By now, you should have received most of your tax documents. Keep in mind that most of them are required to be sent out according to IRS regulations. If not, there could be fines assessed. But, of course, paperwork can get lost in the shuffle. A clerical error could send your tax documents to the wrong address, or perhaps you recently moved and forgot to update your address. So what do you do if you have not received everything you need to file your taxes before the April deadline?
Well, first of all, there’s no need to panic. There are actions you can to expedite the matter. It is vital, however, to not wait until the last minute.
For taxpayers, the most common documents fall into four categories. Let’s see what to do for each of them:
Category #1
Form W-2: This reports wages and salaries along with the amounts withheld for income taxes, Social Security and Medicare.
What to do if your W2 is missing: Call your employer. Granted, in rare occasions, there may be resistance or maybe the company has gone bust. So you can contact the IRS ( 1-800-829-1040) and the agency will reach out to the employer.
And if this does not work? Probably the best approach is to fill out Form 4852, which is for creating a substitute W-2. You will need your final pay stub for this.
Category #2
Form 1099-R: This has pension/annuity income or the amount from an IRA distribution.
Form 1099-INT: This reports interest earned from your bank or brokerage account.
Form 1099-DIV: This provides the amount of dividends earned.
What to do if your 1099 is missing: You can reach out to the issuer, which is usually a bank or brokerage firm. In fact, you can probably download the form directly from the firm’s website.
Category #3
Form 1099-MISC: This is for income earned from self-employment or royalties.
What to do if your 1099-MISC is missing: You should call the issuer directly. Although, a 1099-MISC may be more difficult to get. This is especially the case when the issuer is a small business (the owner may actually be avoiding paying taxes). So if you cannot get the form, you can report the income on your 1040, under Schedule C.
Now there may be instances where a 1099-MISC is not required to be sent to you because the income is below $600 or the compensation is paid with a service like PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL). This is common for, say, freelance work with Uber or Lyft.
But this does not mean you are off the hook for reporting it. The IRS requires that you disclose all your income. Period.
Category #4
K-1: This reports income or losses from a partnership.
What to do if your K-1 is missing: This form does not have a deadline. The reason is that company’s often need time to finish their books. Consider that you may not receive a K-1 until after the April 15 deadline. As a result, you will need to file an extension (IRS Form 4868), which will give you an additional six months. However, you will still need to pay the estimated taxes owed for the partnership – or you will be subject to paying interest and penalties.
This can certainly get complicated — in other words, you may need to get the assistance of a tax professional.
Tom Taulli is an Enrolled Agent and also operates PathwayTax.com, which is a tax advisory and preparation firm. Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
