Still Waiting for Tax Documents?As of Today, You Can Call IRS about that Missing W-2

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Feb. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- If you have yet to receive your Form W-2 and your employer (or former employer) is not being responsive, IRS can help. As of February 23, 2015, you can reach out to IRS at 800.829.1040. IRS will then send a letter to the employer on your behalf. Letters from the IRS tend to get noticed, even if your similar entreaties have been ignored. It’s a good thing to have the IRS on your side! When calling, be sure to have the following information handy: your employer’s name, address and phone number; the dates that you worked for the employer; and an approximation of the wages you earned in 2014, and how much federal tax was withheld. IRS will not only contact your employer, but it will also send you a Form 4852 (a substitute Form W-2) to fill out in case you don’t receive the Form W-2 in time to make the tax deadline.

Other forms you should have received by now are your mortgage interest statement and any 1099 DIVs that are due to you. In the old days, when the necessary tax documents didn’t arrive there was no choice but to call your financial institution and spend what seemed like an eternity waiting on hold to speak to a customer service representative about retrieving the missing document. The Internet has changed all that by allowing banks and mortgage lenders to post this information online. After you’ve established an online user name and password, most banks and mortgage lenders make the tax information you need available to you on their websites. Even if you accidentally tossed out some important tax documents along with the junk mail, you can access the numbers you need for your tax return.  Penalties for late filing of tax returns can be harsh, and IRS does not accept “failure to receive documents” as an excuse for failure to file. If you find you just can’t get the documentation together in time, another option is filing an extension. This will delay your filing deadline until October 15, 2015. With the penalty for not filing a tax return or an extension a stiff five percent per month up to a maximum of 25 percent of the amount of tax due on the late-filed return, filing an extension is well worth the effort. Keep in mind that you’ll also need to file an extension for your state tax return. Please note: taxpayers should not confuse the extra six months the extension provides for filing with a postponement on paying. You’ll still need to estimate the taxes you may owe and submit that amount prior to April 15, 2015 along with Form 4868. To avoid paying a penalty, you must pay at least 90 percent of what you estimate you owe, or 100 percent of your 2014 tax liability. If you don’t pay in full, you’ll wind up owing annual interest on the liability not covered.

Filing a tax return can be daunting and stressful without the advice and guidance of a tax expert. Enrolled agents, “America’s tax experts,” are the only federally licensed tax practitioners with unlimited rights of representation before the IRS. Contact Enrolled Agent, Jeffrey Schneider, EA, NTPI Fellow at 772-337-1040. Contact SFS Tax & Accounting Services in Port St Lucie and Royal Palm Beach, or visit the website, http://www.sfstaxacct.com for more information.