Legal Question in Tax Law in California

Re: Employer Will Not Provide W-2 Forms

Form W-2 not received by employee:

If an employee does not receive a W-2 from an employer before January 31, the IRS recommends the following course of action. First, contact the employer. Allow a reasonable period of time for the employer to re-issue or re-mail the W-2.

After a reasonable period of time has passed, but not before February 15, the employee should contact the IRS. The employee must provide the Service with the following information:

� Employer's name, complete address, phone number, and (if known) employer identification number;

� Employee's name, address, phone number, and social security number; and

� An estimate of wages paid by the employer, federal taxes withheld by the employer, and the period worked for the employer.

Using that information, the IRS will prepare a Form 4852, "Substitute for W-2," which the employee should use only if necessary to meet the filing deadline. If the employee files using the 4852 and later receives a W-2 that reflects different information, the employee will have to file a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Re: Employer Will Not Provide W-2 Forms

If you have tried numerous times to contact your former employer in order to obtain a copy, with no luck, do not just file your return without it.

You must report the income you earned whether or not you received a W-2 form.

Estimate (via your final paycheck stub or other means) the amount of income you earned from that employer and include that amount as wages on your tax return. If you also had federal and/or state income taxes withheld, enter those amounts on your return also. Get a copy of Form 4852: Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and fill it out. Attach Form 4852 to your Form 1040 (or Form 1040A or 1040-EZ) before you mail it in. Form 4852 is a substitute for Form W-2 (and for Form 1099-R, normally issued for retirement distributions). You prepare the form using the best information that you have. The form asks for the following information:

Employer's name and address.

Employer's federal identification number if you have it.

Salary and withholding information for the year. (The best place to locate this information is on your last paycheck stub).

How you determined the amount of salary and withholding you�ve entered on the form. Paycheck stub is a common explanation, but if you cannot locate your last paycheck from that employer, give your best estimates and say so in your explanation.

What efforts you made toward obtaining your W-2 form. Be specific in your response: list dates of phone calls, letters, visits, whatever you did in your quest for your W-2 form.

If your employer went out of business, send another copy of the form to the Social Security Administration office that's listed in your phone directory. This is to ensure that you receive proper credit for your wages for Social Security earnings records purposes.

Re: Employer Will Not Provide W-2 Forms

Just call the IRS. They'll know what to do.

Meanwhile, you still have to report the income

on your return, etc. and just estimate if you

have to. Later on after receiving a proper W-2

you can file an amended return.