What Tax Forms Do I Need From My Employer to File?

To file your return, you generally need a Form W-2 from every employer that withheld income, Social Security, or Medicare tax from your paychecks. If you also did contract or freelance work, expect a Form 1099-NEC from each client that paid you $2,000 or more during 2026 (the threshold was $600 in prior years). Depending on your situation, you may also receive a 1099-K for payments through apps or marketplaces, a 1099-R for retirement distributions, a 1095-B or 1095-C documenting health coverage, and Form 3921 or 3922 if you exercised stock options. That covers what tax forms you need from your employer to file taxes for most people.

Employers and payers must send these forms by the end of January. For the 2025 tax year, the deadline shifts to February 2, 2026, because January 31 falls on a Saturday.¹

Form W-2: Your Wage and Tax Statement

The W-2 is the core document for anyone paid as an employee. It reports:

Gross wages, including the cash value of non-cash benefits.²
Federal income tax withheld based on the elections you made when you started the job.
Social Security tax withheld at 6.2 percent on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026, and Medicare tax at 1.45 percent on all earnings.³⁴
State and local income taxes withheld, in separate boxes.
Whether you participated in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, which can affect your ability to deduct traditional IRA contributions.

If you earned more than $200,000 as a single filer or $250,000 married filing jointly, your employer should have withheld an Additional Medicare Tax of 0.9 percent on earnings above that threshold. Check Box 6 to confirm the extra withholding was applied.⁵

If You Are a Statutory Employee

A narrow group of workers who look like independent contractors are treated as employees by law for Social Security and Medicare purposes. That group includes certain delivery drivers, full-time life insurance salespeople, home workers using company-supplied materials, and full-time traveling salespeople.⁶ If this describes you, your W-2 will have Box 13 checked. Social Security and Medicare taxes are withheld, but federal income tax is not, and you report the income and related expenses on Schedule C rather than on the wage line.

Form 1099-NEC for Contract and Freelance Work

Clients that paid you as an independent contractor issue Form 1099-NEC instead of a W-2. Starting with payments made in 2026, a business must file a 1099-NEC only when it paid you $2,000 or more during the year, up from the previous $600 threshold.⁷ The form shows the gross amount paid, with no tax withheld, because contractors handle their own income and self-employment tax.

One exception: if you failed to provide a valid taxpayer identification number, the payer may have applied backup withholding at 24 percent, and that amount appears on the form.⁸

Even if a client paid you less than $2,000 and never sends a 1099-NEC, you are still required to report that income. Leaving it off can trigger an accuracy-related penalty of 20 percent of the resulting underpayment.⁹

Form 1099-K for Payments Through Apps and Marketplaces

If clients or customers paid you through a payment app, online marketplace, or ride-share platform, that platform may send you Form 1099-K. For 2026, the platform must report your transactions only when the total exceeds $20,000 and you had more than 200 transactions during the year. Both conditions have to be met.¹⁰

The 1099-K reports gross transaction amounts, so it may include refunds, returns, or transfers that are not actually taxable income. Compare it against your own records and report only the net income you earned.

Form 1099-R for Retirement Distributions

If you took money from a 401(k), pension, profit-sharing plan, or similar employer-sponsored retirement account, the plan administrator sends Form 1099-R for any distribution of $10 or more. It shows the gross amount, the taxable portion, federal tax withheld, and a distribution code identifying the type of payout (normal, early, rollover, and so on). Keep this form even if you rolled the money into another retirement account, because you need it to show the IRS that the rollover was not taxable.

Forms 1095-B and 1095-C for Health Coverage

You may receive one of two forms documenting your health insurance for the year:

Form 1095-C comes from applicable large employers, generally those with 50 or more full-time employees. It shows which months coverage was offered and the cost of the lowest-priced plan available, even if you did not enroll.¹¹¹²
Form 1095-B comes from health insurance companies, government programs like Medicare or CHIP, and smaller self-insured employers that are not required to issue a 1095-C.¹¹

These forms do not report income. You do not attach them to your return, but keep them with your tax records.

Forms 3921 and 3922 for Stock Options

If you exercised incentive stock options during the year, your employer files Form 3921. It shows the grant date, exercise date, exercise price per share, and fair market value per share on the exercise date.¹³ You need those numbers to calculate gain or loss when you sell the shares and to determine any alternative minimum tax. Form 3922 covers stock acquired through an employee stock purchase plan. If you did not exercise options or buy stock through a qualified plan, you will not receive either form.

If a Form Is Missing or Wrong

Contact your employer or payer first. Forms often go to old addresses or get lost in the mail, and a quick call resolves most problems.

If your W-2 has not arrived by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Have your name and Social Security number, your employer’s name and address, your dates of employment, and an estimate of wages and withholding (your final pay stub of the year is the most reliable source).¹⁴ The IRS will contact your employer and ask them to issue the form within ten days.

If the deadline is closing in and you still do not have the form, file Form 4852 as a substitute for the missing W-2. You estimate wages and withholding from pay stubs or other records and attach the form to your return.¹⁵ If the actual W-2 later shows different figures, file an amended return using Form 1040-X.

For a form with a wrong Social Security number, incorrect wages, or missing withholding, ask the employer or payer for a correction. Employers issue Form W-2c to correct wage statements.¹⁶ For a 1099, the payer reissues a corrected version. If nothing arrives by the end of February, call the IRS at the same number.¹⁷

If You Cannot File on Time

The federal filing deadline for the 2025 tax year is April 15, 2026.¹⁸ If you are still waiting on documents, file Form 4868 for an automatic six-month extension, which pushes the filing date to October 15, 2026.¹⁹

An extension moves your filing deadline, not your payment deadline. You must still estimate what you owe and pay by April 15, 2026, or face late-payment penalties and interest. Use pay stubs, last year’s return, and whatever forms you have to make the best estimate you can. Any overpayment comes back as a refund when you file.

Report Income Even Without a Form

You are legally required to report all earned income on your return, whether or not you receive a form for it.²⁰ A missing W-2 or 1099 does not excuse you. Use bank statements, invoices, pay stubs, and payment app records to determine the correct amount. Leaving off income that a payer reported to the IRS is one of the situations that can bring the 20 percent accuracy-related penalty, and interest accrues on any unpaid penalty.²¹

1
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 752, Filing Forms W-2 and W-3
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6051 – Receipts for Employees
3
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 751, Social Security and Medicare Withholding Rates
4
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 560, Additional Medicare Tax
6
Internal Revenue Service. Statutory Employees
7
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), Employers Tax Guide
8
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6662 – Imposition of Accuracy-Related Penalty on Underpayments
10
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
11
Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers About Health Care Information Forms for Individuals
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6056 – Certain Employers Required to Report on Health Insurance Coverage
13
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 3921, Exercise of an Incentive Stock Option Under Section 422(b)
14
Internal Revenue Service. W-2 – Additional, Incorrect, Lost, Non-Receipt, Omitted
15
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 4852, Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
16
Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-2 C, Corrected Wage and Tax Statements
17
Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect
18
Internal Revenue Service. When to File
19
Internal Revenue Service. Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File
20
Internal Revenue Service. If You Dont Get a W-2 or Your W-2 Is Wrong
21
Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty