This year some changes will be made to filing deadlines for IRS Form W-2 and some types of Form 1099. The changes are the result of The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 signed by President Obama.
If you’re an employer, you’re probably accustomed to a January 31st deadline by which to provide your employees with three copies of their W-2, and a February 28th deadline for paper filings to be submitted to the Social Security Administration (March 31 for electronic filings).
Beginning with 2016 forms, employers will now have one filing deadline for all Federal W-2s: January 31st. This is true for both employee and agency copies, or whether filing paper or electronic returns.
As for Form 1099-Misc, the new January 31st deadline applies only to certain types of 1099s.
If you’re filing Form 1099-Misc and reporting amounts in Box 7: Nonemployee Compensation, then you will need to meet the new filing deadline of January 31st.
If you don't have amounts in Box 7, then the deadline remains February 28th for paper filings or March 31st for electronic filings.
With this new deadline, it's important for employers to be well prepared to complete year-end tasks. This means:
- Verifying accuracy of employee information
- Reporting/submitting any year-end adjustments as soon as possible
- Reviewing year-end totals for any discrepancies
If you need to make corrections after sending your file to the Social Security Administration, you can do so by filing Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement.
Many states have also adopted the new deadline of January 31st, beginning with the upcoming filings for 2016 Form W-2. Please give us a call to learn more.