On January 3, 2002 I was laid off by the publishing company I was working for at the time. I had a week’s pay plus a week’s worth of severance pay, from which had taxes taken out. Six months later, the management finally ran the place into the ground.
Now, as W-2 time approaches, I wonder what to do about that income. There is no longer a company to send me a W-2. What do I do about that money when figuring my taxes? And will I get a W-2 from the unemployment office?
Thanks in advance for your help. I don’t want my sucky former employers to screw me up any further and possibly provoke an audit.
Similar thing happened to me a year earlier. I actually got my W-2 pretty early on in the year.
I don’t know what the arrangement was at your company, but our payroll was handled by a 3rd party (PayChex, I believe), and that’s who sent me the W-2. Since they’re required by law to send them to you, I would imagine there is some sort of contingency plan at the payroll places to make sure they get to you even if the company no longer exists.
If all else fails, if you’ve still got that pay stub and can find their Federal Tax ID number, you shouldn’t have too much trouble guessing the numbers if it comes down to that.
And I’m almost certain you’ll get a W-2 from unemployment. It might not be called a W-2, but they’d have to send you something since unemployment benefits are taxable. I still haven’t gotten mine, though.
Why wonder what to do when the IRS web site - Form W-2 FAQ can help you.
Thanks y’all! That’s exactly what i needed to know!