|
You're still waiting for your W-2. You know
you're getting a refund, and you want to file your return, something
you can't do until you receive your annual wage statement.
If you're without the form in early February,
you probably should just try to be patient for a bit
longer. While the Internal Revenue Service requires
employers to get workers their earnings information
by the end of each January, many companies still send
W-2s by mail, so allow a few days after
the 31st for delivery.
Check with payroll
But a call to your company's payroll office isn't entirely
out of order. Make sure the payroll administrator has
your correct address. If he does and the form was just
dropped into the mail, you should have it soon.
If it hasn't been sent out yet, you might
be able to walk down to the office and pick up your
copy in person.
If, however, the days roll by and the
form is indeed lost, your employer is inordinately slow
in issuing a replacement, or you worked for a company
that went out of business and there's no one to bug
about getting a W-2, what then?
Don't panic. You can recreate your W-2
on an IRS form and file it instead with your return.
Alert the IRS
First, find your last pay stub. You'll need the information
shown there -- wages, Social Security and Medicare taxes
paid, federal and, if applicable, state and local taxes
withheld, any pension or 401(k) contributions -- to
recreate your missing W-2.
The stub also should show the employer
information: company name, address and possibly the
employer identification number. If the EIN isn't on
a pay stub and you received a W-2 from
the errant employer in prior years, the tax number will
be on the old statements. You don't have to have the
EIN, but it will help when the IRS processes your return.
Armed with this information, call the
IRS at (800) 829-1040 for help in obtaining the missing
form. The IRS will use the
employment data you gathered -- along with your personal
information, such as your Social Security number and
dates of employment -- to remind your boss that you
need a substitute W-2.
Form 4852
The IRS will send your boss a special form noting that
you did not receive your W-2. You'll get
a copy of that notice along with a Form
4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage
and Tax Statement. If, even after nudging from the IRS,
your employer doesn't send you a replacement W-2
in time for you to file your return, you may file using
Form 4852 in place of your missing wage statement.
If you get your official W-2 after filing
with the substitute form and its data is different from
what you reported on your return, you need to refile.
Do this by completing Form
1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
Do-it-yourself W-2
If you can't get through to the IRS, you can download
Form 4852 and fill out the replacement wage statement
yourself.
This one-page form (plus a page of instructions)
walks you through the W-2 recreation process.
You'll also have to explain how you got the numbers
you entered (generally from old paychecks) and describe
the efforts you made to obtain your missing W-2.
If you're missing multiple W-2s, you'll
need a separate Form 4852 for each.
After you complete the form, attach it
to your tax return in place of your absent W-2.
A copy of Form 4852 also should satisfy your state tax
collector for those returns. Be aware, though, that
using Form 4852 instead of an original W-2
may delay your refund while the IRS verifies the information
you provided.
And in cases where an employer has filed
for bankruptcy or ceased operations, the IRS suggests
you send a copy of Form 4852 to your local Social Security
Administration office. The agency's office
locator can help you find the one nearest you. This
should ensure that you get proper credit for the Social
Security and Medicare taxes you paid so that your checks
will be correct when it comes time to collect these
benefits.
Freelance writer Kay
Bell writes Bankrate's tax stories from her home in
Austin, Texas, and blogs each day on tax topics at Don't
Mess with Taxes.
| -- Updated: Jan.
29, 2007 |
|
