It's tax season and you didn't get your W-2. Now what?
Tax season is officially underway and millions of people have already filed their returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
However, those gearing up to do so have hopefully already received their W-2 documents in the mail. A W-2 is a Wage and Tax Statement sent by employers and it is necessary when filing taxes.
Employers had a deadline of Jan. 31 to send out the documents to their workers.
Here are the steps the IRS recommends taking if you have yet to receive your W-2 this year:
Contact your employer
The agency first recommends contacting your employer, or former employer, and requesting to know whether the documents were sent or could be resent. It is also worthwhile to verify the company has your correct address.
Contact the IRS
After contacting your employer, if you still have not received the forms after a reasonable amount of time, you can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040.
The agency notes you will need to be able to give them the following information: name, address, Social Security number, phone number, employer’s name, employer’s address and employer’s phone number. You will also need to disclose your employment dates and an estimate of wages and income tax withheld in 2018 – which can be derived from your final pay stub.
The IRS may contact your workplace for you, which could be subject to penalty if it fails to mail the forms.
They may also ask you to fill out a substitute W-2 form, known as Form 4852, on which taxpayers will estimate their income and withholding taxes as accurately as they can.
File your return on time
Even if you do not receive your W-2 before the tax season deadline, the IRS said you should still file your return on time.
If you need more time you can file for an extension, which you would need to apply for by the tax deadline.
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This year’s deadline is Monday, April 15.
If you receive your W-2 after filing and the information you provided on your Form 4852 was inaccurate, you will need to correct it using a Form 1040X.