By Deborah Ritz
I haven’t gotten my W-2 yet. Isn’t my employer required to give my W-2 to me before the end of January?
According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), businesses must send their employees’ W-2s by February 2, 2015.
The normal date of January 31 was extended this year because that due date fell on a weekend.
In the event that an employee does not receive a W-2 from their employer on time or at all, they can contact the IRS for assistance.
Even with the extended reporting date for businesses, the IRS requests that employees wait until at least February 14, allowing for slow mail delivery and other varying factors.
After February 14, the IRS will contact the employer for the employee, request the missing form, and send the employee Form 4852 to complete, which is a substitute for the original W-2.
The payer will be notified of the penalties if it fails to comply with government regulations, which can include significant fines.
The same applies to issuing 1099s, used for reporting company payments to freelance and contract workers, or other non-employees. In general, businesses need to supply workers proof of the worker’s income from that business by February 2, 2015.
—
Questions for Deborah Ritz can be e-mailed to The Weekly Adirondack at WeeklyADK@yahoo.com