January 31 – 1099-MISCs Due to Service Providers & the IRS –
The due date for mailing the recipient copy of the 1099 that reports 2016 payments is January 31, 2017. The copy that goes to the IRS is ALSO due January 31, 2017.
If you are a business and paid $600 or more to individuals, partnerships, or LLC’s as nonemployee compensation during 2016, you are required to provide Form 1099 to those workers by January 31. “Nonemployee compensation” is payment for services performed for your business by an individual who is not your employee, commissions, professional fees and materials, prizes and awards for services provided, fish purchases for cash, and payments for an oil and gas working interest. In order to avoid a penalty, copies of the 1099s also need to be sent to the IRS by January 31, 2017*. The 1099s must be submitted on optically scannable (OCR) forms. This firm prepares 1099s in OCR format for submission to the IRS with the 1096 submittal form. This service provides both recipient and file copies for your records. Please call this office for preparation assistance.
*This due date for the IRS’ copy is one month earlier than in prior years and applies when you have paid nonemployee compensation that is being reported in box 7 of the 1099-MISC.
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 needed to file the 1099s 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 complied with the law in case the vendor gave you incorrect information. We highly recommend that you have a potential vendor complete a Form W-9 prior to engaging in business with them. The W-9 is for your use only and is not submitted to the IRS.
January 31 – Form 1098 and Other 1099s Due to Recipients –
Form 1098 (Mortgage Interest Statement) and Forms 1099, other than 1099-MISC, are also due to recipients by January 31. The IRS’ copy is not due until February 28, 2017, or March 31, 2017 if electronically filed. These 1099s may be reporting the following types of income:
- Dividends and other corporate distributions
- Interest
- Amounts paid in real estate transactions
- Rent
- Royalties
- Amounts paid in broker and barter exchange transactions
- Payments to attorneys
- Payments of Indian gaming profits to tribal members
- Profit-sharing distributions
- Retirement plan distributions
- Original issue discount
- Prizes and awards
- Medical and health care payments
- Debt cancellation (treated as payment to debtor)
January 31 – Employers – W-2s Due to All Employees & the Government –
All employers need to give copies of the W-2 form for 2016 to their employees. If an employee agreed to receive their W-2 form electronically, post it on a website and notify the employee of the posting. NEW DATE: W-2 Copy A and Transmittal Form W-3, whether filed electronically or by paper, are due January 31 to the Social Security Administration. This is a month earlier than in the past.
January 31 – File Form 941 and Deposit Any Undeposited Tax –
File Form 941 for the fourth quarter of 2016. Deposit any undeposited Social Security, Medicare and withheld income tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the quarter in full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.
January 31 – File Form 943 –
All farm employers should file Form 943 to report Social Security, Medicare taxes and withheld income tax for 2016. Deposit any undeposited tax. (If your tax liability is less than $2,500, you can pay it in full with a timely filed return.) If you deposited the tax for the year in full and on time, you have until February 10 to file the return.
Penalities –
There is a $260.00 per return federal penalty for failure to file these information returns. If filed within 30 days of the due date, the federal penalty is reduced to $50.00 per return.
