A 1099 is not a single form; it’s a catchall term for numerous forms in the 1099 series, which the IRS calls information returns. For example, Form 1099-MISC reports miscellaneous income, including payments made to independent contractors, royalties earned and rent monies received. Form 1099-DIV reports dividend income, and Form 1099-R reports distributions from retirement income. If you’re the recipient of a 1099 form and yours is late reaching you, check the issuing deadline and contact your payment provider before you report the late form to the IRS.
Tips
You can report a late 1099 to the IRS directly by speaking with one of their representatives over the phone. After reporting a late 1099, the IRS will attempt to contact the payer to determine why you have not received the form in question.
Forms 1099 Deadlines for Payment Providers
The providers of 1099 payments, called payers, issue the appropriate 1099 forms to their payees and to the IRS. If you think your 1099 is late in reaching you, first check the date by which the payer is required to issue your particular 1099 form, because different Forms 1099 have different issuing deadline dates to recipients. What you think may be a late 1099 may not be late. Most 1099s have a mail deadline of Jan. 31, but some, including Form 1099-S Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions and Form 1099-B Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions, have different deadlines. Visit IRS.gov and search for “A Guide to Information Returns” to view the chart that shows all 1099 deadlines. If the deadline by which a payer should have issued your 1099 form has passed, contact the payer.
Contact the Payer
If the issuing deadline for your particular Form 1099 hasn’t arrived, you must allow the payer time to produce it. The IRS recommends waiting a week past the issuing deadline before you contact the payer. For example, if you have not received your 1099 by the end of the first week in February for a Jan. 31 issuing deadline, contact the payer. If the payer has failed to produce your 1099 a month after the issuing deadline, you can call on the IRS to intervene for you.
Contact the IRS to Report a Late 1099
An IRS representative will contact a late payer for you. Call the IRS at 800-829-1040 to start the ball rolling by reporting your late 1099. If the tax filing deadline is near, the representative will let you know how to file your tax return by the deadline, so you don’t have to pay a late-filing penalty. For example, if you have not received a Form 1099-R, you may need to complete Form 4852 Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement or Form 1099-R Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts. You can also download these forms at IRS.gov.
References
Warnings
- The IRS charges interest on taxes not paid by their due date.
Writer Bio
Victoria Lee Blackstone was formerly with Freddie Mac’s mortgage acquisition department, where she funded multi-million-dollar loan pools for primary lending institutions, worked on a mortgage fraud task force and wrote the convertible ARM section of the company’s policies and procedures manual. Currently, Blackstone is a professional writer with expertise in the fields of mortgage, finance, budgeting and tax. She is the author of more than 2,000 published works for newspapers, magazines, online publications and individual clients.