Changes in 2017 – W2 & 1099 Filing Deadlines

You may think that you don’t have to worry about the filing deadlines for your W2s or Form 1099s because you have a payroll company taking care of this for you. And for the most part you’d be correct. However, it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure that every So, what changed? Up until now, there have been 2 deadlines to keep in mind when filing W-2s. The first was employee copies needed to be provided by January 31st. The second was paper filings to the Social Security Administration needed to be sent by February 28th (March 31st if filing electronically).

NOW, there is only one filing deadline… January 31st. All copies, both employee and agency, whether paper or electronic need to be filed by January 31.

And, you’ve noticed I included 1099s in my heading as well. The January 31 deadline also applies to all 1099-MISC forms with amounts being reported in Box 7: Nonemployee Compensation. If your 1099-MISC forms do NOT include amount in Box 7, then the original deadlines of February 28th for paper or March 31st for electronic filing of the agency copies still apply.

So what does that really mean for you the employer? As we start the fourth quarter of the year it is a good idea to start preparing for these forms now.

1. Verify the accuracy of your employee’s data. Make sure you have all the information necessary to complete their W2: Mailing address, full name, social security information, etc.

2. Work with your payroll company for any year-end adjustments.

3. Balance your payroll through the end of third quarter so you only have fourth quarter to worry about in January

For your 1099-MISC recipients:

1. Verify you have a W9 on file with full information including Taxpayer Identification Number and mailing addresses. Also an accurate email address for electronic delivery options.

2. Verify your vendors are set up correctly in your bookkeeping system so as to save time when you go to run your 1099 reports.

3. Make sure you are accurately tracking how you pay your vendors. Credit card or PayPal payments to vendors do not need to be included in a 1099-MISC form, as the credit card company or PayPal will issue a 1099-K to your vendor. (Another blog post going over this in more detail will be coming next week.)

Not certain if you are ready for these changes? Would you like more information on this topic, or on how to empower yourself and your business? Please contact us today!