Form 1099-MISC is used for reporting miscellaneous income paid non-employees such as contractors. If you hired a contractor to do some work for you in your business, you are required to furnish them with a Form 1099-MISC—the same way as furnishing employees with Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement.
Both Forms 1099 and W-2 report income. Since the individuals you’re going to furnish these tax forms rely on them to file their federal income tax returns, you should sort them out before the tax season starts. But you will have a few extra days. While the tax season starts on January 27th, you have until January 31st to file Form 1099-MISC. This deadline also applies to Form W-2.
Penalty for Late Filing
If Form 1099-MISC isn’t filed before January 31st, you will be subject to a $50 penalty for the first 30 days you did not file. If you file Form 1099-MISC after March 1st or 30 days after January 31st, the penalty will remain the same. If filed after 30 days—between August 1st and March 1st in most years—the penalty will be $100 per missing Form 1099-MISC.
The bottom line here is the deadline to file Form 1099-MISC is January 31st. If filed within 30 days after January 31st, the penalty for late filing is $50 per violation. If filed after the 30 days has passed until August 1st, the penalty will be $100.
Those who don’t fill out Form 1099-MISC and issues it to the recipient will be subject to different kinds of penalties. The Internal Revenue Service will review your situation and if nothing is found that holds you back from filing these tax forms, the penalties will be much severe. We suggest filing Forms 1099-MISC early on if you have all the information you need. Need the contractor’s taxpayer identification number to file Form 1099-MISC? Request them to fill out Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.