Is there any way you can get a copy of your past w2's quickly if you have misplaced yours?

Question

Is there any way you can get a copy of your past w2's quickly if you have misplaced yours?

Answer 1

The IRS does not retain actual copies of Form W-2 (PDF) except as an attachment to your tax return, for prior years. However, the IRS maintains (and will provide free of charge) Form W-2 information for any purpose for the past ten processing years. Use Form 4506-T (PDF), Request for Transcript of Tax Return, to request Form W-2 information. The only way to get a copy of your Form W-2 from IRS is to order a copy of the entire return on Form 4506 (PDF), Request for Copy of Tax Return, and pay a fee of $39.00 per tax year.

You can also request a copy from the employer but it can take a long time to get it.

"The Social Security Administration will provide the Number Holder (NH) or legal representative(s) at no charge with a microprint copy of the Form W-2 requested for purposes of resolving an SSA program related matter; e.g., resolving an earnings discrepancy in connection with the processing of a Title II and/or Title XVI claim or an SSA or NH initiated earnings investigation."

Call 1–800–829–3676, or visit the IRS web site at www.irs.gov to obtain Form 4506 (PDF), Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T (PDF), Request for Transcript of Tax Return.

Call 1–800–772–1213, or visit the SSA web site at www.socialsecurity.gov for instructions on how to obtain wage information from the SSA.

Answer 2

I just had to do this recently for my roommate. Here is a direct link to that aforementioned form.  

Answer 3

There are a couple of ways to do this. Obviously the first would be to contact your past employers. If this is not possible, the IRS can supply you with information from your W-2's, but not the actual form. They don't retain copies of W-2's, except for those submitted with the tax return, so in order to get an actual copy, you would have to get a copy of your return using Form 4506, which is $39 for EACH year.

The information only transcript is free of charge, and is obtained with Form 4506-T. If you are obtaining this for tax filing purposes, you can receive the information, and then fill out a Substitute W-2 (Form 4852) to submit with your tax return. They accept these all the time with delinquent returns.

If you need it quickly, your best bet is to go to a local IRS office, and ask for a printout of your information.  Here's the link to find an office near you:

http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/index.h...

These tend to fill up quickly, so if you go, make sure to show up as early as possible.

Hope this helps!!