The IRS has changed the employer deadlines for filing W-2 and 1099 forms, effective in January 2017.
- The January 31st deadline for an employer to send the forms to employees and contractors has not changed.
- The deadline for employers to submit W-2/W-3 copies to the Social Security Administration and 1099/1096 copies to the IRS has moved from March 31st (for electronic filing) or February 28th (for paper filing) to January 31st for all.
- Furthermore, there are new significant penalties for forms that are late, incomplete, or incorrect.
In order to meet these earlier deadlines, employers will need to send forms to employees and contractors very early in January, to allow time for corrections before the forms are submitted to the SSA and IRS.
IRS Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
IRS Instructions for Forms 1099 and 1096
Resources are available on our website on the Services tab, Payroll pages (both Full Payroll and Payroll Oversight):
- A copy of the timetable that we are using for our clients
- Instructions for reviewing a QB file before processing 1099 forms