1. Contact your employer If you have not received your W-2, contact your employer to inquire if and when the W-2 was mailed.  If it was mailed, it may have been returned to the employer because of an incorrect or incomplete address.  After contacting the employer, allow a reasonable amount of time for them to resend or to issue the W-2.

2. Contact the IRS If you do not receive your W-2 by February 16th, contact the IRS for assistance at 800-829-1040. When you call, you must provide your name, address, city and state, including zip code, Social Security number, phone number and have the following information:

• Employer’s name, address, city and state, including zip code and phone   number
• Dates of employment
• An estimate of the wages you earned, the federal income tax withheld, and when you worked for that employer during 2009. The estimate should be based on year-to-date information from your final pay stub or leave-and-earnings statement, if possible.

3. File your return You still must file your tax return or request an extension to file by April 15, even if you do not receive your Form W-2. If you have not received your Form W-2 by April 15th, and have completed steps 1 and 2, you may use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Attach Form 4852 to the return, estimating income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible.  There may be a delay in any refund due while the information is verified.

4. File a Form 1040X On occasion, you may receive your missing W-2 after you filed your return using Form 4852, and the information may be different from what you reported on your return. If this happens, you must amend your return by filing a Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

For additional information, or assistance, contact us at 907.569.3873 or, visit the IRS Web site, IRS.gov, or call them directly at  800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

According to the IRS, 80 percent of Americans enlist the help of a tax preparer or tax software when filing their taxes. Unfortunately, every year BBB receives thousands of complaints from consumers against tax preparers. Commonly, complainants state that the tax preparer made errors in their return which resulted in fines and fees.

“Even though the tax preparer completes the return, it’s the taxpayer who is ultimately responsible for the return’s accuracy and whether or not it’s filed on time,” said Alison Southwick, BBB spokesperson. “The fines, fees and hassles can mount if you choose an unreliable tax preparer and that’s why it’s important to do your research.”

BBB offers the following advice to find a trustworthy tax preparer:

• Ask around. Get referrals from friends and family on who they use and check the BBB Reliability Report on tax preparation services at www.bbb.org.
• Look for credentials. Ideally, your tax preparer should either be a certified public accountant, a tax attorney or an enrolled agent. All three can represent you before the IRS in all matters, including an audit. Also, find out if the preparer is affiliated with a professional organization that holds its members to a code of ethics.
• Don’t fall for the promise of a big refund. Be wary of any tax preparation service that promises larger refunds than the competition, and avoid any tax preparers who base their fee on a percentage of the refund.
• Think about accessibility. Many tax preparation services only set up shop for the months leading up to April 15. In case the IRS finds errors, or in case of an audit, you might need to be able to contact your tax preparer throughout the year.
• Read the contract carefully. Read tax preparation service contracts closely to ensure you understand issues such as how much it is going to cost for the service, how the cost will be affected if preparation is more complicated and time consuming than expected and whether the tax preparer will represent you in case of an audit.

~ Better Business Bureau

Tim Sessions of South Weber, UT for his submission, “Trusty Tim’s Tax Season”.  
View it here:

We wish to thank all the entrants for their participation in the first annual Carter Tax YouTube® Video Commercial Competition!  Although there was only one grand prize winner, we think all the submissions were creative and entertaining, and want to share them with you here.

Follow the links to see the video submissions – did we pick the right one? 

“Cartexrapad”

“Taxcom” 

“Ericadvert”

“Ericadvert2″ 

“Davidadvert”

“Cube Puzzle”