Frequently Asked Questions

 Answer:

Although these forms are called information returns, they serve different functions.

Employers use Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement to:

• Report wages, tips, and other compensation paid to an employee.
• Report the employee's income and social security taxes withheld and other information.

Employers furnish the Form W-2 to the employee and the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration shares the information with the Internal Revenue Service.

Payers use Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information or Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation to:

• Report payments made of at least $600 in the course of a trade or business to a person who's not an employee for services, payments to an attorney, or any amount of federal income tax withheld under the backup withholding rules (Form 1099-NEC).
• Report payments of $10 or more made in the course of a trade or business in gross royalties or broker payments in lieu of dividends or tax-exempt interest or $600 or more made in the course of a trade or business in rents or for other specified purposes (Form 1099-MISC).
• Report sales totaling $5,000 or more of consumer products to a person on a buy-sell, a deposit-commission, or other commission basis for resale (Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC).
• Report payment information to the IRS and the person or business that received the payment.

Yes, but an actual copy of your Form W-2 is only available if you submitted it with a paper tax return:

Transcript

• You can get a wage and income transcript, containing the Federal tax information your employer reported to the Social Security Administration (SSA), by visiting our Get Your Tax Record page. Refer to Transcript Types and Ways to Order Them and About Tax Transcripts for more information.
• You can also use Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Check the box for Form W-2, specify which tax year(s) you need, and mail or fax the completed form. Most requests will be processed within 10 business days from the IRS received date.
  
  Note: Wage and income transcripts are available for up to 10 years but current processing tax year information may not be complete until the earnings are reported. This transcript doesn't include any state or local tax information reported by your employer to SSA on Form W-2.

Copy

• If you e-filed your tax return or you didn't attach your Form W-2 to your paper return, then use one of the transcript options above. Otherwise, you'll need to contact your employer or SSA for a copy.
• The quickest way to obtain a copy of your current year Form W-2 is through your employer. Your employer first submits Form W-2 to SSA; after SSA processes it, they transmit the federal tax information to the IRS.
• If you can't get your Form W-2 from your employer and you previously attached it to your paper tax return, you can order a copy of the entire return from the IRS for a fee. Complete and mail Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return along with the required fee. Allow 75 calendar days for us to process your request. We will waive the fee for taxpayers impacted by a federally declared disaster or a significant fire. (For more information, see Publication 3067, IRS Disaster Assistance, Federally Declared Disaster AreaPDF)Add an answer to this item.

You can file Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return electronically with tax filing software to amend tax year 2019 or later Forms 1040 and 1040-SR, and tax year 2021 or later Forms 1040-NR. See Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Frequently Asked Questions for more information. You still have the option to submit a paper version of the Form 1040-X and should follow the instructions for preparing and submitting the paper form.
 

• Filing Your Taxes
• Instructions for Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
• Tax Topic 308 — Amended Returns

Amended Returns Add an answer to this item.

To claim your child as your dependent, your child must meet either the qualifying child test or the qualifying relative test:

• To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
• There's no age limit if your child is "permanently and totally disabled" or meets the qualifying relative test.

In addition to meeting the qualifying child or qualifying relative test, you can claim that person as a dependent only if these three tests are met:

1. Dependent taxpayer test
2. Citizen or resident test, and
3. Joint return test

• Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?
• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

Dependents

Filing Requirements, Status, Dependents 

 Answer:

If you lost your refund check, you should initiate a refund trace:

• Use Where's My Refund, call us at 800-829-1954 and use the automated system, or speak with an agent by calling 800-829-1040 (see telephone assistance for hours of operation).
• However, if you filed a married filing jointly return, you can’t initiate a trace using the automated systems. Download and complete the Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding RefundPDF or the IRS can send you a Form 3911 to get the replacement process started.

Your claim for a missing refund is processed one of two ways:

• If the check wasn't cashed, you'll receive a replacement check once the original check is canceled.
• If the refund check was cashed, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) will provide you with a claim package that includes a copy of the cashed check. Follow the instructions for completing the claim package. BFS will review your claim and the signature on the canceled check before determining whether they can issue you a replacement check. The BFS review can take up to six weeks to complete.

 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 Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. 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.