The leftover guacamole is turning brown, Peyton Manning may or may not have ridden his last rodeo, and PuppyMonkeyBaby has surely established some kind of new standard for Super Bowl Commercial Weirdness. The NFL season is officially in the books.
In my opinion, the ads were decent (and certainly cheerier than last year), the game was “ok” (especially so for Broncos, fans of course) and I’m once again amazed at the spectacle of one of our nation’s largest shared experiences. I wonder what evaluation of our culture will be made by future sociologists who discover how much we worship at the altar of sport, celebrity and commerce?
But speaking of the being “in the books” … we’re kicking tax season into high gear over here — but before I discuss tax stuff, here is a public service announcement, especially for all husbands:
Valentine’s Day is Sunday the 14th. Consider yourself reminded.
Now … back to taxes.
We’ve been getting lots of calls from clients, and from brand new clients who are looking for someone new to handle their taxes, and lots of the questions have been about paperwork.
I sent out an email a few weeks ago with a pretty comprehensive list of what you would need, so if you didn’t receive that for some reason, shoot me back a note and I’ll make sure you get a copy.
But sometimes not having the paperwork in order isn’t your fault. In which case …
Aurelia Weems On How To Handle A Lost W2
“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
By now, you should have received most of your tax documentation. If organizations haven’t sent you the necessary paperwork by now, then they are subject to certain consequences.
Unfortunately, these consequences don’t often carry much teeth for employers and sometimes HR departments or very small businesses don’t get their act together (probably because someone competent isn’t helping them! ahem), and … the W-2’s take a while.
(Here’s a link to concise information about what happens on the business-owner side of things: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/happens-dont-make-w2-deadline-employees-15702.html)
If you haven’t gotten your W-2 by the middle of this week, here are some basic steps for you (you might want to print out or save this article, by the way):
1) Contact your payroll department/boss. Be nice about it — after all, they’re just as burdened by the paperwork junk as you are!
2) If, however, the days roll by and the form is indeed lost or your employer is inordinately slow in issuing a replacement, or you worked for a company that went out of business and there’s no one to bug about getting a W-2 … what then?
“Make” your own! Well, actually, you contact the IRS at this number: (800) 829-1040 with the following info from your last paystub handy:
- Year’s wages.
- Payroll taxes withheld.
- Federal and state income taxes withheld.
- Contributions to your company retirement/401(k) plan.
- Employer’s tax identification number.
Wait on hold, and ask for Form 4852. Basically, this will inform your employer “officially” that they’re delinquent, and you can even use this form in a pinch, if your employer never gets their act together.
Warmly,
Aurelia Weems
(936) 273-1188
