Or, consider postponing your filing by asking the IRS for more time.
Tax Day is fast approaching, but you’re still waiting for a key tax statement.
Most of these documents — notably W-2 and/or myriad 1099 forms — were required to be issued by Jan. 31. Even given issues with the U.S. Postal Service, it’s well past time for the material to have arrived.
So, what now?
Call you’re the issuer: Yes, time is running out, but if you haven’t already, contact your employer about your W-2 or the company that issued the 1099.
If you have already reached out, contact them again.
Even if they say they resent it, have them do so again. And make sure they have your correct mailing address.
Get the IRS involved: Let’s get real. By now, it’s probably a longshot that you’ll get your tax statements. That means it’s time to get some help from Uncle Sam.
Specifically, call the Internal Revenue Service toll-free (800) 829-1040 to get help in obtaining the documentation.
In seeking a W-2, before you call the IRS have on hand:
- Your name, address, phone number and Social Security number.
- Your employer’s name, address, and phone number.
- The dates you worked for the employer.
- An estimate of your wages and federal income tax withheld last year. Your last pay stub of the tax year should have these amounts.
Once you give that information to the IRS, the agency will contact your workplace about the missing tax document.
File using replacement Form 4852: Let’s get real, again. With Tax Day fast approaching, filing your tax return using a substitute wage statement probably is your preferred option.
That's IRS Form 4852. This document is the official substitute for W-2 wage statements, as well as for Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.
It asks you to estimate your wages and taxes withheld last year. You can find this on your final pay stub. You also should be able to find the other information needed to complete Form 4852 on your payment documents.
The form’s line 9 is where you tell the IRS how you arrived at the amounts you entered on the form. This is as simple as telling the tax agency that you estimated the amounts, used your pay stubs or, in the case of retirement funds, used a statement reporting your distributions.
The form’s last entry, line 10, is where you detail the steps you took to get your missing earnings statements from your employer or payer.
Using year-end statements: As for missing 1099s, such as those issued by financial institutions about interest or capital gains earnings, report the amounts shown on those accounts’ year-end statements.
One problem here is with qualified dividends. These are special earnings that are treated for tax purposes like capital gains, meaning they are taxed a usually lower rate than those for ordinary income.
Your financial account’s year-end statement will show all your dividends, but might not show the amount considered for tax computation purposes as qualified.
Again, reach out to those financial account companies and try to get them to send you a replacement 1099 that has all these details.
Amend if forms arrive: You went to all the trouble to file your tax return using Form 4852 and other sources for 1099 data, then your dang missing forms showed up!
If amounts on the very late arriving official forms are different than what you entered, and are correct, then you'll need to amend your tax return by filing Form 1040-X using the official document's amounts since they are copied to the IRS.
Get more filing time: Because of these and other potential filing complications, some taxpayers prefer to wait for the necessary documents.
In this case, you’ll probably need to file by April 15 another IRS form, the very short Form 4868. That’s it in its entirety below.
This Application for Automatic Extension of Time To File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return will get you a six-month filing extension. All you have to do is submit it by April 15 and pay a good estimate of any tax you owe.
That’s right. As the form’s title says, it is an automatic extension to file your tax return, not extend payment of any tax due.
That will give you until Oct. 15 to finish your Form 1040.
By then, hopefully your tax statement finally will have arrived.
You also might find these items of interest:
- Decoding your W-2
- W-2 reporting changes under SECURE 2.0
- IRS adds W-2 and 1099-A forms to taxpayer online accounts
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