Thursday, February 16, 2012

Missing a W-2

So, it's February 16 and my hubby still hasn't received a W-2 from one of his employers yet. He was kind of a jerk employer at a small company and didn't really treat his employees well. The fact that an employee would need his W-2 and that BY LAW, he should have sent them out by January 31st, wouldn't phase him.

We moved since he stopped working there, so we emailed him TWICE to give him our new address. No response, no W-2, nothing. I did some research online and according to the IRS website, here is the process:

If you haven’t received your W-2, follow these four steps:
  1. Contact your employer If you have not received your W-2, contact your employer to inquire if and when the W-2 was mailed. If it was mailed, it may have been returned to the employer because of an incorrect or incomplete address. After contacting the employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for them to resend or to issue the W-2.

  2. Contact the IRS If you do not receive your W-2 by February 14th, contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. When you call, you must provide your name, address, city and state, including zip code, Social Security number, phone number and have the following information:

    • Employer’s name, address, city and state, including zip code and phone number

    • Dates of employment

    • An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and when you worked for that employer during 2010. The estimate should be based on year-to-date information from your final pay stub or leave-and-earnings statement, if possible.

  3. File your return You still must file your tax return or request an extension to file April 18, 2011, even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you have not received your Form W-2 by the due date, and have completed steps 1 and 2, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Attach Form 4852 to the return, estimating income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible. There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified.

  4. File a Form 1040X On occasion, you may receive your missing W-2 after you filed your return using Form 4852, and the information may be different from what you reported on your return. If this happens, you must amend your return by filing a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
Form 4852, Form 1040X, and instructions are available at http://www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

I'm a bit frustrated that this falls on us and I hope that we do our calculations out correctly. I'm just dying to know what our total amount due is so that we can prepare. I'll keep you posted!

Lessons Learned : Be sure to hold onto your pay stubs until after you've received your W-2 each year!

8 comments:

  1. Wow that would make me really mad!

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    1. We are in the same situation with a jerk employer. The employer in question actually bragged to my DH about how he didn't have to mail W2's until Jan. 31 and wouldn't make any extra efforts if you had moved or changed addresses. Yet, the DH won't call the IRS for assistance or even to report him for non-compliance.

      I hope your W2 shows up soon!

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  2. It is important to keep those paystubs!! I always do a rough run of the taxes before we get T4's mailed out (canadian version of W-2)
    This year my oldest kid has to get from 3 employers and still nothing in the mail. So frustrating!

    I gave you The Versatile Blogger" award and linked to your site on my blog.

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    1. FYI B-Kat, we can now see our T4s online...as long as the employers have submitted them to CRA, which they are required to do by the end of February. You and your kid should register on cra.gc.ca if you havent already. It's sooo useful!!!! do it now!
      Magda

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  3. Wow, that's insane!!! I am so glad that this hasn't happened to me...yet. I really hope things get sorted out for him. I actually requested my W-2 from 2010 from my employer and they wanted to charge me $20!! I was like, no way haha. Lesson learned-always file my stuff away!

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  4. Bummer. Seems like quite a few people are experiencing a similar problem what with businesses that have closed throughout the year (and no one left to make out the W2s). Definitely a good idea to keep those pay stubs. Hope you can file soon!

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  5. Good luck...I hope you get it soon. Keep us posted.

    Amy
    www.crazyclutterlady.blogspot.com

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  6. I keep all records for at least 7 years and once a year have a big shredder party and then all the paper goes to the local animal shelter. I love to think that the paper is getting crapped all over, just like my debt :)

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