On what form must wages be reported if an employee dies after receiving a paycheck but before cashing it?

Wages must be reported on Form W-2 when an employee earns income, which includes the situation where the employee has received a paycheck but has not cashed it before passing away. Form W-2 is used by employers to report wages paid to employees and the taxes withheld from those wages, making it the appropriate form for reporting all taxable income for the year, including any wages owed to an employee who died after receiving but not cashing a paycheck.

In this scenario, although the employee did not cash the paycheck, the wages are still considered earned income for that tax year, and thus must be included in the annual reporting to the IRS on Form W-2. This ensures that the income is correctly accounted for tax purposes.

The other forms listed serve different purposes: Form W-2D is specifically used for reporting deferred compensation, Form 1099-MISC is used for reporting non-employee compensation and various other types of payments not made to employees, and Form 1099-R is designated for reporting distributions from retirement plans, pensions, and similar arrangements. None of these forms are suitable for reporting regular wages earned by an employee.