The IRS has announced that the tax extenders legislation will not slow the start of tax season. The IRS will be open for business on January 19, as planned. On this day personal tax returns, 1040 forms, can be electronically filed. All 1040s will begin to be processed at that time so sending in a paper return before that date will not speed up the process. Paper returns will be held until January 19 and processed at that time.
Tax season will end on Monday, April 18, 2016, because Washington, D.C. will celebrate Emancipation Day and when D.C. closes and the IRS takes a break, it slows down the end of tax season.
The IRS urges tax payers to make certain all tax filing forms have been received before filing a tax return, this included W-2s, 1099s and the new form 1095-A from the Marketplace for tax payers who plan to take the premium tax credit. I will be writing a separate post on these forms which are new.
E-file and direct deposit are still the quickest and safest ways to file returns and claim refunds. You can do this yourself, sometimes for free if certain qualifications are met, or for a small fee. You can also use the services of a tax professional if you prefer. If you have any questions, please post a question and I'll do my best to supply an answer.
Showing posts with label 1099. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1099. Show all posts
Friday, December 25, 2015
Monday, January 28, 2013
W-2s, 1099s and Year End Payroll Reports
It's about time to get those tax statements out to employees and sub-contractors. These need to be mailed by the end of January but don't have to be filed with the IRS (for 1099s) or the Social Security Administration (for W-2s) until the end of February. The reason for this? If there are errors in name, address or ID number, in either the 1099 or W-2, the recipient of the form will let the sender know. A corrected form can be generated and the documents needed to be sent to to the taxing authority can be corrected before the forms are sent in. That's the easiest way to do it.
The other reports that need to be sent in by January 31, no extension on these forms, are the 941, the 940 and the state unemployment. These have to be sent in by the end of the month. The main thing to remember about these reports is that they all need to balance to each other. The four quarterly 941 reports need to match the the W-2s in gross payroll. The gross payroll total of the 941s need to equal both the quarterly state unemployment reports and the total payroll for the annual 940 or federal unemployment. If these reports don't match, you will find out about it years later and have to dig through your old files to figure out what the error is and how to correct it. Best to get it right the first time.
Now let's take a look at the W-2. New this year on the W-2 is the requirement to include the value of health insurance. Small employers are exempted from this requirement. Only large employers need to worry about this. In any event, this amount is not taxable to the employee but is included for information purposes only, to let the employee know the value of health insurance paid on his behalf. If the employer can't afford health insurance for the employee, then there is nothing to include.
That's a brief overview, except to let you know that there are a multitude of 1099s - miscellaneous, interest, dividends, mortgage interest (actually a 1098), and a host of others. So don't forget any of them. You still have time to get them out. Have fun.
The other reports that need to be sent in by January 31, no extension on these forms, are the 941, the 940 and the state unemployment. These have to be sent in by the end of the month. The main thing to remember about these reports is that they all need to balance to each other. The four quarterly 941 reports need to match the the W-2s in gross payroll. The gross payroll total of the 941s need to equal both the quarterly state unemployment reports and the total payroll for the annual 940 or federal unemployment. If these reports don't match, you will find out about it years later and have to dig through your old files to figure out what the error is and how to correct it. Best to get it right the first time.
Now let's take a look at the W-2. New this year on the W-2 is the requirement to include the value of health insurance. Small employers are exempted from this requirement. Only large employers need to worry about this. In any event, this amount is not taxable to the employee but is included for information purposes only, to let the employee know the value of health insurance paid on his behalf. If the employer can't afford health insurance for the employee, then there is nothing to include.
That's a brief overview, except to let you know that there are a multitude of 1099s - miscellaneous, interest, dividends, mortgage interest (actually a 1098), and a host of others. So don't forget any of them. You still have time to get them out. Have fun.
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