So you want to get your federal income tax return done early, but you still haven’t received your W-2 in the mail.

What should you do?

The IRS requires employers to file a Form W-2 for each employee. These forms must be sent out to employees by February 1. If employers fail to do so, they could face some costly consequences.

That being said, one option if you haven’t received your W-2 forms by February 1 is to report your employer to the IRS. You can contact the IRS toll-free at (800) 829-1040.

But before you do that, you may want to contact your employer to see if they’ve actually sent out your W-2, Examiner.com suggests. Perhaps they had the wrong address on file, or perhaps it got lost in the mail and it wasn’t your employer’s fault. See if you can get to the bottom of what happened.

In any event, even if you do contact the IRS, they won’t force your employer to give you a W-2. All they might do is make note of it. It won’t absolve you from filing your tax return on time.

If you want more time to file your tax return, you can always file for an extension. This is generally only a good idea if you are certain you won’t be owing any taxes. Because if you owe taxes, you still have to pay the taxes on time, even if you’re allowed an extension to file your return.

If you plan to file on time without your W-2, you can complete a Form 4852, entitled “Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.” You may need to dig up your old pay stubs and do some calculating, but if you want to get your taxes done on time, this might be the least taxing way to do it.

Related Resources:

  • Find Tax Lawyers Near Your (FindLaw’s Lawyer Directory)
  • Tax Penalties: Quick Reference Guide (FindLaw)
  • Penalties and Interest (FindLaw)
  • Be Tax Savvy! Deduct Daycare Expenses (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
  • Not All Charitable Donations Are Tax Deductible (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)

You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help

Civil Rights

Block on Trump’s Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court

Criminal

Judges Can Release Secret Grand Jury Records

Politicians Can’t Block Voters on Facebook, Court Rules