12 Feb I don’t have my W-2. What can I do?

Q. I worked for a couple of months in 2016. They won’t give me a W-2. What can I do so I don’t have a penalty?
— Trying to pay taxes

A. First, we hope you mistyped and meant you needed a W-2 for the 2017 tax filing year.

If you really meant 2016, you should file your returns as soon as possible.

If you’re having trouble getting a W-2, there are several steps you can take.

First, contact the employer. Ask again for the W-2, and make sure the employer has your correct address.

Next, you can contact the IRS, said Abby Rosen, a certified financial planner with RegentAtlantic in Morristown.

You can do this after Feb. 14 for the 2017 tax filing year, she said. The number is 800-829-1040.

Make sure you have an estimate of your wages and how much was withheld for federal income taxes. You can use your final pay stub to help, Rosen said.

Even if you don’t have a W-2, you should still file your return on time.

You should include Form 4852 — Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement — in place of the W-2.

Use the form to estimate your income and withholding taxes as accurately as possible. The IRS may delay processing your return while it verifies your information, she said.

If you need more time to file, you can get a six-month extension, Rosen said. For that, file Form 4868 — Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File US Individual Income Tax Return — by the tax filing deadline.

“If you receive the missing W-2 after filing your tax return and the information on the W-2 is different from what you reported using Form 4852, then you must correct your tax return,” Rosen said.

To do that, use Form 1040X — Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.

Also consider discussing these issues with a professional tax preparer.

Email your questions to .

This post was first published in February 2018.