New year, new tax season! We’re kicking off a whole new round of tax tip Tuesday’s to make sure you or your business stay on track.
With the start of the tax season comes the preparation of tax forms. Most are aware of issuing and receiving W2s by the end of the month but a commonly forgotten tax form to issue is the 1099-Misc. Forgetting to issue this form could cost your business a pretty penny.
This week topic: when a business must issue a 1099-Misc
If this is the first time you are hearing ‘1099’ don’t feel bad, chances are you are not alone. However, the form is getting more and more familiar in this age of internet commerce, ride-sharing, and food delivery apps. It is not unusual to be on the receiving end of a 1099. We are going to discuss the business responsibility and requirements to issue a 1099.
The most common 1099 a business has to issue is a 1099-Misc. According to the IRS, a business must issue a 1099-Misc to whomever the business paid at least $600 to either in rents, services performed by someone who is not your employee, payments to attorneys, prizes and awards, or other income payments.
It is the business owner’s responsibility to issue the 1099s or gather the proper information to give to their accountant, so they can issue the 1099s on their behalf.
A common business practice and one that we recommend is having your contractors and service vendors complete a Form W-9 before issuing payment. The W-9 has a section to mark the type of entity they are. The following entities are required to be issued 1099s if they are paid more than $600, individuals, sole proprietorships or single-member LLC’s, partnerships and trust & estates. If the business is a corporation, you do not have to issue a 1099. Collecting this information upfront will ensure you have the necessary information to timely file your 1099s.
1099-Misc must be filed with the IRS and the recipient should receive their 1099-Misc by January 31, 2020, for the 2019 income tax year.
So, what happens if a business owner does not have their 1099s filed in time? Significant penalties can arise from filing your 1099s late or not filing them at all.
If you file your 1099s:
- within 30 days of the due date, the penalty is $50 per 1099
- after 30 days = $100 per 1099
- after August 1 = $270 per 1099
So, you can see filing your 1099s is a big deal!
If your business paid an individual that is not an employee or a service contractor more than $600 (see a full list on irs.gov) you may have a responsibility and a requirement to issue a 1099.
Download the forms discussed in this post:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099msc.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
Verdant Accounting is an expert in this area and can help you determine your requirements. Your first consultation is always FREE. Give us a call today!