Starting with the 2017 tax filing season, the deadline for submitting your government copies of W-2 and 1099 forms will be January 31st.  No longer will you have the option to wait until February 28th to file these form sets with the government. Thus, these new due dates are applicable to tax year 2016 Forms W-2, 1099-R and 1099’MISC. 

In other words, not only will you be required to provide employees with their W-2 forms and your contractors with their 1099 forms by January 31st, but you will also need to file your Federal Copy A (Forms W-2, 1099-R, and/or 1099-MISC as appropriate) with the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the IRS by January 31st as well. 

Filing Requirements:

• 249 or less returns per year (Federal Copy A) are permitted to be filed electronically or by paper by January 31st.
• 250 or more returns per year (Federal Copy A) must be filed electronically by January 31st.

Start Planning Now:

• Contact your payroll provider to determine who will handle the filing of the government copies of these forms.  Don’t assume because your provider handled it in the past that they will continue to do so.  If the responsibility ends up falling on you, you may need to register with the SSA and the IRS which can take up to three months.
• Verify your employees filing status and confirm their mailing addresses prior to year-end.
• Verify that the form W-9 information for your 1099-Misc contractors is current and accurate.

Due to the shortened deadline between year-end and the new filing date, it is essential that you have all the necessary information needed to complete the filing of these forms ready to go by January 1, 2017.

Feel free to contact your Meaden & Moore representative at (216) 241-3272 or Karin Spoerke if you have any questions or would like to discuss these changes further.