W2

[Agangon]

• A previous employer created a W2 for wages earned in 2021 that they didn't pay me until Jan 2022. They refused to issue a correct W2. What is the correct way to report them now for 2022? I worked four additional months so will be getting a 2022 W2 from them as well. 

[MichaelG81]

Per the IRS:

Question

I received an incorrect Form W-2. My former employer won’t issue me a corrected Form W-2. What should I do?

Answer

If by the end of February, your Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement has not been corrected by your employer after you attempted to have your employer or payer issue a corrected form, you can request that an IRS representative initiate a Form W-2 complaint. Call the IRS toll free at 800-829-1040 or make an appointment to visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC). 

• The IRS will send your employer a letter requesting that they furnish you a corrected Form W-2 within ten days.
• The IRS will send you a letter with instructions and Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R, Distributions from Pensi.... You can use the Form 4852 in the event that your employer doesn't provide you with the corrected Form W-2 in time to file your tax return.

Depending on the time of year, the IRS may have federal wage information in the form of a wage transcript. See Topic 159 for more information on how to get a transcript of W-2 information.

When you call the IRS or visit a TAC office, please have the following information available:

• Your employer's or payer's name and complete address including ZIP code, phone number, and
• Your name, address including ZIP code, social security number, phone number, and dates of employment.

If you file your return and attach Form 4852, you’ll need to estimate the wages you earned, taxes withheld, and the period for which you did not receive or received an incorrect Form W-2. You should base the estimate on year-to-date information from your final pay stub, if possible. When filing a Form 4852 instead of a Form W-2, there may be delays processing your refund while we verify the information you gave us.

To help protect your social security benefits, keep a copy of Form 4852 until you begin receiving social security benefits, just in case there's a question about your work record and/or earnings in a particular year. After September 30 following the date shown on Form 4852 line 4, use a my Social Security online account or contact your local SSA office to verify wages reported by your employer.

If you receive a corrected Form W-2 after you filed your return with Form 4852, and the information differs from the information reported on your return, you must amend your return by filing Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Additional Information

How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record

Tax Topic 154 - Form W-2 and Form 1099-R (What to Do if Incorrect or Not Received)

Tax Topic 308 — Amended Returns

Category

IRS Procedures

Sub-Category

W-2 - Additional, Incorrect, Lost, Non-Receipt, Omitted

You can call toll-free at 1-800-829-1040 or visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center Local IRS Office 

https://apps.irs.gov/app/officeLocator/index.jsp 

@Agangon

[Kat]

Just one other question not asked in @MichaelG81's thorough answer:

Did you file the 2021 W-2 when filing your 2021 tax return?  

[Opus 17]

What did you report on your 2021 tax return? Did you omit the W-2 or did you include it?

While you are technically correct that wages paid in 2022 should be reported on the 2022 W-2, even if the work was performed in 2021, this may be a case where it is better to leave well enough alone.

If you reported the W-2 in 2021, then you have to do two things. First, you have to file an amended 2021 return to remove the W-2 and the wages. Second, you have to file a 2022 return that uses the procedure noted above to file a “substitute W-2“ that combines the information from the 2021 and 2022 W-2s. You will almost certainly get a demand letter from the IRS asking you to pay taxes on the reported 2021 wages. You would have to then file an answer explaining the situation and hope they take that as sufficient. 

if you omitted the 2021 W-2 last year, then the only thing you have to do is use the substitute W-2 procedure this year. However, you should expect to eventually get a demand letter from the IRS for 2021, and you will have to reply with an explanation.

depending on your situation, it might not change your tax or refund if you reported the 2021 income in 2021 or 2022. For that reason, if you already reported the income on your 2021 return, it might be easier to leave well enough alone and file the 2022 W-2 as is. Of course, if you think it will make a difference, or if you insist on being legally correct, you can go ahead and file using the correct procedure.