Every year tax season comes and employers mail at their W-2. But what if your W-2 never arrives? W-2 are required to be in the mail by January 31st of each year but for various reasons some W-2s never reach their destination. Here are the steps you should take to avoid being contacted by the IRS for tax fraud when filing your taxes for a missing W-2.
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Contact Your Current or Past Employer
Your first step should always be to contact the employer. Make sure they mailed the form to the correct address or double check to see if it was returned to them by the Post Office. In many cases, the missing W-2 can be resolved at this step. However, if you are still unable to gain your wage information by February 14th, your next step would be to contact the IRS.
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Contact the IRS
If you cannot track down your W-2, give the IRS a call at 800-829-1040 and be prepared to provide them with detailed information about yourself and your employer, including an estimate of wages. They will instruct you on the next steps you need to follow. If you file your taxes through programs such as TurboTax, they provide information on how to correctly estimate your wages and withheld taxes. They also provide you with the proper steps and forms that need to be sent to the IRS with your tax return.
Remember, any wages recorded by an employer to the IRS need to be accounted for in your personal tax return even if you do not receive a W-2 or this is a form of tax fraud. Failure to do so may result in the need of a tax fraud lawyer further down the line due to unpaid back taxes and failure to pay.
