If you did not get your W-2 in the mail today, don’t blow a fuse. According to IRS rules, employers have until Jan 31 to get your W-2s in the mail. Most should arrive today, but give it until tomorrow’s mail before you start calling your employer, even former employers.

It’s easy to say, “The rules say…”. But, let’s be honest. Being a jerk to some harried office worker who has just as much reason as you do to be unhappy in her job will likely just result in something getting “lost in the mail”.

Once your W2 does arrive, have a look at it. Is your Social Security number correct? Is anything hand-written on the W2?

Those errors are two of the biggest reasons you could be refused a refund loan, if you were planning to do such a thing.