How to File Your US Expat Taxes Without a W-2

For most Americans, IRS Form W-2 is the most crucial tax document when filing taxes.

However, if you’re an American living abroad, you may not receive a W-2 — especially if you work for a foreign employer. How do you file taxes without a W-2? Does that mean you can’t file a US tax return? Not at all! Here’s how to file your US expat taxes without a W-2.

What Is a W-2?

The W-2 is a form that US employers must fill out with information about their employees’ annual income and any taxes that were withheld during the year. It may also contain further details about the employee’s finances, such as:

• Tips you’ve received
• Contributions you’ve made to a 401(k)
• Contributions you’ve made to a health savings account
• Health insurance premiums covered by your employer

Who Needs a W-2?

W-2s are the standard method for reporting employment income on your US tax return. Usually, an employer will complete this form and send it to every employee. But as an expat living overseas, you will typically only receive a W-2 if you are employed by a company based in the US. You will probably not receive a W-2 if:

• A foreign company employs you.
• An overseas branch or subsidiary of a U.S. company employs you.

Regardless, as a US citizen, you are still required to report your worldwide income—both US-source and foreign-source.

Who Doesn’t Need a W-2?

Not every type of income must be — or can be — reported using a W-2. The W-2 is only for traditional employment income and may not apply to business owners, independent contractors, and other self-employed taxpayers.

When Should I Receive My W-2?

If you are eligible for a W-2, the IRS requires that your employer send it to you by January 31. If your employer fails to do so, they could face penalties.

What If I Never Received a W-2?

As mentioned above, not all expats will receive a W-2. However, many countries have their own equivalent. Some examples include:

• Great Britain: Form P60
• Canada: T4 Slip
• Australia: PAYG Payment Summary
• Germany: Ausdruck der Lohnsteuerbescheinigung
• Japan: Gensen-Choshu-Hyo
• France: Code General des Impots

These forms will show your income and tax information in the foreign currency used by that country, so you would need to convert the amounts to US dollars to report them on your US tax return. US tax returns must report income based on the calendar year January 1 to December 31. Not all countries follow the calendar year. For example, Great Britain reports income on Form P60 for their fiscal year, which starts on April 6^th of each year and ends on April 5^th of the following year. For this reason, you should also keep copies of your periodic pay statements so that you can properly report your US income on the required calendar year basis. 

If you think you should receive a W-2, on the other hand—for example, if a US-based company employs you—there are steps you can take to get one.

1. Check Your Email

These days, many employers make their employees’ W-2s available for download through an online portal. If your employer does this, they may notify you via email. So if you haven’t received a W-2, check your email to see if you missed that notification. It may have ended up in your spam folder, or you may have trashed it without realizing how important it was.

Your employer might also have forgotten to send the email—or never intended to in the first place. If your employer has an online portal where you access paycheck information, timecards, or other employment information, log into the website to see if your W-2 is accessible.

2. Ask Your Employer

If you cannot find your W-2 online, contact your employer. Ask if they’ve issued your W-2 yet, and if so, when and how. They may have mailed it to the wrong address or sent a link to the wrong email. Or, the form may have gotten lost in transit some other way.

Regardless, if you have reason to think your W-2 isn’t going to arrive as it should, ask them to reissue it.

3. Contact the IRS

What if your employer can’t or won’t issue your W-2? For example, they may have gone out of business or are simply refusing to respond to your requests for help. In that case, it may be time to involve the IRS.

The IRS recommends that you always contact your employer first and wait until the end of February to receive your W-2 before contacting them. If February is over and your employer still hasn’t gotten your W-2, make an appointment with an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC).

Whether you call a TAC or visit a local office in person, be prepared to provide the following information:

• Your name, address, Social Security number, and phone number
• Your employer’s name, address, phone number, and tax I.D. (if you have access to it)
• The dates you worked for this employer
• An estimate of your wages and federal income tax withheld (you can usually find this information on your last pay stub for the tax year)

The IRS will contact your employer to demand your W-2 form and warn the employer of the penalties they may face for failing to issue a W-2 when required.

How to File Your Taxes without a W-2

If you do not receive a W-2 form for your employment, or if you work for a foreign employer and therefore do not receive a W-2, you can file your taxes using Form 4852. 

Form 4852 is a substitute that taxpayers can use if they never received a W-2 (or if their W-2 is inaccurate). To use Form 4852, you’ll have to:

• Estimate your total wages and withholding using your final pay stub
• Fill out the fields of Form 4852 based on your answers
• Attach Form 4852 to your US annual tax return and submit both to the IRS

Unfortunately, you cannot e-file Form 4852, so if you’re attaching it to your tax return, you will need to submit it by mail. It may also take longer than normal for the IRS to process your return. Just remember that you will still have to pay your taxes by the tax deadline, even if you request a filing extension.

How to Report Foreign Income without a W-2

Individuals who qualify as US citizens, resident aliens, or nonresident aliens working abroad for a foreign employer generally are not required to withhold Social Security or Medicare taxes. But let’s say you work for an American employer with a foreign subsidiary instead. In this case, the employer can require that Social Security and Medicare taxes be withheld from the employees of the foreign subsidiary.

US citizens, resident aliens, and nonresident aliens employed in the United States but working for a foreign employer continue to be subject to Social Security and Medicare withholding taxes. However, persons employed in the United States by a foreign employer may be exempt from social security and Medicare tax withholding if a totalization agreement is in effect.

Totalization agreements are agreements between two countries that specify to which country certain taxes, such as Social Security and Medicare taxes, are paid, all governed by the foreign employer’s tax laws.

Independent Contractors for Foreign Companies: Effectively Connected Income

When a nonresident alien receives wages from a foreign person for services they performed in the US, those wages are considered effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the US, and you are considered an independent contractor for a foreign company. So, those wages are categorized as effectively connected income (ECI). That means the wages are subject to the US graduated tax rates, the income tax withholding (federal), and the foreign employer’s reporting.

If a taxpayer earns a salary or wages as an employee in the US employed by an overseas employer, the earned income has to be reported on a US income tax return. Keep in mind that this income has to be reported irrespective of whether the employer provides a W-2.

If someone working for a foreign employer is paid as an independent contractor, the income has to be reported on Schedule C of the US individual income tax return; expenses incurred in connection with the income earned will reduce the taxable income. In addition to income tax, net income (after the deduction of expenses) is also subject to self-employment tax. A state tax return may also be a tax filing requirement, depending on the state of residency.

Want To File Your Expat Taxes Without a W-2? We Can Help!

Hopefully, this guide has given you a better understanding of how to file your taxes without a W-2 form.

Contact us, and one of our customer champions will gladly help. If you need very specific advice on your specific tax situation, you can also click below to get a consult.