If my husband hasn't received his W-2 form from his ex-employer, is there any way he can get it by another way?

I would think the best way would be to give them a call. They are required by law to make that available.

they legally have to send that out by January 31st…

But if for ANY reason, he still doesn’t have it, can the IRS make it available for him?

@2late2be I don’t think so. Its the employer’s responsibility.

@2late2be are you positive he was on the books? Do you have pay stubs that show he was paying taxes?

@casheroo He always receive that form, now I don“t know what happened..

There are a lot of variables here, but anytime an employer doesn’t send the W2 you need to contact the employers accounting department and request a W2 be reissued. If the accounting department is unresponsive then you will have to go through 2 more steps. First notify the IRS that the employer didn’t send the W2 and finally if the amount of money the W2 represents is more than $1,000 (I think), you will have to file a special type of return.

Just as a disclaimer: Everything I just said comes from a personal experience 3 years ago, so there is a better than even chance that I am wrong or that the process has changed. Basically you should just call the IRS and they will steer you in the right direction.

If you have an employment agency in your area they may be able to help you out. They will at least know where to steer you. It is often the same people that run the unemployment department. For example I just learned that you can go to them and ask for a wage report which reports all the money you have earned in the last few years. And it’s free.

Do you have Turbotax? I just did my son’s taxes and was able to download his W2 info automatically. Very handy.

@Lupin that seem to help a lot! What will I need to download it?

They are legally required to send you one. If you haven’t received one, contact them asap. Keep bugging them until they send it.

If you can’t get it by the filing deadline, you can fill out a substitute W2.

@2late2be The automatic download only works for some companies. I think it might depends upon who they use for payroll services. My copy of Turbotax is a paid version for about $42. I know you can get a free version if your income is below a certain level.
If the worst case happens and you can’t get it, then just file an extension. The employer really is supposed to give you the W2 but there is a place where you can enter number yourself if you can’t get it for some reason like: company out of business, not cooperative, etc

If the employer refuses (not calling you back is refusing) contact the IRS and there is form you fill out where you explain what happened and approximately what the wages were and they will go after the employer for the taxes. I think the download of W2 is maybe from big employers who are computerized and linked to it. If this is a small employer, like a landscaping business for example, he is probably not linked to the payroll service’s computer.

About 20 years ago, i worked for a small firm that was in chapter 11. We had an agreement that my wages would be a certain amount and they paid me minus the taxes. when tax time came around, they played dumb and told me that taxes were my resonsibility. i know the IRS was already after the owner because they had called a few times looking for him. I filed the form and put down information i knew about the owner and the arrangement we had, and i got my check from the IRS based upon what i told them. they then went after the owner for the taxes. Your husband should tell the employer that he has the right to get the W2 and let them know he has rights, too.