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Ex-Arrow drivers fear tax season, no W-2s

Since the company’s collapse on Dec. 22, 2009, Arrow Trucking has remained completely shuttered, leaving nearly 1,400 former drivers and employees with zero access to desperately needed tax and other financial information.

Many drivers have told Land Line Magazine they are worried they won’t receive a W-2 from their former employer who left many of them stranded all over the country.

Frank Tomecek, a Certified Public Accountant for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said drivers should make every effort right now to contact their company by phone or by mail requesting their W-2, but that Arrow has until Jan. 31 to provide them with this information.

“I realize the company has been totally unresponsive, but by law the company has until Jan. 31 to give their employees their W-2s,” Tomecek told Land Line.

“From what we are hearing about the company this likely won’t happen, so after Jan. 31, they can fill out Form 4852 , which they can fill out as a substitute W-2.”

If they don’t receive a W-2 by the required date, Tomecek said it’s important for former Arrow employees to use the information from their last “good” pay stub. In the weeks before the company’s financial meltdown, many ex-Arrow employees’ paychecks bounced and Tomecek said these employees should not be taxed on money they couldn’t collect when their checks didn’t clear.

However, if they ever collect money that is owed them for back wages, Tomecek said they must report that income in the year it is collected.

Most importantly, if they use the Form 4852, Tomecek said it’s important for them to explain why they don’t have a W-2.

 â€œIt’s important for them to state that Arrow filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Jan. 8 and the company has been totally unresponsive,” he said.

There are concerns that while Arrow withheld taxes from their employees’ pay, that money was not forwarded on to the Internal Revenue Service. Tomecek said as long as the tax filer can demonstrate that the taxes were withheld from their payroll via pay stub or W-2, the tax filer is entitled to take the credit for taxes withheld whether or not the employer properly paid the taxes.

“There are very harsh IRS penalties for unpaid employee payroll taxes since they are held in a fiduciary capacity by the employer,” Tomecek said. “The penalty is 100 percent of the unpaid taxes, and can be assessed against the company and any and all responsible officers or parties. The employees are in the clear here.”

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