I lost or never received my W-2, what do I do? – solbiZ

If you don’t have your W-2, reach out to your employer as soon as possible to see if they can provide you with another copy. Employers have until January 31st to send out all W-2s to their employees.

What if I’m having trouble getting in touch with my employer?

If it’s already near the end of February, and you haven’t heard back from your employer yet, contact the IRS directly to let an IRS agent know you haven’t received your W-2. The IRS will try to contact the employer by mail to request a W-2 on your behalf. You can contact an IRS agent by calling in at 800-829-1040 or schedule an appointment through the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center.

To plan ahead for your phone call, have the following pieces of information on hand:

Your name, full mailing address, phone number, and social security number (SSN)
Your employer’s name, full mailing address, and phone number
If possible, your employer’s identification number (EIN)

If the IRS is unable to get a response from my employer, do I still file my return even though I didn’t get a W-2?

You can still file your taxes with us, even if you don’t have a W-2. Here are a few options to consider:

File for an extension: a six-month extension will give you more time to recover the missing W-2.
- If you file for an extension, you will still need to make sure to pay any taxes due by the filing deadline or you could owe interest and penalties on the amount you owe. The IRS provides more information and resources for taxpayers filing for an extension with Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
Use Form 4852 which serves as a substitute W-2. You can use this form if your employer doesn’t give you your W-2 before the filing deadline. This option will require you to try estimating the amount of wages and taxes withheld as best as you can.
- You can enter the same information you filled out on Form 4852 into Credit Karma Tax in place of your W-2.

If you’ve receive your missing W-2 after you’ve filed, check to see if the information matches up with what you reported on your tax return. If the amounts are different, you can file an amended return with us later.
Source: irs.gov