As the April 15th deadline quickly approaches, you may be scrambling to get your ducks in a row. However, you may encounter some hiccups along the way. You may receive a tax form with incorrect information. You may also discover that a document you were expecting did not arrive. Here are several situations you may encounter and what you can do about them.

You have an incorrect tax form

For example, you may receive a tax document with wrong personal information, such as an incorrect Social Security number. In this case, you can contact the company that sent you the tax document and ask that the information be corrected. If it’s your Form W-2 with wrong information, ask your employer for a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C, Corrected Wage, and Tax Statement).

Another common situation may be that you disagree with the amount of wages or income reported on a tax form. You must immediately ask your employer for a corrected W-2 (Form W-2C, Corrected Wage, and Tax Statement). If you do not receive the corrected W-2, you should report the incorrect amount as noted on the W-2 to avoid an IRS correspondence audit and fix the amount on your tax return. This is especially important because if the W-2 information is not corrected, you will not get Social Security credit for any missing wages you earned. If this happens to you, make sure your employee record is corrected as soon as possible.

What if the business that issued your tax document has gone out of business, and you can’t locate the owner? Here’s what you can do. Report all your income, whether or not you receive information forms (W-2s or 1099s) from the parties who paid you. You’ll have to reconstruct your income and income tax withholding based on your paycheck stubs or other documents. Ensure your income is also correct on your account with the Social Security Administration, as there could be a negative impact on future benefits if your employer doesn’t properly report them. According to the IRS, you should contact the IRS, and a representative will record a W-2 complaint.

You are missing a document

On the other hand, you may never receive a tax document that you were expecting. If you don’t receive a Form W-2 or Form 1099-R (for retirement distributions) by the end of February, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 for assistance. Be sure to have your employer’s name and address, along with your name, address, and Social Security number, before calling.

After filing your return, you might also receive a missing or corrected tax document. You can file an amended tax return to include the missing tax document or if the dollar amount on the corrected document significantly differs from what you reported on your tax return.

Remember to immediately review these informational tax forms for accuracy when you receive them. Early detection is the best way to correct errors. Contact our RRBB advisors if you have any questions or are ready to file.