Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form 4852 is the Substitute for Form W-2 or Form 1099-R. You complete it when your employer or payer does not issue the form or issues an incorrect one, and you attach it to your income tax return. The form says to try your employer or payer first, and to call the IRS if the form has not arrived by the end of February.
When Form 4852 is allowed
The instructions state the purpose: “Form 4852 serves as a substitute for Forms W-2, W-2c, and 1099-R (original or corrected)” “when (a) your employer or payer doesn’t issue you a Form W-2 or Form 1099-R, or (b) an employer or payer has issued an incorrect Form W-2 or Form 1099-R.”
Where it goes: “Attach this form to the back of your income tax return before any supporting forms or schedules.” The form header says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-X.”
The form is not a first move. It prints a heading, “You must take the following steps before filing Form 4852”, and the first step is “Attempt to get your Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 1099-R (original or corrected) from your employer or payer before contacting the IRS or filing Form 4852.”
Steps before you file, and the IRS call
On timing, the form says “If you don’t receive the missing or corrected form from your employer or payer by the end of February, you may call the IRS at” the number printed on the form. “You must provide your name, address (including ZIP code), phone number, social security number, and dates of employment.”
The same passage describes what the IRS does: “The IRS will contact your employer or payer and request the missing form.” “The IRS will also send you a Form 4852.” And if the form still has not come, “you may use the Form 4852 that the IRS sent you to file with your return.”
For an incorrect form rather than a missing one, “If you received an incorrect Form W-2 or Form 1099-R, you should always attempt to have your employer or payer issue a corrected form before filing Form 4852.”
The lines, in order
The specific instructions walk lines 1 through 10. Line 7 is for a Form W-2 and line 8 is for a Form 1099-R, each with lettered boxes underneath.
| Line | As printed in the instructions |
|---|---|
| Line 1 to 3 | “Enter your name, social security number, and current address including street, city, state, and ZIP code.” |
| Line 4 | “Enter the year for which Form W-2 or Form 1099-R wasn’t received or was incorrect.” |
| Line 5 | “Enter your employer’s or payer’s name, address, and ZIP code.” |
| Line 6 | “Enter your employer’s or payer’s taxpayer identification number (TIN), if known.” |
| Line 7 | “To the extent the Form W-2 you received reported correct information, complete line 7 by entering that correct information.” |
| Line 8 | “To the extent the Form 1099-R you received reported correct information, complete line 8 by entering that correct information.” |
| Line 9 | “Explain how you determined the amounts on line 7 or 8.” |
| Line 10 | “Explain any attempts made to get the missing or corrected” |
Line 7 has a fallback when the paperwork is incomplete: “If you don’t have complete and accurate information from a Form W-2, use your final pay stub to help complete line 7.” Line 8 has its own: “use a distribution statement from your plan trustee to help complete line 8.”
Within line 7, box a asks for “Enter your total wages received”, and box e asks you to “Enter the amount of federal income taxes withheld from your wages for the year.” Within line 8, box a is “Enter the total amount you received for the year as a gross distribution.” and box c says “Check this box if you are unable to compute your taxable distribution.”
Figures and penalties on the form
The instructions print rates for the Medicare box and a warning list about improper use. The figures below are quoted from the form.
| Item | As printed in the instructions |
|---|---|
| Accuracy related penalty | “Accuracy-related penalties equal to 20% of the amount of taxes that should have been paid,” |
| Civil fraud penalty | “Civil fraud penalties equal to 75% of the amount of taxes that should have been paid,” |
| Frivolous return penalty | “A $5,000 civil penalty for filing a frivolous return” |
| Medicare tax withheld | “the 1.45% Medicare tax withheld on all Medicare wages and tips you report on line 7c” |
| Additional Medicare Tax | “0.9% Additional Medicare Tax withheld on any of those Medicare wages and tips above $200,000” |
| Timing | “If you don’t receive the missing or corrected form from your employer or payer by the end of February” |
The penalty passage begins with a statement of intent: “The IRS will challenge the claims of individuals who attempt to avoid or evade their federal tax liability by using Form 4852 in a manner other than as prescribed.”
After you file
Keep a copy: “Retain a copy of Form 4852 for your records.” The form explains the reason for the benefits side: “To help protect your social security benefits, keep a copy of Form 4852 until you begin receiving social security benefits”
If the real form arrives later, the form says “you must amend your return by filing Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.” It adds “You are responsible for filing your income tax return with accurate information regardless of whether you receive a Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 1099-R”.
To check what employers reported, the form points to “you may use your Social Security online account to verify wages reported by your employers.”
The IRS publishes its own guidance on missing or incorrect forms in Tax Topic 154 and on the Form 4852 page.
Which revision applies
The edition read for this page is Form 4852 (Rev. September 2020), which carries its own instructions and is the revision irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-19. Check the revision printed on the form you are attaching, because a later revision can change the line layout, the penalty statement and the steps to take before filing.
Common mistakes
- Filing Form 4852 without first asking the employer or payer. The form says “You should always attempt to get your Form W-2, Form W-2c, or Form 1099-R (original or corrected) from your employer or payer before contacting the IRS or filing Form 4852.”
- Not amending when the real form shows different numbers. The form says “you must amend your return by filing Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return.”
- Using the form in a way it was not written for. The form says “The IRS will challenge the claims of individuals who attempt to avoid or evade their federal tax liability by using Form 4852 in a manner other than as prescribed.”
Related: Form 4506-T, Form 1099-R boxes, and Form 1040 line 25.
Sources
- Form 4852 (Rev. September 2020), Substitute for Form W-2 or Form 1099-R: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4852.pdf
Read from the agency documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.