What To Do If You Didn't Get a W-2
If you worked in a salaried position during 2005, your employer
should issue you a W-2 form for your tax reporting. So, what if
you haven't received one?
What To Do If You Didn't Get a W-2
W-2 Forms, known as Wage and Tax Statements, must be issued by
employers to all employers with duplicates being reported to the
IRS. W-2 Forms have to be issued no later than January 31, 2006,
which means you should have already received yours as of the
writing of this article. Notwithstanding this legal requirement,
more than a few employers fail to send out W-2 statements in a
timely manner. This is particularly true for small business,
which have a bad habit of being unorganized. There isn't any
tactical advantage to failing to send out W-2 forms, so don't
assume the employer is carrying out a vendetta.
If you haven't received a W-2 Form from an employer, the first
step is to contact the person or business and ask why it hasn't
arrived. Keep in mind that if you've moved since you worked for
the employer, the W-2 Form may have been delivered to the wrong
address or returned to the employer. Don't assume the employer
knows where you are.
Once you've spoken with the employer, you'll inevitably be told
the form is in the mail. Give the employer a couple of weeks to
get it to you. If it still doesn't arrive, you can call the IRS
for help. Trust me, the IRS is very interested to learn about
companies that are screwing around with anything related to
employee taxes.
If April 15th rolls around and you still don't have a W-2 Form,
you should go ahead and file your tax return anyway. You should
have pay stubs lying around from the job or at least bank
statements showing you bimonthly deposits. Use these to figure
out your estimated earnings and withholding. Report them on Form
4852, which is a substitute for your W-2 forms. Send the form in
with your tax return.
Most employers are good about getting W-2 forms out to employees
and ex-employees. They may be a few days late, but they will get
them to you eventually.