What to Do If You Are Missing a W-2

 

Have you received all of your W-2s? These documents are essential for completing individual tax returns. You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from all of your employers each year. Employers have until January 31st to provide or send you a 2012 W-2 earnings statement, either electronically or in paper form. If you have not received your W-2, follow these steps:

 

Contact Your Tax Preparer - And let him or her know that you are missing a W-2. If your appointment is in the near future, your preparer will advise you whether to keep the appointment or change it to another time. Generally, when a W-2 or 1099 is missing, it is best to keep the appointment so that everything else for the return can be completed. You can then mail the missing document to the office or drop it off at a later date. That way, your return can be finished as soon as the W-2 or 1099 is available, which will speed up your refund, if you are receiving one.

1. Contact Your Employer - 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 due to an incorrect or incomplete address. After contacting the employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for the employer to resend or re-issue the W-2.
2. Contact the IRS - If you still have not received your W-2 by February 15, you can contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. However, we recommend that you hold off from contacting the IRS until you are certain that you will not be receiving a W-2 from the employer. If and when you do call the IRS, have the following information at hand:
• Employer's name, address, city, and state, including zip code;
• Your name, address, city, state, zip code, and Social Security number; and
• An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and the period in which you worked for that employer. The estimate should be based on year-to-date information from your final pay stub or leave-and-earnings statement, if possible. This office can assist you with making the estimate.
3. File Your Return - Even if you don’t receive a W-2, you are still required to file your tax return or to request a filing extension by April 15.
• If you anticipate that you will ultimately receive the missing W-2, this office can estimate your 2012 tax liability and file extensions for you. If you have a substantial refund coming, you may opt to have this office prepare a substitute W-2, enabling you to file without the W-2. Refunds for returns, including substitute W-2s, can be delayed significantly while the IRS verifies the W-2 information.
• If you don’t anticipate receiving the missing W-2, then this office can prepare a substitute W-2, enabling you to file your 2012 tax return.

If a substitute W-2 is used and it is later determined that the information used to prepare the substitute W-2 was in error, an amended return may need to be prepared for you to be able to file.

Please call this office if you have questions or need assistance.

Employee Miss-Classification Amnesty

 

For many years, many employers have miss-classified employees as independent contractors, which is in violation of Federal and State law.  The IRS has an amnesty program called Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP).  It is important to note that many states do not have a similar program and will levy heavy penalties for miss-classification of employees.

Employers are now allowed to voluntarily reclassify workers as employees and receive relief from payroll taxes otherwise owed and will not notify the state.  Traditionally there is an exchange of information program between the IRS and many states, but in this case the IRS has promised to omit VCSP from information sharing. To qualify the employer must (1) consistently treated the workers as nonemployees, (2) filed all required Form 1099s for the workers in the previous three years, and (3) is not currently under audit by the IRS or the Department of Labor. The IRS is providing temporary relief through 6/30/13 to allow taxpayers, who have not filed all required Form 1099s for the previous three years and modified eligibility requirements to allow taxpayers under IRS audit, other than an employment tax audit, to participate in the VCSP program.

Because there might be unintentional employment legal issues one should consult with a labor attorney first.

Please contact our office if you need more information

GETTING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TAX WITHELD

In most situations, the tax withheld from your pay will be close to the tax you figure on your return - if you follow these two rules.
• You accurately complete all the Form W-4 worksheets that apply to you.
• You give your employer a new Form W-4 when changes occur.

However, because the worksheets and withholding methods do not account for all possible situations, you may not be getting the right amount withheld. This is most likely to happen in the following situations:
• You are married and both you and your spouse work.
• You have more than one job at a time.
• You have nonwage income, such as interest, dividends, alimony, unemployment compensation, or self-employment income.
• You will owe additional amounts with your return, such as self-employment tax.
• Your withholding is based on obsolete Form W-4 information for a substantial part of the year.
• Your earnings are more than $130,000 if you are single or $180,000 if you are married.
• You work only part of the year.
• You change the number of your withholding allowances during the year.

If you need help downloading Form W-4 or have questions on how to fill it out properly, give us a call. We are happy to help.

2009 Tax Strategy X – Do you have your W-2 Yet?

You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from each of your employers for use in preparing your federal tax return. Employers must furnish this record of 2009 earnings and withheld taxes no later than February 1, 2010 (if mailed, allow a few days for delivery). If you do not receive your Form W-2, contact your employer to find out if and when the W-2 was mailed. If it was mailed, it may have been returned to your employer because of an incorrect address. After contacting your employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for your employer to resend or to issue the W-2.

If you still do not receive your W-2 by February 15th, contact the IRS for assistance at 1-800-829-1040. When you call, have the following information handy:
• The employer's name and complete address, including zip code, the employer's identification number (if known), and telephone number,
• Your name and address, including zip code, Social Security number, and telephone number; and
• An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and the dates you began and ended employment.

If you misplaced your W-2, contact your employer. Your employer can replace the lost form with a "reissued statement." Be aware that your employer is allowed to charge you a fee for providing you with a new W-2.

You still must file your tax return on time even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you cannot get a W-2 by the tax-filing deadline, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, but it will delay any refund due while the information is verified.

If you receive a corrected W-2 after your return is filed and the information it contains does not match the income or withheld tax that you reported on your return, you must file an amended return on Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.