When To Expect Your Forms W-2 & 1099 In 2025—And What To Do If They’re Missing

With tax season just getting started—the season officially opened on January 27, 2025—you’ve likely received several tax reporting forms already, or they are on their way. Here’s what you need to know about tax form due dates and what to do if you don’t receive yours on time.

Forms W-2

Taxpayers are generally on the lookout for Form W-2, due on January 31, 2025. Your tax form is on time if it is properly addressed and mailed on or before the due date. If the normal due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, issuers have until the next business day (in the case of Form W-2, January 31, 2025 falls on a Friday, so there are no extra days).

Other Tax Forms

Here’s a look at the due dates for some other popular tax forms (click on the image for a PDF version):

These are the due dates for furnishing tax forms to taxpayers. (Due dates for supplying tax forms to the IRS may be different.)

More To Consider

Keep in mind:

• Some forms might have been issued earlier, so go back through your records if you’re missing one. For example, if you redeemed savings bonds, the form 1099-INT might have been issued at the time of redemption. Similarly, if you donated a car to charity, form 1098-C would have been acknowledged within 30 days of the sale or 30 days of the contribution.
• It’s popular to make some forms available online or via email. Tax forms cannot be generated electronically without your consent unless a paper copy is also issued. However, in these days of e-statements and online transfers, you might have accidentally checked a box to receive your information electronically or forgot that you did so. Check your inbox and your spam filter.
• You should hold off filing if you’re a beneficiary of a trust or estate or a shareholder, partner, or member of a pass-through company. Even though those entities now file a little earlier with the IRS than they used to, most don’t report early. Since pass-through entities must prepare their tax returns before they can furnish Schedules K-1, be patient. If you have questions, reach out to the administrator.

Still Missing A Form?

If you haven’t received a tax form by the due date, here’s what to do:

• Look around. Your form could be stuck in a magazine or lost in that pile of mail on the counter that you’ve been swearing to sort through for weeks. Your form could be at work. Before you assume that it wasn’t delivered, double-check.

• If you’re sure that you didn’t receive your forms, contact the issuer. It might be easy to fix. You might not have received the form because of an incomplete or wrong address. Or your form got lost in the mail. If so, the issuer can furnish another form to you, and the problem is solved.
• If your employer is no longer in business or has moved, try to make contact. If you don’t receive your forms and don’t know where your employer has moved, send a note to the last known address since there may be a forwarding order at the post office. Or try Google. I know that it’s not your job to find your employer, but if you have time to click through to see what Taylor Swift wore to the last Chiefs game (we’re generally #TeamSwiftie in my household, but not this year—Go Birds!), you can search for a change of address.
• If you still don’t have your forms, or if your forms aren’t correct, contact the IRS. The IRS doesn’t want to hear about missing forms until the end of February. If you don’t have yours by then, call 1.800.829.1040 and have your address, phone number, Social Security Number, and dates of employment available. It’s also helpful to have an estimate of your earnings and your withholding (you can find this information on your last pay stub). You’ll also need your employer’s name, address, and phone number. After your call, the IRS will contact your employer and send you Form 4852, along with instructions. If you don’t receive your missing forms from your employer by Tax Day, April 15, file your taxes along with Form 4852.
• You may need to amend your return. If you receive your tax form after filing your return using Form 4852 and the information differs from what you reported, you must amend your return (you’ll amend it using Form 1040X).
• If you didn’t receive Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042, try going online. The easiest way to locate your Form SSA-1099 is to print one from www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount—those are available beginning February 1, 2025 (though the agency notes that most people get a copy in the mail). If that’s not an option, you must contact SSA directly, not the IRS, after February 1, 2025. To contact SSA, call 1.800.772.1213 (TTY 1.800.325.0778) or visit your local Social Security Office (find yours here).
• If you live outside of the U.S. and didn’t receive Form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042 and can’t get one online, you’ll need to talk to someone. If you live outside the U.S. and can’t access your form online, contact a Federal Benefits Unit (in person, email, and phone assistance available) for help.
• If you didn’t receive any form for your SSI payments, you need to… do nothing. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments aren’t taxed. If SSI is the only payment you get from the SSA, they won’t issue you a tax form.

One final piece of advice: wait to file your tax returns after you’ve received your tax forms. You think you know what’s on those forms, but what if you’re wrong? Not only are you making it hard on your preparer to figure it out, but you’re also asking them to break the rules since the IRS bars tax preparers from e-filing tax returns without receipt of Forms W-2, W-2G, and 1099-R (yes, really).

Also, filing before your forms are in hand could set you up for a potential audit. The IRS matches Forms W-2 and Forms 1099 to the information on your tax return. The IRS will flag your return for further review if the data doesn’t match. My mom—who is right almost all of the time about everything—used to tell me that it was okay to be different. While that might be true in junior high, it’s not true at tax time. Trust me—you want your return to blend in with everybody else’s. Don’t give the IRS a reason to pull your return for a closer look.

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