I’ve put together a primer on automating and leveraging tools in order to get out of debt but, before I get there, today, as I write on Monday, it’s the second-to-last day which organizations can mail W-2’s without facing consequences (you might not *receive* all of them by tomorrow, just so you understand).

Unfortunately, these consequences don’t often carry much teeth for employers and sometimes HR departments or very small businesses don’t get their act together (probably because someone competent isn’t helping them! –ahem–), and … the W-2’s take a while.

(Here’s a link to concise information about what happens on the business owner side of things: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/happens-dont-make-w2-deadline-employees-15702.html)

If you haven’t gotten your W-2 by the end of next week, here are some basic steps for you (you might want to print out or save this post, by the way):

1) Contact your payroll department/boss. Be nice about it — after all, they’re just as burdened by the paperwork junk as you are!

2) If, however, the days roll by and the form is indeed lost or your employer is inordinately slow in issuing a replacement, or you worked for a company that went out of business and there’s no one to bug about getting a W-2 … what then?

"Make" your own! Well, actually, you contact the IRS at this number: (800) 829-1040 with the following info from your last paystub handy:

•     Year’s wages.
•     Payroll taxes withheld.
•     Federal and state income taxes withheld.
•     Contributions to your company retirement/401(k) plan.
•     Employer’s tax identification number.

Wait on hold, and ask for Form 4852. Basically, this will inform your employer "officially" that they’re delinquent, and you can even use this form in a pinch, if your employer never gets their act together.

*** Want the BEST solution? Let us handle all that junk for you in the first place … which is part of what we do!

Well, I’ve gotten this far in this post and I realize that I’ve run out of space to go into my debt-defeating strategies for you. You’ll have to tune in next week, when I break it down in the "Real World", as they say.