What to Do If You Are Missing a W-2
Published by the IRS
Did you get your W-2?
These documents are essential to filling out most individual tax returns. You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from each of your employers each year. Employers have until February 2, 2009 to provide or send you a 2008 W-2 earnings statement either electronically or in paper form. If you haven’t received your W-2, follow these steps:
1. Contact your employer. If you have not received your Form W-2, 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 because of an incorrect or incomplete address. After contacting the employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for them to resend or to issue the W-2.
2. Contact the IRS. If you still do not receive your W-2 by February 17th, contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. When you call, have the following information:
Employer’s name, address, city, and state, including zip code;
Your name, address, city and state, including zip code, and Social Security number; and
An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and the period 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.
Employer’s name, address, city, and state, including zip code;
Your name, address, city and state, including zip code, and Social Security number; and
An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and the period 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.
3. File your return. You still must file your tax return on time even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you have not received your Form W-2 by February 17th, and have completed steps 1 and 2 above, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Attach Form 4852 to the return, estimating income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible. There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified.
4. File a Form 1040X. On occasion, you may receive your missing documents at a later date and some may have conflicting information. You may receive a Form W-2 or W-2C (corrected form) after you filed your return using Form 4852, and the information differs from what you reported on your return. If this happens, you must amend your return by filing a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.
Form 4852, Form 1040X, and instructions are available on the IRS Web site, IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Ten Things You May Not Know About the Earned Income Tax Credit
Published by the IRS
The Earned Income Tax Credit is for people who work, but have lower incomes. Here are some things you may not know about the EITC.
1. A quarter of all taxpayers that qualify don’t claim the credit. The Earned Income Tax Credit is money you can use to make a difference in your life. Just because you didn’t qualify last year, doesn’t mean you won’t this year. As your financial situation changes from year-to-year you should review the EITC eligibility rules to determine if you qualify.
2. If you qualify, it could be worth up to $4,800 this year. If you qualify, you could pay less federal tax or even get a refund. The EITC is based on the amount of your earned income and whether or not there are qualifying children in your household.
3. Your filing status cannot be Married Filing Separately. Your filing status must be married filing jointly, head of household, qualifying widow or single.
4. You must have a valid Social Security Number. You, your spouse (if filing a joint return) and any qualifying child listed on Schedule EIC must have a valid SSN issued by the Social Security Administration.
5. You must have earned income. This credit is called the “earned income” tax credit because you must work and have earned income to qualify. You have earned income if you work for someone who pays you wages or you are self-employed.
6. Married couples and single people without kids may qualify. If you do not have qualifying children, you must also meet the age and residency requirements as well as dependency rules.
7. Special rules apply to members of the U.S. Armed Forces in combat zones. Members of the military can elect to include their nontaxable combat pay in earned income for the EITC. If you make the election, the combat pay remains nontaxable, but you must include in earned income all nontaxable combat pay you received.
8. You can visit the IRS Web site to estimate your credit online. It’s easy to determine whether you qualify for the EITC. The EITC Assistant, an interactive tool available on IRS.gov, removes the guesswork from eligibility rules. Just answer a few simple questions to find out if you qualify and to estimate the amount of your EITC. You will see the results of your responses right away.
9. E-file programs will figure the credit for you. If you are preparing your taxes electronically, the software program you use will figure the credit for you. If you qualify for the credit you may also be eligible for Free File. You can access Free File through the IRS Web site at IRS.gov.
10. Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit. You don’t have to wait until you file your tax return to receive your EITC. Advance EITC is a portion of the EITC that qualified workers may be able to receive in advance payments, added to their wages throughout the year. For more information, see Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate.
For more information about the EITC and Advance EITC see IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit. This publication (available in both English and Spanish) and Form W-5 can be downloaded from IRS.gov or ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Links:
EITC Assistant
Earned Income Tax Credit
Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC) (PDF 373K)
Free File
Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit
AARP Tax-Aide
EITC Assistant
Earned Income Tax Credit
Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC) (PDF 373K)
Free File
Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit
AARP Tax-Aide
