It’s almost time for spring, and that means it’s time to start thinking about taxes. Everyone thinks about how much they have to pay or what they will get back in their tax return. If you are an employee, you may wait for your W-2 so you can file right away. If you are an employer, you want to make sure that those W-2 forms get out in the mail in time.
The Maine W-2 form is an important document that provides income and withholding information to an employee. In order to file taxes, this form is needed to show record of these figures. According to the IRS, a copy of this form should be mailed with your file. As of 2004, if you don’t have a W-2 to file with your tax return you have to fill out Form 4598 and Form 4852. That is the extra paperwork required that will ask employees to explain why they did not receive a form and details about who their employer is.
January 31, 2007 is the IRS imposed deadline for all employers to distribute correct W-2 forms for 2006. It is important that every employer make sure that these forms are accurate an in the hands of employees by this date. Since the IRS no longer accepts the final pay stubs as documentation of the income and deductions for the year, employers will be held responsible if they do not provide the forms in time.
Any employee who did not receive their W-2 should contact their employer immediately. It may be that they do not have the correct address on file, as is very common for many. Smaller businesses, more often than larger corporations, may have trouble with the tedious task of preparing these forms and getting them out on time. Although it may be a bit bothersome, it is required by the law.
