6 Important Tips for Getting Your 1099’s Right
One big “tax-time-task” (say that three times fast!) is filing 1099 forms. It’s hard to believe, but this tax deadline is looming just around the corner, especially because we lose almost the entire last week of December to the holidays. It’s a good idea to get started on this project right now; it is harder to gather W9 forms and current
mailing information from your subcontractors than you think. Here are 6 tips you need to know in order to get your 1099s right – the first time around!.
1099 Tips
- You must send a 1099 to any subcontractor you have paid $600 or more to in a calendar year.
- 1099s are due to the recipients by January 31st. If the 31st falls on a Saturday or Sunday, 1099s are due the first business day following the 31st.
- You should have a W9 form on file for each of your subcontractors. The form can be downloaded here.
- A 1099 can be “bounced back” from the IRS if it is not issued correctly or it contains mistakes. The most common mistake is a name is spelled wrong, or is not complete.
- Make sure forms are issued to the *exact* name which appears on the vendor’s social security card. In other words, don’t issue a 1099 to “Joe” if Joseph is the name on file with the Social Security Administration. Double check social security numbers and make sure mailing addresses are current too!
- Your 1099s must be submitted along with a 1096 form to the IRS by February 28th. The 1096 form is a summary form that lists the total amount of 1099s you are submitting, plus the total dollar amount of all of your 1099s combined.
Make sure you use our handy dandy tax calendar to never miss another tax date.
