Form 4852: Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.

You file Form 4852 if your employer or payer did not give you a Form W-2 or Form 1099-R, or gave you one with incorrect information. That covers wages from a job and distributions from pensions, annuities, retirement or profit-sharing plans, IRAs and insurance contracts. You or your representatives complete it. The amounts you enter on line 7 or line 8 are your best estimates of all payments made to you and the tax withheld by the employer or payer you name on line 5.

Try your employer or payer first. Ask for the Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 1099-R, original or corrected, before you contact the IRS or file Form 4852. If you received an incorrect form, ask for a corrected one. If the form still has not come by the end of February, you can call the IRS at 800-829-1040 for help. The IRS will contact your employer or payer, request the missing form, and send you a Form 4852.

If the missing form does not reach you in time to file your income tax return on time, you can use the Form 4852 the IRS sent you and file that with your return.

• Your name, address including ZIP code, phone number and social security number
• Your dates of employment
• Your employer's or payer's name, address including ZIP code, and phone number

Lines 1 through 3 take your name, social security number and current address. Line 4 takes the year the form was missing or wrong, and you check the box for Form W-2 or Form 1099-R. Lines 5 and 6 identify your employer or payer, including their taxpayer identification number if you know it. If you had the same employer or payer last year, use the EIN shown on that year's Form W-2 or Form 1099-R.

Fill in line 7 for wages or line 8 for distributions. Where the form you received reported correct information, enter that information. If you do not have complete and accurate numbers, your final pay stub helps with line 7 and a distribution statement from your plan trustee helps with line 8. Line 9 asks how you came up with the amounts. Line 10 asks what you did to get the missing or corrected form.

Maybe. If a Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 1099-R, original or corrected, reaches you after you file with Form 4852, compare it to what you reported. If it shows that the information on your original return is incorrect, you must amend by filing Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You are responsible for filing your return with accurate information whether or not you ever receive one of those forms, and whether or not the information on the forms you do receive is correct.

The IRS will challenge the claims of people who use Form 4852 to avoid or evade their federal tax liability in a way the form was not meant for. Three penalties can follow improper use. An accuracy-related penalty equal to 20% of the amount of taxes that should have been paid. A civil fraud penalty equal to 75% of the amount of taxes that should have been paid. A $5,000 civil penalty for filing a frivolous return or submitting a specified frivolous submission described by section 6702.

Hold on to a copy of Form 4852 for your records. Keep it until you begin receiving social security benefits, in case a question comes up later about your work record or your earnings in a particular year. After September 30 following the date shown on line 4, you can use your Social Security online account at www.SSA.gov/myaccount to check the wages your employers reported. You can also contact your local SSA office to verify those wages.