Tag: employer

Posts Tagged ‘employer’

How to File Taxes without a W-2

Posted by admin on October 18, 2016
Last modified: November 2, 2016

It’s easy to lose your W-2 and just as simple to file without it.

E-filing your tax return these days is pretty straightforward. You just plug in the numbers on your W-2 to the online  tax application, take the credits and deductions you’re entitled to, and VOILA! Couldn’t be simpler.

But what happens if you don’t have a W-2? Suddenly things get a lot more complicated. Don’t worry. There are steps to take to make sure you get your tax return to the IRS.

Contact your employer

First thing’s first. Make every attempt to get the actual document itself. If your employer didn’t send you one, or sent you one that was incorrect, contact them and request that they send you the right one.

Employers are required to have W-2 forms issued to their employees by January 31. If you still don’t have it by then, it’s time to take additional action. At this point you should call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 and tell them about your missing W-2. They will call your employer and tell them to send you the W-2.

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How to Get a Copy of Your W-2 Form for Prior Years

Posted by admin on October 18, 2016
Last modified: January 4, 2024

Ready to file your tax return but can’t find your W-2 form?

If you realized you lost a prior year W-2, there’s still hope. The process to get a copy of a W-2 can be fairly simple. In order to receive a copy of your prior year W-2, you have three options. After requesting the W-2 , create an account and start preparing your late tax return on Prior Tax. Your Dedicated Tax Professional will guide you from start to finish in filing your taxes.

Option #1: Get your W-2 from previous employer.

The easiest way to get a copy of a lost W-2, is to contact the employer who issued it.  The payroll department of your employer (or former employer) should be saving important tax information, such as W-2s. Ask for the W-2 to be sent to you.  This process is pretty simple and shouldn’t take much time.

Option #2: Get your W-2 from employer’s payroll provider.

Have you asked your employer for your W-2 and noticed that he mentally added the task to the very bottom of his To-Do list? If you know that your employer (or past employer) uses a payroll provider instead of calculating payroll in-office, skip the middleman and give the company a call yourself. When you call, be prepared to verify your SSN or employee number as they may ask for it. While speaking to the payroll provider, you may want to confirm the following:

  • Specify the year of the W-2 form that you need sent to you.
  • Verify the address they have on file for you. This is the address they will mail your W-2 to.
  • Ask how long it will take for them to mail your W-2 form.

Option #3: Get your W-2 from the IRS.

If you only need the federal information that was reported on your W-2 (not an actual copy), then you’ll file form 4506-T to the IRS for free. For state withholding amounts, you will need to contact your state department of revenue.

The box you will need to make sure that is checked off is titled “Form W-2, Form 1099 series, Form 1098 series, or Form 5498 series transcript.” This alternative may be more time-consuming than reaching out to an employer. However, it requires NO hunting down of past employers to get them to spare a nano-second of their time.

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