Employers and Business Owners: Start Now to Prepare for January 31* Filing Deadline

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 – If you are responsible for payroll and/or 1099s, we urge you to start planning now to make certain you meet the filing deadline for wage statements and independent contractor forms: *February 1, 2021 (since January 31 falls on a weekend this year). Serious penalties apply for those who don’t comply.

The deadline to send the new Form 1099-NEC and Forms 1099-MISC for payments made in 2020 is February 1, 2021. This applies to both paper or electronic filing procedures. As the IRS continues to enforce 1099 compliance by small businesses, the risk of not completing and filing the forms is too great.

LSWG is urging our clients to provide W-2 and 1099 information to us electronically via our client portal no later than January 15, 2021, so we can keep this reporting on track.

Pointers to help filers prepare:

• Employers should verify employees’–and independent contractors’ information, if applicable. This includes names, addresses, and Social Security or individual taxpayer identification numbers.
• Employers should also ensure their company’s account information is current and active with the Social Security Administration before January. If paper Forms W-2 are needed, they should be ordered early.
• E-filing is the quickest, most accurate and convenient way to file these forms.

Automatic extensions of time to file Forms W-2 are not available. Failure to file a correct information return by February 1, 2021 will subject you to some pretty serious penalties. The IRS will only grant extensions for very specific reasons. Details can be found on the instructions for Form 8809 (Application for Time to File Information Returns).

LSWG’s Client Accounting Services Department is keeping up-to-date on these issues and more that may impact your payroll processing and reporting. More information about 1099 and payroll reporting and the new Form 1099-NEC can be found on our website here. If you have any questions–or need help with your payroll processing and reporting–give our office a call at 301.662.9200.