Help Wanted: How to get a W-2 from missing employer
It is legal for companies to ask for W-2s or pay stubs from job applicants, experts say. Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin, 2010
DEAR CARRIE: The company I worked for went out of business and I can't find the owners to ask them about a W-2, which I need to file my taxes. They deducted taxes from my check but never gave me a statement showing what tax amounts they withheld. Now I want to to file my taxes but don't have the proper paperwork. How do I handle this tax situation? -- No Paper Trail
DEAR NO PAPER TRAIL: I contacted the IRS and the agency suggested several options. If the owners filed for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Court could have the company's business records, which may contain helpful information for you.
Failing that, contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 for help in getting your W-2. Besides having to provide basic information such as your address, Social Security number and phone number, you must also be prepared to provide the following: your former employer's name, address and phone number; your dates of employment; estimate of the wages you earned in 2011 and the federal income tax withheld, the IRS said.
If you still don't receive a W-2 in time, you can file Form 4852, which is a substitute for the W-2. "There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified," an IRS spokeswoman said.
If you by some stroke of luck receive your missing W-2 after you file Form 4852, and the information on the two forms differs, you will have to take another step.
"If this happens, you must amend your return by filing a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return," the spokeswoman said.
You're doing the right thing by trying to find out how to file because the bottom line, W-2 or not, is that you still have to file or request an extension by April 17, the IRS said.
Click here for a copy of Form 4852, a substitute for a missing W-2 form, which can be found at http://1.usa.gov/1Shwnc
DEAR CARRIE: I'm a longtime exempt employee at a small private-equity firm in Manhattan. Currently, I'm the office manager. But I still work for one partner after 20-plus years and work with the chief financial officer and accountants. Last year when the partner relocated to Florida for part of the year, the firm allowed me to begin working four days a week, a schedule I had requested for years. But here's the catch: I also had to take a 20-percent pay cut. That arrangement worked out initially, because I had so much accrued vacation that I used that time to take Fridays off without a cut in pay.
But my four-day workweek is starting to feel more like five days. The CFO continues to throw more work my way and I take care of business for the partner in Florida. I work longer days to get things done and work through lunch every day. I don't take time off during my workweek because I use Fridays for any personal appointments.
Given the extra work and hours, I believe a 10-percent pay cut is more fair. This year we've started a negotiation process of what's a fair pay cut since I would like to continue working four days a week. Is the 20-percent pay cut even legal? -- Lawful Wage?
DEAR LAWFUL WAGE: The pay cut is legal as long as the company pays you as least $455 a week.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, bona fide managers, who fall into the executive category, have to be paid at least $455 a week. So if your salary reduction kept you above that level, chances are your company acted legally. And as a manager, your primary duty must involve managing and you must regularly manage at least two full-time employees and you must have the authority to hire or fire or at least make recommendations along those lines.
Even though the 20-percent pay cut may be legal, that doesn't mean you shouldn't pursue a lesser reduction on the basis of fairness.
Click here to read more on managers' rights under federal labor laws at http://1.usa.gov/xrA4DG
