1099s

Who do you need to send a 1099 to?

The following list covers the majority of circumstances that require businesses to issue a 1099-Misc to an individual or business and the situations where 1099s are not required. Let’s start with a list of excluded transactions.

Excluded transactions include:

• Most payments to corporations (see exceptions below)
• Payments for merchandise
• Payments of rent to real-estate agents or corporations
• Business travel allowances paid to employees
• Wages paid to W-2 employees
• Payments to tax-exempt organizations

1099s are required for:

• Payment for services in excess of $600 paid during the year
• Rent payments exceeding $600 paid to individuals or businesses which are not incorporated
• Any fishing boat proceeds
• Medical and healthcare payments in excess of $600, including payments to a corporation
• Cash payments for fish (or other aquatic life) in excess of $600, including payment to a corporation
• Royalties or broker payments in excess of $10
• Gross proceeds to an attorney in excess of $600, including any law practices that are incorporated

When are they due?

Copy B and Copy 2 of Form 1099-MISC must be sent to the recipient by February 1st, 2011. The due date is extended to February 16, 2011, if you are reporting payments in boxes 8 or 14. File Copy A of the 1099-MISC with the IRS by March 1st (Extended to March 31st if you file electronically).

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

Failure to furnish correct payee statements can have large consequences. Fines start at $30 per information return if you correctly file within 30 days of the due date; $60 per return if more than 30 days late but before August 1; $100 per return after August 1 or if you don't file. Intentional disregard of the requirements raises the fine to $250 per return.

Additionally, failure to file may also put your deductions at risk.

Tax Filing Deadlines at the end of the month

Just a quick reminder that some filing deadlines are looming. From the IRS website, here is what is required to be mailed by February 1st:

Furnish Forms 1099 and W-2. Furnish each employee a completed Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Furnish each other payee a completed Form 1099 (for example, Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income).

File Form 941 or Form 944. File Form 941, Employer's QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, for the fourth quarter of the previous calendar year and deposit any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 941 if your total tax liability for the quarter is less than $2,500. File Form 944, Employer's ANNUAL Federal Tax Return, for the previous calendar year instead of Form 941 if the IRS has notified you in writing to file Form 944 and pay any undeposited income, social security, and Medicare taxes. You may pay these taxes with Form 944 if your total tax liability for the year is less than $2,500. For additional rules on when you can pay your taxes with your return, seePayment with return on page 20. If you timely deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days from the due date above to file the appropriate return.

File Form 940. File Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. However, if you deposited all of the FUTA tax when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file.

File Form 945. File Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax, to report any nonpayroll income tax withheld in 2008. If you deposited all taxes when due, you have 10 additional calendar days to file. See Nonpayroll Income Tax Withholding on page 4 for more information.

Form 1099-Misc due February 2

This is a reminder that 1099s, with a few exceptions, need to be mailed by Monday, February 2nd. Fines for late filing start at $15 per return (if filed within 30 days of the due date) and go up to $50 per return if filed after August 1 or not at all.

Businesses (and non-profits) need to send them to any individual or partnership if you paid them more than $600 during 2008. Professional fees to attorneys, doctors and other professionals are included. Payments to corporations are included only if they are for medical, legal or fishing activities.

You also need to send one if you paid someone more than $10 in royalties.

You can read the more detailed general instructions here or the more abbreviated 1099-Misc instruction here.

Finally, you should have a policy to require your non-corporate vendors to complete a Form W-9 prior to disbursing any payments to them. This will insure you have the required information you need at year end to properly prepare your 1099s. Don't wait until January to start gathering this data.