Incorrect or Missing W-2, 1099 or Schedule K-1

1. Form 4598 - The IRS will send the employer/payer a Form 4598, "Form W-2, Form 1098 or Form 1099, Not Received, Incorrect, or Lost" when a taxpayer reports difficulty securing proper forms, wrong amounts, or other lack of cooperation from an employer. The taxpayer also receives a copy of this Form 4598. The IRS estimates that 850,000 Forms 4598 are completed each year.
2. Form 4852 - Form 4852, "Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R, Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, Etc.," In addition to Form 4598, the taxpayer will also receive a Form 4852, which is a substitute for forms W-2 and 1099R. Form 4852 may also be used to report income when a W-2, 1099 or other reporting document is not received. Form 4852 is designed to be used by a taxpayer to report disputed amounts reported in a W-2 or 1099 whether or not the IRS has prepared a Form 4598. The IRS estimates that 1.3 million Forms 4852 are completed annually.
3. Form 8082 – Form 8082, "Notice of Inconsistent Treatment or Administrative Adjustment Request (AAR)," has been used since 1996 to report situations where an S corporation shareholder's return was going to be inconsistent with the corporate return, or a partner's return inconsistent with the partnership return. When a difference between K-1 information and a Form 1040 has not been reported, the IRS can issue a correction notice without going through normal deficiency procedures, as though the taxpayer had made a math error on the return. There is no administrative procedure to appeal the correction of an error in a return, so failure to properly report inconsistent treatment can lead to serious administrative difficulty that only the courts can fix.

As important as these forms are, you do not want to make the adjustments yourself.  Doing so will create more problems.  The IRS compares the amounts reported on your tax returns to what companies submit to them.  If the numbers don’t match, letters are automatically generated and your return is flagged as an exception.  One must take advantage of the IRS procedures and forms listed above.  While there is no perfect answer and additional controversy may follow, without that initial disclosure you, the tax payer, has no place to begin a defense.

For questions concerning this article on how to get your W-2, 1099 and/or Schedule K-1 corrected, contact Lesemann & Associates, PLLC CPAs.

For assistance in Preparing your 2004 Income Tax Return, please email Lesemann & Associates, PLLC CPAs (Info@LesemannCPA.com) or go to our Contact Us page.  We will respond as soon as possible to your questions.

If you are looking for NC Tax Preparer or CPA in Charlotte NC, Lake Norman NC, Huntersville NC, Cornelius NC, Davidson NC, Mooresville NC, surrounding cities or even South Carolina, please contact Lesemann & Associates, PLLC CPAs.