Can You File Taxes Using Your Last Check Stub?

Video Transcript

"Hi we're here to answer the question, can I file my taxes using my last pay stub? Well the answer is not exactly. You can file a return based on the result of your pay stub, but the first thing you really need to do is to go back to your employer and request your W-2. By law you should of had that by the end of January. If you don't get it requested in writing from your employer and give them a couple weeks, if you still don't have it, you can contact the IRS and they will contact the employer as a last result if the employer has moved or is out of business and can't get that, they have a form that you can fill out in lieu of the W-2. Form 4852 can be used in lieu of a W-2. What you'll have to do is to estimate to the best of your ability what your pay was and what the withholdings were. If you have an old pay stub, you can use that as a guide, you can look at sometimes the year to date is actually on your pay stud, that's the ideal way to go. If not, you'll have to calculate your earnings per week and withholdings on it. If you can figure it from the one week and how many days you worked then you can factor that in and figure out how many days are in a year that you would have worked and factor it like that. In most cases if you get to the point where you need to calculate your earnings for the year, you're probably better off consulting a tax professional. If you don't have the year to date results on your pay stud, it gets a little bit complicated and if you misreported on your filings you're going to have to go back and refile later and you may have tax consequences involved. So take a good look at it, if you don't feel comfortable with it, get a tax person involved and let them help you with it."