The W2 is a tax form that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US uses. This form is filled out and reports any wages that have been paid to employees and any wages that have been withheld from that as well.
When it comes to filing your taxes, there are a couple of forms that you need to fill out. One of the more common and important forms you commonly need is W2.
However, in some rarer situations, you may not get your hands on this form either because you lost it or it never got sent to you.
If you don’t have a W2, you may have wondered whether you can still file your taxes. In this article, we will be discussing whether you can still file your taxes without a W2 form.
Contents
Filing Your Taxes Without A W2 – Can You Do It?
A W2 is a really important form when it comes to idling your taxes.
However, in fact, you can still pay your taxes without a W2 form. Usually, this form is needed if you happen to have a job and want to file a tax return. Then the W2 will be given to you by your employer.
Therefore, if you don’t receive your W2 or you happen to lose the form, then you can always ask your employer for a copy of the form.
However, in some cases, you can’t always get your hands on a copy of the W2. As a result, if you can’t get your hands on the W2, then you will need to file out form 4852.
This form is known as the substitute form for the W2 form of wage and tax statement. By filling out form 4852, you are requesting information surrounding your withheld taxes and wages.
Although, to be able to complete form 4852, then you will need to have particular documents to help you fill it out, these can include a final pay stub.
However, if you don’t have these kinds of documents, then you can try to give a rough estimate of your income, in order to fill out the form.
If you can, try to check your local VITA site. There you can find help as you go through this process.
Documents You Will Need To File Your Taxes Without A W2
If you file your taxes online, then you find this process a lot easier if you don’t have a W2. Although, you do still need the information that the W2 provides you with to be able to complete your return.
Therefore, you will need the following information and documents to help you fill out your taxes properly. This includes:
- Social security wages and tips.
- Medicare wages and tips.
- Name, address and identification number of your employer.
- Total wages of the employers, which also includes other compensations and tips.
- Amount of federal income tax that has been withheld.
- Any withheld incomes taxes and other taxes such as: state income tax, social security tax, and medicare tax.
As you can see, a W2 is important, as it provides you with all the information that you need to input in order to file your taxes. Therefore, you should keep your W2 in a safe place as you will always need them at some point.
W2 aren’t just used to file your taxes, they are also required for audit and background checks.
It is important to remember that you will be asked to produce a W2 in the case of an audit. You can show evidence of your income and withheld income.
Although, if you can’t show that you enter your numbers in good faith, then you could deal with legal consequences.
Your employer will submit your W2 at the end of January, and the information is shared to the IRS and SSA. So if the numbers don’t match up, then an audit can occur.
Filing Taxes Without A W2
If you want to file your taxes, but you don’t have a W2, there are a couple of things you can do.
Request A Copy
The first thing you should do is to request a copy of your W2 from your employer. A W2 is generally offered to every employee of every company, even if the company isn’t in operation anymore.
However, if you can’t get in contact with someone in your company, or they don’t offer W2 to their employees, there are other routines to follow.
Obtain W2 From IRS
If you cannot get your W2 from your employer, then you can ask the IRS for this form.
The IRS may be able to help you find where your W2 form is. You will have to provide the IRS a lot of personal information, including the details like the name and address of your employer as well.
The IRS will then use this information and find your W2 and get you a copy. Your employer may not have given you any tax information, but the IRS will be able to find it.
File Out Form 4852
If the first two ways don’t work, then you can still file your taxes, but you will have to use 4852 instead.
You can easily download this form, from the official IR website and use the latest copy of your pay stub, to be able to fill out this form as accurately as possible.
Conclusion
The W2 is a really important form when it comes to filing your taxes. It’s not impossible to file your taxes without this form, but it does make it more difficult.
Also, it is important to note that you should try to file your taxes on time. With or without a W2, you need to make sure they are filed on time so that you don’t receive any consequences, such as overpaying on tax.