income tax return

Missing Your Form W-2?

You should receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, from each of your employers for use in preparing your federal tax return. Employers must furnish this record of 2012 earnings and withheld taxes no later than January 31, 2013 (if mailed, allow a few days for delivery).

If you do not receive your Form W-2, contact your employer to find out if and when the W-2 was mailed. If it was mailed, it may have been returned to your employer because of an incorrect address. After contacting your employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for your employer to resend or to issue the W-2.

If you still do not receive your W-2 by February 15th, contact the IRS for assistance at 1-800-829-1040. When you call, have the following information handy:

the employer’s name and complete address, including zip code, and the employer’s telephone number;
the employer’s identification number (if known);
your name and address, including zip code, Social Security number, and telephone number; and
an estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and the dates you began and ended employment.

If you misplaced your W-2, contact your employer. Your employer can replace the lost form with a “reissued statement.” Be aware that your employer is allowed to charge you a fee for providing you with a new W-2.

You still must file your tax return on time even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you cannot get a W-2 by the tax filing deadline, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement (available on the IRS website), but it will delay any refund due while the information is verified.

If you receive a corrected W-2 after your return is filed and the information it contains does not match the income or withheld tax that you reported on your return, you must file an amended return on Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

If you have questions about your Forms W-2 and 1099 or any other tax-related materials, please call or email our office.

Tax Due Dates for January 2013

January 10

Employees – who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during December, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070, Employee’s Report of Tips to Employer.

January 15

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in December 2012.Individuals – Make a payment of your estimated tax for 2012 if you did not pay your income tax for the year through withholding (or did not pay in enough tax that way). Use Form 1040-ES. This is the final installment date for 2012 estimated tax. However, you do not have to make this payment if you file your 2012 return (Form 1040) and pay any tax due by January 31, 2013.Employers – Nonpayroll Withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in December 2012.

Farmers and Fishermen – Pay your estimated tax for 2012 using Form 1040-ES. You have until April 15 to file your 2012 income tax return (Form 1040). If you do not pay your estimated tax by January 15, you must file your 2012 return and pay any tax due by March 1, 2013, to avoid an estimated tax penalty.

January 31

Employers – Give your employees their copies of Form W-2 for 2012 by January 31, 2013. If an employee agreed to receive Form W-2 electronically, post it on a website accessible to the employee and notify the employee of the posting by January 31.Businesses – Give annual information statements to recipients of 1099 payments made during 2012.Employers – Federal unemployment tax. File Form 940 for 2012. If your undeposited tax is $500 or less, you can either pay it with your return or deposit it. If it is more than $500, you must deposit it. However, if you already deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until February 11 to file the return.

Employers – Social Security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2012. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until February 11 to file the return.

Employers – Nonpayroll taxes. File Form 945 to report income tax withheld for 2012 on all nonpayroll items, including backup withholding and withholding on pensions, annuities, IRAs, gambling winnings, and payments of Indian gaming profits to tribal members. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until February 11 to file the return.

Individuals – who must make estimated tax payments. If you did not pay your last installment of estimated tax by January 15, you may choose (but are not required) to file your income tax return (Form 1040) for 2012. Filing your return and paying any tax due by January 31 prevents any penalty for late payment of last installment.

Payers of Gambling Winnings – If you either paid reportable gambling winnings or withheld income tax from gambling winnings, give the winners their copies of Form W-2G.

Certain Small Employers – File Form 944 to report Social Security and Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2012. Deposit or pay any undeposited tax under the accuracy of deposit rules. If your tax liability is $2,500 or more from 2012 but less than $2,500 for the fourth quarter, deposit any undeposited tax or pay it in full with a timely filed return.

Are Your Social Security Benefits Taxable?

All Social Security recipients should receive a Form SSA-1099 from the Social Security Administration which shows the total amount of their benefits.

But many people may not realize the Social Security benefits they received in 2012 may be taxable. The information outlined below should help you determine whether those benefits you receive in 2012 are taxable or not.

1. How much, if any, of your Social Security benefits are taxable depends on your total income and marital status.

2. Generally, if Social Security benefits were your only income for 2012, your benefits are not taxable and you probably do not need to file a federal income tax return.

3. If you received income from other sources, your benefits will not be taxed unless your modified adjusted gross income is more than the base amount for your filing status (see below).

4. Your taxable benefits and modified adjusted gross income are figured on a worksheet in the Form 1040A or Form 1040 Instruction booklet. Your tax software program will also figure this for you.

5. You can do the following quick computation to determine whether some of your benefits may be taxable:

First, add one-half of the total Social Security benefits you received to all your other income, including any tax-exempt interest and other exclusions from income.
Then, compare this total to the base amount for your filing status. If the total is more than your base amount, some of your benefits may be taxable.

6. The 2012 base amounts are:

$32,000 for married couples filing jointly.
$25,000 for single, head of household, qualifying widow/widower with a dependent child, or married individuals filing separately who did not live with their spouse at any time during the year.
$0 for married persons filing separately who lived together during the year.

Confused? Give us a call. We’ll make sure you receive all of the Social Security benefits you’re entitled to.

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