How to File Income Taxes If You Can Not Find Your W-2 Forms

W-2s are the forms your employer mails you at the beginning of the year. They report your earnings for the year and the amount of tax withheld. Losing your W-2s can be stressful when your taxes are coming due, but don't worry. There is a simple procedure to follow if you can't find or don't receive your W-2 forms in time to do your taxes.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pay stubs (if available)
• Form 4506 (optional)
• Form 4852
• Form 1040
• Form 1040X

1. Contact your employer and request another copy of your W-2 forms. You will need these later even if there is not enough time for them to get to you before you must file your taxes. If you cannot contact your employer or your employer doesn't have a copy of your W-2 form, you will need to send a transcript request, via Form 4506, to the IRS. The IRS will send you a transcript of your W-2 form.

2. Estimate your total income and taxes withheld. Use your last pay stub to help determine your income for the year and how much was withheld for taxes. If you do not have any old pay stubs, you will have to make your best guess.

3. File Form 4852, using your estimates from above in Section 7 on the appropriate lines. On line 10, state that you requested a copy of your W-2 form from your employer. Keep a copy of this form.

4. Fill out Form 1040 as usual, substituting the information from Form 4852 for the information from your W-2 forms. Keep a copy of this form as well.

5. Attach Form 4852 to your Form 1040 and send both to the IRS.

6. Compare your W-2 forms (or W-2 transcripts from the IRS) when you receive them to the Form 4852 you filed. If they are different, you will need to proceed to the next step. If your estimates were accurate, you are finished.

7. Fill out Form 1040X to correct the mistakes in your original Form 1040. The first section of this form is the same as a regular Form 1040, except you will fill out three columns for each line. The first column is the amount you originally reported, the third column is the correct amount, and the middle column is the difference between them. In Part II, explain that you used estimates in Form 4852 due to a lost W-2 form and are now correcting them. These are the only sections of the form you will need to fill out.

8. Attach your W-2 form (or transcript of your W-2 form) to your Form 1040X and send them to the IRS.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a folder to keep track of your pay stubs, copies of all tax forms and a copy of your W-2 forms from each year.