Oh where, oh where did my W-2 go?
Q. I received a letter from the IRS this morning saying that I never filed my 2006 or 2007 tax returns. I know I did not file with IRS or my state. What do I do? My employer never sent me a W-2 to file with.
A. You have two very serious problems here. You need to get to a CPA or other tax preparer as quickly as possible to take care of them. First, your employer(s) of record for the previous year is/are required t0 provide a W-2 to you postmarked no later than January 31 of the following year. If you do not receive your W-2 forms in a reasonable time after January 31, it is up to you to contact the employer for a replacement. Any number of things could have gone wrong in the process;
- incorrectly entered mailing address in the employer payroll system
- you moved and forgot to notify the employer
- the employer is out of business or
- Postal Service problems.
It is important for you to have of copy of the W-2 prior to completing your tax returns. Any pre-tax deductions you may have or other special deductions would not necessarily show on your last paystub. Tax preparers sometimes use the last paystub to prepare client tax returns. To me, this is a big no-no. You need to contact any employers you may have had during the 2006, 2007 and 2008 tax years to obtain replacement W-2s. Then get those tax returns going.
The second big issue is your delayed tax returns. The longer you wait, the higher the interest and penalties will become. If you actually had refunds in those years, there is a limit to the length of time you can file to get that refund. If you filed tax returns in years prior to 2006 and suddently stopped, that puts you on the radar of the IRS which is…you guessed it… NOT a good thing! Since you lack documentation (W-2s) for the past tax years, it would be a good idea to make a trip to a reputable tax preparer and get the process started. The faster you can take care of your late filing history, the better.
