New Deadline for 1099 and W-2 Filings – January 31, 2017

New Deadline for 1099 and W-2 Filings – January 31, 2017

Beginning in 2017, there will be new deadlines for when W-2 and 1099 earnings need to be filed by employers. Form W-2 will have to be submitted to the Social Security Administration and 1099-MISC will be filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The recipient copies of both forms are required to be submitted by January 31 for the 2016 reporting year. This deadline is the same whether the forms are filed by paper or electronically.

Another element of this change is that this deadline affects those filing nonemployee compensation payments in box 7. However, most do report 1099-MISC information in box 7, so this may cause some confusion.

In the past, the W-2 and 1099-MISC forms have always been required to be provided to their recipients by January 31. So, there’s no change in when employees and 1099 contractors will have to get their forms. However, the big difference now is that, in past years, these forms did not need to be submitted to the Social Security Administration or IRS until February 28 (or March 31, if filed electronically).

To compound the situation, the IRS also eliminated any automatic 30-day extensions through Form 8809 (or further extensions of any kind) for filing of W-2 forms. This means what used to be two or three months of work will now be condensed into just the first 31 days of the calendar year.

Especially during the first year, this new deadline is expected to put extra stress on companies and their accountants since the deadline is much sooner than previous years. They will need to work harder and faster to make sure the forms are filed on time to meet the January 31 deadline. This is in addition to Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, which are also due by the same date.

With these new deadlines for W-2 and 1099-MISC forms, it is more important than ever to get a head start on your tax preparation and make sure all your accounting is in order. Ferguson, Timar & Company can help you ensure that all necessary tax forms are filed on time and accurately. To get started, contact us today.

 

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