With filing season drawing near for the 2016 calendar year, you should know that, to assist the IRS in detecting and preventing fraud, the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 has accelerated certain deadlines for filing information returns for hired workers.
Specifically, beginning with the 2016 calendar year, the deadline for submitting (1) Copy A of Form W-2 and Form W-3 to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for employee compensation and (2) Form 1099-MISC and Form 1096 to the IRS for non-employee compensation is January 31st of the year after the calendar year to which the forms relate, i.e., January 31, 2017 for this filing season.
This accelerated deadline applies irrespective of whether the information returns are filed electronically. Thus, the filing deadline for these information returns now matches the existing deadline for providing written statements reporting wage information and non-employee compensation, i.e. Form W-2 and Form 1099-MISC respectively, to recipients of that compensation. Before the enactment of the 2015 PATH Act, information returns for both categories of payments (i.e. employee and non-employee compensation) were due at the end of February if filed by paper and March 31st if filed electronically.
In addition, only a single 30-day non-automatic extension is now available to file Form W-2 with the SSA, while one automatic 30-day extension and potentially one additional 30-day non-automatic extension are still available to file Form 1099-MISC with the IRS.
You should also know that many but not all states that require returns for employee wage information and nonemployee compensation have adopted the accelerated federal due date and that failing to timely file or include the correct information on either the information return or written statement can result in penalties.
At Lank, Johnson & Tull, CPAs, it’s our goal to keep working for you all year-round, not just during tax season. We hope you find this information helpful and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.