Third Party Matching

• Each year, your employer sends you a W-2 form that shows your income and tax withholding for the year. Your employer also sends a copy of your W-2 to the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA updates your earnings records for use in determining your future Social Security benefits, and then transfers your W-2 information to the IRS. The IRS links your account to your earnings information and uses the data to ensure you report all the income you are supposed to each year.
  
  

Automatic Correction

• In the event that you forget to put a W-2 on your tax return, the IRS catches the mistake and automatically fixes the problem. The result of a missing W-2 usually results in math and tax computation errors that the IRS computers are programmed to resolve. When the IRS adjusts any item on a return you originally filed, you will receive a notice from the IRS explaining the reason for the change and the result of the adjustment. Adjustment results depend on a variety of factors, but any change in the items you originally claim causes either an increase in tax owed, a refund of overpaid tax, or no tax change. No tax change means the changes made to your return did not create an additional tax balance or refund.
  
  

Timing

• In most cases, the IRS does not receive your W-2 information from the SSA until later in the tax year, usually in July or August. After the information is received, it may still take a while for your missing W-2 to be discovered by the IRS. Often, it takes a year or longer after your return is filed for the IRS to make automatic adjustments to your return. If you know you forgot to file a W-2 with your return, and the result of the omission causes you to owe additional tax, you must consider the amount of time it takes for the IRS to make adjustments for you. The IRS assesses a late payment penalty and a failure to pay penalty on any additional balance you may owe. Penalty assessments back-date to the day your original return is filed, so waiting for the IRS to make the adjustment may result in an even higher balance to pay. If you do not owe additional tax when the missing W-2 is added to your return, you will not be penalized.
  
  

File an Amendment

• If you file your return on or before the regular April due date, and notice shortly after filing that you forgot to file a W-2, it is best to amend your return and recalculate the figures yourself. This prevents accrued penalties from being tacked on to your balance as a result of waiting too long for adjustments to be made. File IRS Form 1040X to include the W-2 information you left out of your original return. If you owe tax, send your payment with the amended return if possible. If you can't pay the balance, file the amendment as soon as possible and request a payment plan with the IRS after your amended return is processed. Amendments may take up to 12 weeks to post to your tax account. If it has been 12 weeks since you filed Form 1040X and you have not received any correspondence regarding your submission, contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 to check the status of your return.