Tax News Blog. Tax Rates and Calculator Blog. Tax Refunds Blog. There is little that is more vexing as you prepare to file your taxes than to realize that your W-2 or form has gone missing. Sure, it could have just been shuffled about with other papers. If you think this is the case, then stop reading now and go tackle that stack of paperwork on your desk.
Previous and even current employers often fail to observe due diligence when it comes to providing an employee with necessary tax documents. The task of obtaining them can be quite frustrating as a result. The situation is usually made worse if you are filing a prior year tax return, at which point a company you worked for years ago may simply have ceased to exist.
I know, I know. However, if it is possible for you, this is the quickest and simplest way to go about obtaining your W-2 or other income statement. As you may know, employers are required to submit W-2 forms to you and the IRS.
If you lost your W-2 or believe that your employer only submitted income statements to the IRS, then this is another route you can take to obtain yours.
However, they are not absolutely necessary. You will need to provide an acceptable estimate of your wages and tax withholding for the year. How in the world are you supposed to guess your income and withholding for the year? Take a look at your last pay stub. Employers are required to issue W-2 forms by the end of January.
Give it a few days before typing up your plan of action. Employer went out of business and filed bankruptcy. Never got my w2 in the mail. Cant contact them. Can a tax preparer fix all this for me?
Worked there for 14 years. Never had this problem before. The dept. It doesn't hurt to ask your employer before you set up your account, especially if you wouldn't have used the service otherwise. Tip: If you want to file your taxes sooner and are having a hard time waiting for your W2, ask your employer if you can have early access to the information. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.
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Find a copy of your final pay stub for the year. If you haven't gotten your W2, your final pay stub likely has the information you'll need to file your taxes.
Look for the "year to date" information on the last pay stub you received for the year. Unless your final pay stub for the year ends on December 31, you'll likely also need the following pay stub. Add on additional days that weren't included in your final pay stub.
If the year happened to end in the middle of a pay period, you'll probably need your first pay stub of the following year as well. Then, you'll need to add the pay and taxes that related to the previous calendar year to your year-end totals. For hourly pay, add the hours that you worked during the days that fell on the previous calendar year.
For example, if you get paid weekly and worked 12 hours on December 30 and 31, you would add 12 hours of income to your year-to-date total for the previous year. To estimate the taxes taken out, divide the total amount of taxes withheld by the total number of hours you worked or days, if you're paid salary. Then multiply that number by the number of days or hours that apply to the previous calendar year.
Download a copy of Form You can call the IRS and have a copy of Form sent to you. While you don't have to submit this form with your taxes, you do need to keep it with your tax records in the event of an audit. For this reason, make sure you fill it out neatly and legibly. Enter information about yourself and your employer. Fill out the form completely with your full name as shown on your tax return, your Social Security number, and your address.
If you worked for the same employer last year, you may also be able to find it on last year's tax return. Copy the information from your pay stubs onto the form. Form has lines for the total income and taxes withheld for the entire year. Use the total you got from the year-to-date amounts on your final pay stub for the year. Don't forget to add any amounts that may have been included on the following pay stub if the end of the year fell in the middle of a pay period.
If the second pay stub included income from the following calendar year, you might also want to indicate how many days or hours you added to the year-to-date figures on your final pay stub for the year. Provide information about your efforts to get your W2. On line 10, you're required to state everything you did to try to get your W2.
At a minimum, you likely talked to your employer about the fact that you hadn't received your W2 yet. You're also required to contact the IRS before you use Form instead of a W2, so include information about that as well. Keep the completed form with your tax records. You are not expected to submit Form to the IRS along with your tax return. However, you are expected to keep it with your tax records in the event of an audit. Unlike other tax records, you should also retain a copy of the form at least until you start receiving Social Security, to protect your Social Security benefits.
You will have to create a free account to do this. Wages for each calendar year become available online by September 30 of the following year. Even if you've verified your wages with Social Security, it's still in your best interest to keep this form in your records. Amend your return if the information on Form doesn't match your W2. If you eventually get your W2 after you've already filed your taxes, compare the information on your W2 to the information you provided on your tax return.
If any of the information is off, file Form X to correct that information. Method 2. Ask your employer if electronic W2s are available. Many employers make electronic W2s available to their employees. You'll likely have to provide a password or other information to access your W2 through an online service. It will typically be available much sooner than the paper form would get mailed to you, so you can go ahead and file your taxes.
Electronic W2s contain all the same information as the paper W2 that would be mailed to you. Some employers don't even mail paper forms, preferring to make W2s available exclusively electronically. Set up an account with a tax preparation software company. Even if your employer doesn't offer electronic W2s, you may still be able to access the information on your W2 electronically.
Some tax preparation software companies, such as TurboTax, have programs that allow employers to partner with them so you can import information directly from your W2 onto your tax return. However, you typically still need to provide new information about the income you earned and the taxes that were withheld. Gather the information you'll need to access your W2.
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