Amending Your Tax Return: What Happens If You Don't File a W2?

It's estimated that more than 8 million Americans hold more than one job. For people with a second job, filing a tax return requires an extra step. You need to receive a W-2 from your employer. Then make sure you report all of those wages on your tax return.

So, what happens if you don't file a W2? If you forgot to file all of your W-2 forms, you need to know how to make amendments. The IRS will know that it's missing. Therefore, making this amendment can save you from an audit and significant financial penalties. 

This article explains what happens if you don't file a W2. You'll know the steps you can take to correct this mistake, and how to avoid penalties and interest. In cases where you don’t have your W2 to file your taxes, and you don't have an alternative. Consider using a W2 creator online to generate W2 forms easily. 

Keep reading to learn more about W-2 forms and filing taxes when you have more than one employer.

What Is a W-2 Form?

If an employer employs you, they typically take your income taxes off every paycheck you get. This is as opposed to being self-employed. Employers withhold income taxes. This is typically because the federal government and most state governments collect those taxes throughout the year. 

Your W-2 form is a Wage and Tax Statement. It indicates how much of your income was withheld by your employer for both state and federal taxes. It also gives an exact report of how much money you made. 

The purpose of the W-2 form is to inform you, the state government, and the federal government about your earnings. It tells them how much money you earned and how much you paid in taxes. With this, the IRS determines whether you're entitled to a tax refund or whether you owe more taxes.

How Do W-2 Tax Forms Work?

At the beginning of every year, you should receive a W-2 form from your employer. They'll submit your W-2 to the IRS and the state government. There's a penalty if they don't provide your W-2 before the due date. The deadline for sending out W-2s is January 31st. To meet this deadline, employers can simply make a W2 online. This can help, especially if they need it urgently. 

You actually don't need to fill in any of your details on your W-2. Your employer has already filled out the form. You’ll use the information on your W-2 to complete your tax return. If you file by mail, attach the required W-2 copies. However, if you e-file, your software would send that information electronically. 

How Does a W-2 Form Work for a Second Job?

If you have a second job or multiple jobs, you need to file all of your W-2 forms. The information on your W-2 helps you fill in your tax forms properly. 

The "wages" line of your tax form is where you indicate your total employment income. You need to combine all of the amounts indicated in Box 1 of your W-2s. It shows your accurate report of how much money you made the previous tax year.

What Happens if You Forget To File a W-2?

So, what happens if you forgot to file a W2? Remember that you're not the only one reporting your earnings to the IRS. For every W-2 form sent to you, the IRS also receives one from your employers. That means that the IRS will know if you haven't reported income when they attempt to match the W-2s on file with your tax return.

If you forgot to attach a copy of a W-2 and you still report the income, you won't face any penalties. The IRS can still process your return. However, it might be slightly delayed. They’ll have to process the return.

However, if you forgot to include the income and you didn't attach the W-2, it's a bit more serious. What will happen depends on whether the IRS owes you money or not. This is what happens if you don't file a W2.

If the IRS Owes You an Additional Refund

Your original tax return might indicate that the IRS owes you money. If you didn’t report income, the IRS will not issue an additional refund. Instead, they will send a notice that you should clarify or make adjustments. You have to amend or the IRS will adjust the return on your behalf.

The IRS won't send you a letter to tell you if they're withholding your refund until you file the amended return. You'll have to file it within three years to claim it. The IRS usually doesn’t issue extra refunds automatically just because another W-2 showed up.

If You Owe The IRS Money

You will have to pay penalties if you owe the IRS more money than what you reported on your original tax return. You might also have to pay interest on the amount of tax you underpaid. That penalty is 0.5% per month on the balance that you owe. The maximum penalty is 25%. The IRS can take on an additional percentage if you owe taxes, depending on the penalty. They'll do this if they believe that the missing W-2 form was a result of fraud or negligence.

You have three years to file an amended return. Without an amended return, the IRS can withhold any refunds you receive in the following years. They'll apply them to your past due debt.

Can You File Taxes Without W2? 

So if you're thinking, "Can I file my taxes without my W2?" The answer is yes. However, you have to wait until you have the correct information or use a substitute. If you have lost your W-2, contact your employer to request a new copy. If you cannot get one by the filing deadline, you can use IRS Form 4852. This form estimates your wages and withholding.

You can use this information to file your return on time. If the information on the Form 4852 is later found to be incorrect, you can always file an amended return. 

The bottom line is that even if a return is filed inaccurately, it still needs to be amended later. So even if you filed electronically and it was accepted, you still need to amend.

What Happens if You Don’t File a W2 Long-Term?

What happens if you don't file a W2 that extends beyond a single year? If you file your tax returns but continue to omit your income, it could become a serious issue later. They’ll adjust your return. They can also file a Substitute for Return (SFR) on your behalf. They file this when no return was filed at all. SFR often doesn't include deductions or credits you could claim, for example, the earned income credit. Therefore, this means that you'll owe more. 

Also, if you are self-employed and your missing income isn't reported, your Social Security number won't be credited. This can reduce your future Social Security benefits. This affects people if they forgot to file a W2.

Filing an Amended Tax Return

If you realize, "What if I forgot to file a W2?" and you're thinking about what you should do. The answer is to simply amend your return promptly. The amended tax return helps to correct this issue. So here's how to file an amended return correctly.

The amended return form is Form 1040-X if your original tax return was a 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, or 1040NR. You can file a Form 1040-X electronically or send it by mail.

Before filling it, make sure you have your original tax return and the W-2 you forgot to attach ready. If you don't have that W-2 form, then you can request a replacement from your employer. You can also use Form 4852 as a substitute. The amended tax form contains all the necessary instructions to complete it properly.

Keep in mind that you only need to include any new or updated information. Don't repeat anything that was included in the original form. Focus on reporting what changed and why. There’s a space where you can show your original amounts alongside the corrected ones on your Form 1040-X. 

Ensure you calculate your total income using all of your W-2 forms. You also need to recalculate deductions and tax liabilities. Then, report any differences with the correct amounts.

There is also a space on the form to explain why you need to amend your original filing. Finally, be sure to include a copy of the W-2 you didn't originally send. The process of amending can take up to 16 weeks to be fully processed by the IRS. 

In Summary

The W-2 form is an important piece of information. It is sent along with your tax return. It reports how much money you made and how much you paid in taxes. It also reports whether the IRS owes you a refund. The IRS needs a W-2 form for every job a person holds. If you forget to file a W-2 for a second job, you might face penalties and have to pay interest.

Form W-2s should come from employers. Employers that don't provide them can also face penalties. If you need to generate W-2 forms quickly, create one using our tool today in minutes! If you need to produce your own pay stubs, try out our paycheck stub generator.