Don't Mess With Taxes

Be still, my heart. Daveed Diggs talked about taxes!

Diggs, one of the Tony-nominated stars of the Broadway smash "Hamilton," was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night. He of course talked about his dual roles as America's favorite fighting Frenchman Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Lin-Manuel Miranda's $10 Founding Father musical.

Pre-Broadway jobs: However, just before getting the "Hamilton" parts, the accomplished rapper was at home in Los Angeles and was between gigs. To make ends meet, Diggs delivered catering "in my tore-up Honda Civic … mostly fajitas … at minimum wage, no less."

When he got the offer to be part of the ground-breaking production in New York, Diggs "just didn't show up" for the food delivery job.

Then tax time rolled around.

"I did my taxes hella late," Diggs told Fallon, noting that "I applied for the extension. Like it was all good. Everything by the board, totally legal."

Missing W-2: But as so often happens to many of us, when we finally get around to filing, there's an issue.

"I did my taxes real late and had lost the W-2 that they sent me for the $800 I made while I was working there, so I had to call and get the manager to text me a picture of the thing," Diggs said. "It was like, 'Hey man, I don't know if you remember me. I worked there for a few months and I just stopped coming. Really got to get these taxes done. Do you mind?'"

Even though Diggs probably should have given more formal notice, the restaurant didn't mind. "They were really nice," Diggs said. I'm sure that happens all the time in Hollywood, where everyone is a waiter of sorts waiting for his or her big entertainment break.

Diggs got his W-2 and took care of his Internal Revenue Service requirements.

Working around a missing W-2: Diggs documentation dilemma underscores the importance of setting up a tax organization system. That way you'll have everything you need at your fingertips when filing time arrives.

But the best laid tax plans often go awry. So in case you find yourself in a similar situation -- W-2 and tax-wise, not getting plum roles in a Broadway hit -- check out these steps to take if you don't get your earnings statement.

Diggs' recounting of his tax situation sounded like he had read my story! OK, that's simply "Hamilton" fangirl wishful thinking. But he did do everything right.

Based on the musical magic I hear every time I listen to the "Hamilton" cast album, which is at least a song or two every day, I'm not surprised Diggs hit all the right tax notes, too.

You also might find these items of interest:

• W-2, 1099 forms delivery deadline is here
• Report all your income even if you don't get a 1099
• Driving down your tax bill with auto-related deductions