1099 Filing Date Moved Up This Year; Don’t Get Trapped into Penalties

Article Highlights:

• Independent Contractors
• 1099 Filing Requirement
• Due Dates
• Penalties
• Form W-9 and 1099 Worksheet

If, in your business, you engage the services of an individual (independent contractor) other than one who meets the definition of an employee and you pay him or her $600 or more for the calendar year, you are required to issue him or her a Form 1099-MISC to avoid penalties and the prospect of losing the deduction for his or her labor and expenses in an audit.

This year it is not business as usual, however, since a law change requires the IRS to move up the filing due date by a whole month to January 31, 2017, for both the IRS filing and providing a copy to the service provider. This earlier filing date is part of the government’s effort to combat tax filing fraud.

In addition to being used to report payments to independent contractors, Form 1099-MISC is also used to report payments made by a business for rents and royalties and to attorneys for legal services, among others. If there are no independent contractor payments to report, the 2016 1099-MISC issued for other payments continues to be due to the IRS by the normal due date of February 28, 2017. However, where both independent contractor and other payments are being reported, the January 31 due date should be observed so that late filing penalties are avoided regarding the independent contractor payments.

It is not uncommon to have a repairman out early in the year, pay him less than $600, then use his services again later in the year and have the total for the year exceed the $599 limit. As a result, you may have overlooked getting the information from the individual that you need to file the 1099-MISCs for the year. Therefore, it is good practice to always have individuals who are not incorporated complete and sign an IRS Form W-9 the first time you engage them and before you pay them. Having a properly completed and signed Form W-9 for all independent contractors and service providers eliminates any oversights and protects you against IRS penalties and conflicts. If you have been negligent in the past about having the W-9s completed, it would be a good idea to establish a procedure for getting each non-corporate independent contractor and service provider to fill out a W-9 and return it to you going forward.

IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is provided by the government as a means for you to obtain the data required to file 1099s for your vendors. It also provides you with verification that you have complied with the law in case the vendor gives you incorrect information. We highly recommend that you have potential vendors complete a Form W-9 before you engage in business with them. The W-9 is for your use only and is not submitted to the IRS.

The penalty for failure to file the required informational returns is substantial and is $260 per informational return. The penalty is reduced to $50 if a correct but late information return is filed not later than the 30th day after the January 31, 2017, required filing date, or it is reduced to $100 for returns filed after the 30th day but no later than August 1, 2017. If you are required to file 250 or more information returns, you must file them electronically.

In order to avoid a penalty, copies of the 1099-MISCs you’ve issued for 2016 that include independent contractor payments in box 7 need to be sent to the IRS by January 31, 2017. They must be submitted on magnetic media or on optically scannable forms (OCR forms). This firm prepares 1099s for submission to the IRS. This service provides recipient copies and file copies for your records. Use the 1099 worksheet to provide this office with the information needed to prepare your 1099s.