release a W-2. Only your employer can.
- HelpMeLogin is not a tax adviser. For anything beyond where the form lives, ask a qualified adviser or the IRS on 800-829-1040.
- Never enter your Social Security number on a page reached from a text message or a search ad. No legitimate portal charges you to view a W-2 already there.
- Do not fabricate a W-2. Filing a return on invented figures is a federal offence, and Form 4852 exists precisely so you don't have to.
The Target W-2 route inverts the day you leave, which almost nobody tells you on your way out. Current team members reach Paperless Employee through Workday — Menu, then Tax Forms, in Target's own wording. Former team members do the opposite and go straight to paperlessemployee.com/target, with no Workday login at all. Free electronic access, Target adds, runs only through October 15 of the filing year.
What you need
11 itemsHow to get it
If you still work there, go through Workday
The instruction is Workday, then Menu, then Tax Forms, which hands you to Paperless Employee with your identity established. Most guides put the path under External Links instead. Checked on target.com, 19 August 2026.
If you've left, go straight there instead
paperlessemployee.com/target works directly for former team members with no Workday access. The account is built from a 10-digit team member number, date of birth and Social Security number, in Target's own description. The reason to note the address before your last day.
Note the October 15 cut-off
Electronic forms are typically available mid-January, and free electronic access runs through October 15 of the filing year, with fees after. A form that costs nothing in February is not free in November.
Wait for the deadline before chasing
Employers must furnish W-2s by January 31 — Monday February 1, 2027 for the 2026 tax year, because the 31st is a Sunday. Before that date nothing has gone wrong. Allow a further 2 weeks if yours comes by post; the deadline is for sending, not arrival.
Then call the IRS, on whichever date you trust
The end of February is the trigger. Ask the employer first, then call 800-829-1040 if nothing has come. Have your details, the employer's, and wages and withholding from your final pay stub. The Internal Revenue Service contacts the employer on your behalf, asks for the form, and sends Form 4852 so you can still file. Form 1040-X amends afterwards.
If something goes wrong
Paperless Employee won't let me in and I still work here
- Cause
- Current team members enter through Workday
- Fix
- Workday, then Menu, then Tax Forms, or the Tax Center link on targetpayandbenefits.com. Published routing, not a fault.
I left and Workday won't accept me
- Cause
- Access ends after separation
- Fix
- Expected. Use paperlessemployee.com/target directly — no Workday login needed.
It's asking me to pay for my W-2
- Cause
- You are past the free window
- Fix
- Free electronic access runs through October 15 of the filing year, with fees after. Not a scam, but worth knowing in advance.
My team member number is rejected
- Cause
- Published lengths disagree
- Fix
- A 10-digit number is what Target describes for Paperless Employee; the 8-digit figure comes from team members describing MyTime. Try it padded with zeros.
My name or SSN is wrong on the form
- Cause
- A payroll data error
- Fix
- Request a corrected W-2c through the HR Operations Center on 800-394-1885.
It's February and nothing has arrived
- Cause
- Wrong address, or not yet sent
- Fix
- Confirm the address first. Nothing by the end of February, and 800-829-1040 starts the IRS chase.
What’s fixed, and what actually varies
Target runs its own stores, so the systems are consistent. What changes is which route is correct, and that depends on your employment status rather than your location.
Fixed
- Current team members reach Paperless Employee through Workday
- Former team members use paperlessemployee.com/target directly
- Free electronic access runs through October 15 of the filing year
- Employers must furnish W-2s by January 31 — February 1, 2027 for tax year 2026
- Form 4852 lets you file without it; Form 1040-X amends afterwards
Varies
- How long Workday access survives after you leave
- Whether you selected electronic or postal delivery
- Whether your team member number is quoted as 8 digits or 10
- How quickly the HR Operations Center responds in late January
- Which address Target holds for you
Ask one question: do you still work there? That decides the route, and it is the only branch that matters. The rest is the standard IRS process.
How Target compares
Among the large single-employer retailers here, Target's former-employee route is among the cleanest.
| Chain | Where the W-2 lives | After you leave | If it never arrives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target | Workday → Menu → Tax Forms | paperlessemployee.com/target, direct | Same IRS route — end of February, then Form 4852 |
| Walmart | OneWalmart | mytaxform.com with employer code | Same IRS route — end of February, then Form 4852 |
| Kroger | MyInfo — ess.kroger.com | Access disabled; HR request only | Same IRS route — end of February, then Form 4852 |
The IRS process is identical everywhere. Only where the form lives, and how long you can reach it, differ.
Target and Walmart both give former employees a route that survives separation; Kroger does not. Target's quirk is that the route inverts rather than continuing.
An inverting route is an unusual thing to design
Most employers make leaving harder. Access closes, and retrieving a W-2 afterwards means a phone call and a wait. Target does something stranger: the correct route changes direction entirely at separation.
While you are employed, Paperless Employee is gated behind Workday. The company's own listing gives the path as Workday, then Menu, then Tax Forms — worth stating precisely, because most guides put it under External Links. The day you leave, that reverses: paperlessemployee.com/target becomes the route, standing alone, the account built from a 10-digit team member number, date of birth and Social Security number.
The logic is presumably about identity. While you have a Workday account, that account establishes who you are. Once it is gone, Paperless Employee has to verify you itself. Sensible enough, and invisible to anyone who has not been told.
The detail most write-ups miss is the deadline on the other end. According to Target, electronic forms are typically available mid-January and free electronic access runs through October 15 of the filing year, with fees after that date. Checked on 19 August 2026. Most W-2 writing treats retrieval as free forever; at Target it is free for about nine months.
So two small actions cover almost everything here. Write paperlessemployee.com/target down before your last day, and pull the form before October rather than after. Target Corporation keeps that door open deliberately from Minneapolis, Minnesota — but only for the people who know it is there, and only free of charge for part of the year. Neither fact appears on an exit checklist.
Questions people ask
How do I get my Target W-2 while still employed?
Workday, then Menu, then Tax Forms, in Target's own wording, which hands you to Paperless Employee. Many guides put the path under External Links.
How do former team members get it?
At paperlessemployee.com/target, directly and with no Workday login. The account is built from a 10-digit team member number, date of birth and SSN.
Is Target W-2 access free?
Free access to the electronic form runs through October 15 of the filing year, with fees after that date. Forms appear mid-January. Checked 19 August 2026.
When must the W-2 be sent?
By January 31 — Monday February 1, 2027 for tax year 2026, since the 31st is a Sunday. Federal law, not company policy. Allow two more weeks if it comes by post.
What if it never arrives?
There is one date, the end of February. Topic no. 154 says to contact the employer, then call 800-829-1040, after which the IRS contacts them for you and asks for the form.
Can I file without it?
Yes. Form 4852 is the IRS substitute, built from your final pay stub. Form 1040-X amends the return if the real form later differs.