Didn't receive your W-2 or 1099: when it's due, who to call and what to file instead

Employers have to furnish your W-2 by January 31, or the next business day when that falls on a weekend: for 2026 wages the date is February 1, 2027. If yours hasn't arrived, the IRS sequence is: contact your employer or payer, and if you still have nothing by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. If time runs out, you file with Form 4852, a substitute for the missing form.

The same path covers a missing 1099-R. For other 1099s, the dates and details vary by form.

1. Late JanuaryEmployers must furnish W-2s: Feb. 1, 2027 for 2026 wages (Jan. 31 is a Sunday)
2. First week of FebruaryYour wage and income transcript usually shows filed W-2s and 1099s
3. Mid-FebruaryStill nothing: contact your employer or payer
4. End of FebruaryCall the IRS at 800-829-1040 with your employer's details
5. As the filing deadline nearsNo form yet: file with Form 4852, estimating from your pay stubs

Stand: October 2026 · Sources: IRS Topic no. 154; General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026).

When the form is actually due

For a W-2, the IRS instructions tell employers to furnish Copies B, C and 2 to employees by the deadline, and employers meet the "furnish" requirement if the form is properly addressed and mailed on or before that date. A form mailed on the deadline day is still on its way to you for a few days.

Two exceptions help you. If you left the job before the year ended, your employer may give you the W-2 any time after employment ends, but no later than the same date. And if you ask for the form, the employer must give it to you within 30 days of the request or of your final wage payment, whichever is later.

For 1099s, the 2025 IRS instructions set February 2, 2026 for Form 1099-NEC, and February 17, 2026 for Forms 1099-B, 1099-DA, 1099-S and some 1099-MISC. Other 1099s follow different dates, so check the IRS instructions for the form you're expecting.

First, find out whether it's lost or late

1. 1Check the dateDon't chase before the form is due.
2. 2Ask your employer or payerConfirm your address; many forms are mailed or posted in a portal.
3. 3Call the IRS after February800-829-1040; the IRS contacts the employer and sends you Form 4852.
4. 4File with Form 4852 if time runs outEstimate wages and tax withheld from your pay stubs.
5. 5Amend if the real form differsFile Form 1040-X if the numbers don't match your estimate.

Before you assume the worst, check three things. Is your address right with the employer or payer? Many employers post forms in a payroll portal rather than mailing paper. And after the first week of February, the IRS wage and income transcript shows data from W-2s and 1099s that were filed with the IRS. It displays only filed forms, so it may not show everything issued to you, but it gives you the amounts. The transcript guide shows how to pull it.

If the employer is gone or unresponsive, the final pay stub is your next best source. Year-to-date wages and withholding on it are what you will estimate from.

Contact the employer, then the IRS

• Your name, address, birth date and taxpayer identification number
• Your employer or payer's name and addresswith ZIP code
• The employer's EIN, if you have itit's on an old pay stub or last year's W-2
• Your final pay stubyear-to-date wages and withholding are what you will estimate from

Source: IRS Topic no. 154.

The IRS says to contact your employer or payer first. If you have done that and still haven't received the form by the end of February, call 800-829-1040. Have your name, address (with ZIP code), birth date and taxpayer identification number ready, plus the employer's name, address and, if you have it, EIN.

The IRS then contacts the employer or payer for you and asks them to send the form. It also mails you a Form 4852 with a letter of instructions. That's your fallback if the employer never comes through.

Filing with Form 4852

If the real form still hasn't arrived and the filing deadline is close, you can complete your return with Form 4852. The IRS tells you to estimate your wages or payments and any tax withheld, and report them. Your last pay stub is the usual source.

If the correct form shows up later and its numbers differ from your estimates, you must file Form 1040-X to amend. Keep your estimate's worksheet and pay stubs so you can compare them with the real form. The tax filing deadline page explains the April 15 date and how an extension changes things; remember that an extension to file is not an extension to pay.

Make the next one easy

Missing tax forms are mostly a paperwork-hygiene issue. Keep a folder, paper or digital, for each tax year and drop every W-2, 1099 and year-end statement into it the day it arrives; the year-round tax organizing guide walks through one. Note the employers you worked for during the year, especially if you changed jobs, so you know how many forms to expect. Updating your address with a former employer before you move saves a lot of chasing.

Paperlock helps with the finding part: photograph the form and it reads the employer, the year and the amounts, and you can ask for "my W-2 from 2025" later. The IRS and your employer have the final word on your case; if something about your situation is unusual, ask a tax professional.