Good day,

I received a W-2 from a company that I worked for during the 2013 tax year as a 1099 employee, as a independent contractor. I quit working for the company in Aug 2013. I received my W-2 for 2013, filed my taxes and went on with my life.

Yesterday, I received a W-2 for the company I worked for in 2013, however the W-2 was issued for the 2014 tax year. I called and spoke with the new manager, who stated that the company posted an advance that I took as pay when they balanced there books.

My question is: Is it legal for a company for say they paid you for a tax year when they did not? Also, since I was a 1099 employee, shouldn't the company have written off the advanced pay as a loss, especially since I did not know until yesterday, that I was being paid advanced payments.

This all took place in Dallas, TX, between 2013, and 2015.

Any help would be appreciated.

First - did you get a 1099 or W-2 or both?
There is no such thing as a '1099 employee.' Employees get W2s with taxes taken out. Contractors get 1099s.
Did they mention fiscal year on the phone? (I highly doubt that they have to write off advance pay as a loss. Was it an overpayment mistake that they carried into their new fiscal year? Not making a lot of sense as written.)

If you were a 1099 employee then you would not have gotten a W2. You only get a W2 if taxes were withheld from wages.

Whether the company decides to write off an advance they paid you is immaterial to you. The fact appears to be that the advance was issued and taxes withheld so a W2 had to be generated. It would be illegal if they did not issue the W2.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ScottGem

... The fact appears to be that the advance was issued and taxes withheld so a W2 had to be generated. It would be illegal if they did not issue the W2.

---

If indeed OP was paid W2 wages (or a 1099 contract payment). OP needs to reconcile the payments received with the wage (or contract) payments they said they paid. It might take an accountant or tax preparer to figure this out.

It's always a good idea to keep one's own accounting records (preferably on a computer). If that is done, W2s or 1099s are, for the most part, redundant. And, in this case, it will make figuring things out a lot easier.

If OP was indeed paid in 2013, and now the employer is now calling it an "advance pay" and reporting it to the IRS for 2014, that is not OP's concern (assuming OP is on a cash basis). If indeed the money was received in 2013, and it was not reflected in the W2 or 1040 for that year, OP may have to amend his or her '13 return.