I worked at a restaurant part-time last summer for about two months, and probably made only about $750 during that period. I cannot find my last paystub, so I don't know exactly how much I made, unfortunately.

The restaurant did not want to mail me the W2 -- they wanted me to come in to pick it up. I went in a few times and each time, they couldn't find it and asked me to come back a different day. About a month ago, I alerted the IRS, who sent the restaurant a letter requesting they give me my W2. Now, the restaurant says they finally mailed the W2 to me last Tuesday. I have not received it, so I believe they either did not send it, or it was lost in the mail.

I asked them to send me a new one, and they say they will only if I pay them a $25 fee, and that it will take up to a week to process. Now, the tax deadline is April 15, so I'm a little concerned.

My question is: Is it likely that I will be penalized if I file my taxes without this W2, pretending that I never worked at the restaurant, since I made such little there?

Preserved
bubblegum404 said:I worked at a restaurant part-time last summer for about two months, and probably made only about $750 during that period. I cannot find my last paystub, so I don't know exactly how much I made, unfortunately.

The restaurant did not want to mail me the W2 -- they wanted me to come in to pick it up. I went in a few times and each time, they couldn't find it and asked me to come back a different day. About a month ago, I alerted the IRS, who sent the restaurant a letter requesting they give me my W2. Now, the restaurant says they finally mailed the W2 to me last Tuesday. I have not received it, so I believe they either did not send it, or it was lost in the mail.

I asked them to send me a new one, and they say they will only if I pay them a $25 fee, and that it will take up to a week to process. Now, the tax deadline is April 15, so I'm a little concerned.

My question is: Is it likely that I will be penalized if I file my taxes without this W2, pretending that I never worked at the restaurant, since I made such little there?

I'm a little confused. Did you just ask if you can file your taxes and lie about $750 in income? Did you ask about the risk/reward structure for lying on your taxes? You're only allowed to do that if you mail me the money you keep illegally. I certainly have a use for it, just like I have a use for all the taxes I paid on my complete and honest income. What did the IRS tell you to do the second time you called them?

Yes, filling out a form 4852 will not be fun, but it comes with being a taxpaying member of society. I'd try and raise a stink with the IRS, and with some luck, your restaurant will get in a little hot water. Mailing a W-2 at the end of March is unreasonable, demanding that a former employee arrive in person to get their W-2 is unreasonable from my understanding, and they probably opened themselves up to fines from the IRS.

bubblegum404 said: Now, the restaurant says they finally mailed the W2 to me last Tuesday. I have not received it, so I believe they either did not send it, or it was lost in the mail.

I asked them to send me a new one, and they say they will only if I pay them a $25 fee, and that it will take up to a week to process. Now, the tax deadline is April 15, so I'm a little concerned.

My question is: Is it likely that I will be penalized if I file my taxes without this W2, pretending that I never worked at the restaurant, since I made such little there?

I would call your employer and tell him if they will not receive you W2 in 2 days you will contact IRS.

From our IRS friends:
Topic 154 - Forms W-2 and Form 1099–R (What to Do if Not Received)

If you do not receive your Form W-2, Form 1099-R, Form 1099-INT, or Form 1099-MISC by January 31st , or your information is incorrect, contact your employer/payer.

If you do not receive the missing or corrected form by February 15th from your employer/payer, you may call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for assistance. You must provide your name, address (including zip code), phone number, Social Security Number, dates of employment, your employer/payer's name, address (including zip code), and phone number. The IRS will contact the employer/payer for you and request the missing form. IRS will also send you a Form 4852 (PDF), Substitute for Form W-2 or Form 1099-R.

If you do not receive the missing form in sufficient time to file your tax return timely, you may use the Form 4852. If you receive the missing or corrected Form W-2 or Form 1099 after you file your return and a correction is needed, use Form 1040X (PDF), Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Refer to Topic 308, Amended Returns, for additional information.

Just curious... on your paystub, did it show a breakdown of what was withheld in taxes and all that, social security, medicare, etc?

Sounds like they either lost the records, or they rigged their books so that you were actually being paid under the table, and then didn't file taxes for you.

I did that (accidentally "forgot" about a W2 that had my SSN incorrect.) I got a nice letter from the IRS requesting about $1,000 for back taxes and interest accrued since 2004 (when it happened) I sent them back copies of all W2s with the total tax they said I owe, and total taxes I had paid. Of course, they didn't figure in the taxes I had paid on that W2 that wasn't reported. I sent them a check for $342, which was the figure I came up with based on how much taxes I had paid and how much they stated I owed based on my new income figure. They cashed it and haven't said anything since then.

Bottom line, don't do it, you'll probably get an inflated bill in a couple years.

Call the IRS, get the Form 4598 issued. Tell them that the ex-employer is refusing to send you the W-2 unless you give them $25. Tell them the estimated numbers (look at Publication 15 to help guess the tax with-held).

You can also mail a written complaint to your state's Department of Labor as their refusal to comply is punishable by a fine in most states, but most state's DOL's don't care and many won't do anything more than forward you complaint on. Either, it's another mark against them and could help someone else out down the road. You may also get lucky and the state does followup and fine them.

Sound to me like the employer was planning on paying cash, but then when they realized they'd have to pay your tax (as their income), they decided to 1099 you and now they don't know what to do because they didn't properly withold or pay SS or anything they were supposed to.

As asked already, were they making deductions from your check, and if so, did they send them in as required?

I'd burn them the hard way.

UPDATE:
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I was finally able to get the W2 from them tonight, but not without a fight. They demanded a $25 payment because, according to them, the only reason I did not receive the W2 in the mail was because I gave them the wrong address (I double and triple checked to confirm that they had the correct address). So, I'm pretty sure they made that up and were trying to scam me.

A group of three managers ganged up on me and caused a scene in the middle of dinner rush. I told them it was a federal offense not to mail the W2 out right away and that they had some nerve asking me for $25 on APRIL 14. They were so unreasonable that I lost my temper; I grabbed the W2 out of the manager's hand and ran out of the restaurant and lost them right away. I guess that would technically be considered theft, even though it's MINE.

Does anyone know if the police are likely to show up at my house, and if so, am I going to be in deep $hit? I figure what they did (essentially holding my W2 hostage) is way worse than what I did.

Also, the box where my SSN should go on the W2 was left empty and my name is slightly misspelled. Is that going to raise flags at the IRS or delay my return at all?

Also, I'm pretty angry over this whole ordeal and want payback. What is the best way to burn them? Report them to the BBB or Department of Labor, or something else entirely?

It's probably a bit late for this now, but I had an employer who had to provide me with a corrected W-2 and they were dragging their feet on it forever. Finally, on 14 April I contacted them for the last time and told them that if they did not fax me the corrected W-2 this very instant, I was going to file my taxes without the W-2 (I had all the data that I needed from my year-end pay stub) and file a statement to the effect that the "Employer refused to provide a corrected W-2." and I was DEAD SERIOUS. Amazingly, a corrected W-2 was provided within the hour. When it comes to my pay and my taxes, I keep meticulous records and double check everything with every paycheck. I don't like people messing with my pay or with my taxes.

delzy said:
As asked already, were they making deductions from your check, and if so, did they send them in as required?

Yes, they were making deductions, but I'm not sure if they were sending them in as required.

I can't figure out how to quote multiple people, but Venturion asked what the total amount was, and it wasn't even near my $750 estimate. In fact, it was less than $400! I could have sworn it was more.

Lesson learned.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that my name is spelled wrong on the W2 and my SSN is not listed.