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In this blog post, we will explain the W-2 employee meaning, discuss what the W-2 form is about, and whether you can file your taxes without a W-2 form.
Preparing to file taxes is the most important part of starting a new year. For a W-2 employee, this involves keeping an eye out for the W-2 forms. But what is a W-2 employee anyway?
Read on to find out about the W-2 employee meaning, the W-2 employee form, and how you can file taxes in case you haven’t received your form yet. So read on.
What Is a W-2 Employee? W-2 Employee Meaning Explained
What Is a W-2 Employee?
A W-2 employee is considered as an “employee”, rather than a “freelancer” or a “contractor”. They are employed by an organization or a company in the U.S. and get W-2 tax forms annually to report their earnings and the withheld taxes.
A W-2 employee qualifies for certain protections and benefits under U.S. law. These include paid time off, workers’ compensation insurance, unemployment, and health insurance.
A W-2 employee falls under the traditional employment category in the U.S. Everything related to their work is decided by their employers, such as when, where, and how they will work. The employers are also responsible for providing the means to work, such as tools, equipment, software, office space, computers, etc.
A W-2 employee gets all the company benefits such as vacation days, retirement funds, insurance, health and wellness programs, paternal leave, and any other benefits that the company may provide.
A W-2 employee gets their W-2 form every year from the payroll department of their employer. The payroll department also sends a copy of the W-2 form to the IRS and the employee at the start of every year.
W-2 Employee Form
A W-2 form (Wage and Tax Statement) is a tax form for employees which contains the annual compensation that employees receive from their employers. It also reports the payroll W-2 taxes that are deducted from that payroll throughout the year.
When an employee receives their W-2 from their employer, they use the information on it to report their tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
How to File Taxes Without W-2?
A company’s payroll department is responsible for providing you with a copy of your W-2 form. But if you haven’t received your W-2 form yet and the tax deadline (January 31st) is nearing, you will still need to file your federal income tax returns, local taxes, and state taxes by the deadline.
But how to file taxes without a W-2 form? Well, the IRS Form 4852 can be used to report your federal income taxes. You can also use this form if the W-2 form you received from your employer has any incorrect information.
To do so, download the IRS Form 4852 and then fill it out using your last pay stub.
Your last pay stub should have information about tips, wages, bonuses, and any other compensation. It should also have information on social security wages, medicare wages, and the taxes that were withheld throughout the year.
Once you have filled out the form, attach it to your federal tax return forms and then submit it to the IRS. Make sure you have filled it out accurately.
If there’s any misinformation on your form or if you have not used this form properly, you may have to pay hefty penalties as well as up to 75% of taxes in fraud charges.
Can You File Taxes Without a W-2?
If you haven’t received a copy of your W-2 form from your employer, you are still obliged to file your tax returns. Without a W-2 form, you can file taxes using Form 4852.
This form acts as a substitute for Form W-2, Form W-2c, and Form 1099-R. It requires information about your income and the taxes withheld from it.
To fill out Form 4852, you will need either a W-2 form from a prior year from the same employer, or a pay stub from your company which mentions your gross wages for the year and the taxes withheld.
However, do note that if you use Form 4852 instead of a W-2, you will have to face delays on any refund as it takes a while to verify your information.
Download the New Hire W-2 Form
If you are an employer who has hired new employees, you will have to provide a new hire W-2 form to your employee before the tax deadline arrives.
This applies to any employer who pays cash or noncash payments of $600 or above to their employee for the year. This is for the amounts from which any social security, medicare, or income tax was withheld.
You can easily find a new hire W-2 form on the IRS website. Make sure to download the latest revision of this form to avoid any issues.
Conclusion
It is important to understand what an employee’s rights and obligations are, depending on their IRS classification. Most traditional employees fall under the category of W-2 employees.
Therefore, they need a W-2 form to file their taxes every year. They can get a copy of their W-2 form from their employer.
But if your employer fails to provide a copy of your W-2 form by the tax deadline (January 31st), you can use Form 4852 to file your taxes. You can use a pay stub or a previous W-2 form from the same employer to do so.
So now that you know the W-2 employee meaning, good luck filing your taxes!
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