According to the Internal Revenue Service, W-2 forms, Wage and Tax Statement, should be mailed out to employees by no later than January 31 for forms derived from the previous calendar year.
While employees may not receive them in the mail on this date, they must – at the very least – be sent out at this point.
Anyone who didn’t get their forms by the end of January should first contact their employer to let them know about the missing form.
Even if someone doesn’t get a Form W-2, they must file on time. In this case, they may need to use Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.