rant: W2s

So.. I work a number of places during the year. Because of this I get an average of 6 W2s a year. Most of them come in during the 2nd and 3rd week of january.

This year my primary employer is playing footsie with the W2s. NOBODY at work had gotten them yet and it is Feb3.

Really, I know the big faceless corp I work for has no soul.. but what do they have to gain by waiting till the very last second to mail out the w2s?

Same here....I know it doesn't help, but misery DOES like company.

evil has no soul.
FWIW there is a must send by date for w2 forms by law.

I thought they had to be postmarked before February, but I could be wrong. I got my W2, but I'm still waiting for a 1099.

Normally, Jan 31 is last day to have them postmarked or if hand delivered to the employee. Of course, that is subject to the million of federal "holidays" and Sundays.

If I didn't have it by the following Friday, as in like tomorrow in this case, I would talk to someone to see what the hold up is and if you don't get a real answer, report them to the state labor dept and IRS for failing to supply them by the due date. There really isn't a reason either for saying the mail is at fault either. The due date never changes and even the longest mail route is about 6 days coast to coast.

I work at a small shop (about 15 employees) and haven't recieved mine yet. Rumor has it they'll be with our paychecks on Friday, but that's a legal no-no.

I'm anxious to get the return started!

While the last day in January is the date, who ya gonna call? I mean how do you enforce this?

But the getting your W2 or not getting your W2 on time is a moot point if you are filing an itemized return since the tax tables for 2010 won't even be out till the last few days in Feb. or the first few in March at latest info.

Ranger50 wrote: Normally, Jan 31 is last day to have them postmarked or if hand delivered to the employee. Of course, that is subject to the million of federal "holidays" and Sundays. If I didn't have it by the following Friday, as in like tomorrow in this case, I would talk to someone to see what the hold up is and if you don't get a real answer, report them to the state labor dept and IRS for failing to supply them by the due date. There really isn't a reason either for saying the mail is at fault either. The due date never changes and even the longest mail route is about 6 days coast to coast.

well, there has been a lot of winter weather this year in weird parts of the country, and the mail does take weird routes these days- if i was to send a letter to someone local in this huge town of 700 people, that piece of mail now gets routed thru a mail sorting center 100 miles away (Fargo) and sent back.. you know, for national security because if they don't do that the terrorists win- or maybe the mail truck got stuck or the driver decided that 2" of snow was too much to safely navigate.

I still beg the question.. what do they have to gain by waiting till the very last second to put that postmark on them?

carguy123 wrote: But the getting your W2 or not getting your W2 on time is a moot point if you are filing an itemized return since the tax tables for 2010 won't even be out till the last few days in Feb. or the first few in March at latest info.

You said this in the tax preparation thread as well. Are you sure its true? The 1040 Instructions are posted on the IRS site (caution 1.26 MB download):

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

Starting on page 74 are the tax tables. This is for general 1040, not 1040A or 1040EZ. I guess I'm a little confused by your statement when it seems like they've already been posted. You are right, however, in that an itemized return cannot yet be filed (not until Feb 14th):

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=234736,00.html

I was able to find everything I needed for an itemized 1040 return except Form 5405: Homebuyer's Credit (and repayment), and I was actually able to find a Dec 2010 version of that, but their main 1040 site says they will posting an updated version soon.

I always assumed that it was just accounting/payroll dept's putting it off untill the last minute because it was a PITA????

Not likely. Chances are the employer was waiting to pay his accountant at the last minute.

The last company I worked for folded just after the end of the year (and stiffing everyone the last 3 weeks pay). I am pretty sure I will not be getting a W2. Anyone know what to do in that situation?

In reply to former520:

you go off your last paystub, and theres a form you have to file if you don't have a W2.

In reply to Flynlow:

the IRS has been very clear that they aren't going to start processing itemized returns until Feb 14th. if you file with the standard deduction, they will begin processing right now-ish.

internetautomart wrote: evil has no soul. FWIW there is a must send by date for w2 forms by law.

Yep. That's why there are no murders or rapes in the US. Because we passed a law prohibiting it.

Having a law means everything works perfectly.

Yes, I'm positive that the 2010 tax tables aren't ready yet.

I've talked with IRS directly plus I've talked to several accountants. Additionally I own a mortgage company and we've gotten warning after warning from up the ladder all the way to Frannie warning us about the issue.