If you worked in a salaried position during 2005, your employer should issue you a W-2 form for your tax reporting. So, what if you havent received one?

What To Do If You Didnt Get a W-2

W-2 Forms, known as Wage and Tax Statements, must be issued by employers to all employers with duplicates being reported to the IRS. W-2 Forms have to be issued no later than January 31, 2006, which means you should have already received yours as of the writing of this article. Notwithstanding this legal requirement, more than a few employers fail to send out W-2 statements in a timely manner. This is particularly true for small business, which have a bad habit of being unorganized. There isnt any tactical advantage to failing to send out W-2 forms, so dont assume the employer is carrying out a vendetta.

If you havent received a W-2 Form from an employer, the first step is to contact the person or business and ask why it hasnt arrived. Keep in mind that if youve moved since you worked for the employer, the W-2 Form may have been delivered to the wrong address or returned to the employer. Dont assume the employer knows where you are.

Once youve spoken with the employer, youll inevitably be told the form is in the mail. Give the employer a couple of weeks to get it to you. If it still doesnt arrive, you can call the IRS for help. Trust me, the IRS is very interested to learn about companies that are screwing around with anything related to employee taxes.

If April 15th rolls around and you still dont have a W-2 Form, you should go ahead and file your tax return anyway. You should have pay stubs lying around from the job or at least bank statements showing you bimonthly deposits. Use these to figure out your estimated earnings and withholding. Report them on Form 4852, which is a substitute for your W-2 forms. Send the form in with your tax return.

Most employers are good about getting W-2 forms out to employees and ex-employees. They may be a few days late, but they will get them to you eventually.