Can I save one W-2 to file next year instead of this in order to get more money back this year and pay it next

Question

I am waiting on a W-2 from a job I worked most of the year at...I did a ruff draft to see that if I didn't claim the W-2 I would get $5000 but if I did then I'd only get $2500...I need the money more this year then I will next so I was wondering if it was LEGAL to wait and file the W-2 with next years taxes.

Answer 1

Federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go proposition: your taxes are due when your wages are paid out to you. That's why employers withhold taxes from your paycheck and send them to the IRS. Furthermore, your employers have already reported the wages they paid to you to the IRS. If your return doesn't match what's been reported, you'll probably be liable for penalties.

Answer 2

Call me strange, but in my humble opinion you're not a tax professional.

Start at the basics. You're waiting on a W2, which should be in your hands by mid-February. That W2 has a lot of taxes withheld, and more importantly, THE IRS GETS A COPY and will be patiently anticipating your return.

Unless you make little money, so little you don't need to file (and, with such a high expected rebate, I doubt that), you have to file 2006 tax informtion in your 2006 tax return due by mid-April.

If you really want that cash in your hands as fast as possible, you should file your taxes electronically starting 10 Feb (that's the earliest the IRS is processing returns this year) and have them direct deposit the money into your bank account. (Or get an extortion-rate refund anticipation loan.)

Answer 3

No, you must list all income you received and pay the tax on it for the tax year that it was earned in. If you don't list all income your return may be rejected by the IRS. They will eventually catch the error and will bill you for any unpaid taxes. If it's past the due date for the return, there will be penalties and interest on top of it as well.

Answer 4

Why not save all of them for next year and not pay anything this year? ;-}

OK, that was a smart-alec answer. No, you can't. It's not legal to do that. If you do, the IRS will notice (their computers match up the info reported to them to the returns that are filed) and notify you that you left something off, and then you'll be paying back the extra with interest and possible penalties.

Answer 5

If there were a legal way to do that, EVERYONE would delay paying taxes and the government would never collect. Why do you think they mandated withholding in the first place?

Answer 6

No.