INFORMATION RETURNS

Soon you will be receiving the information forms you will need to prepare your 2017 tax returns in the mail – W-2s, 1099s, 1098s, K-1s, etc.   Here is a list of the forms you could be receiving –

Income Related Documents:

•  Form W-2 = wage and salary income

•  Form W-2G = gambling winnings

•  Form 1099-A = foreclosure of a home

•  Form 1099-B = sales of stock, bonds, or other investments

•  Form 1099-C = canceled debt

•  Form 1099-DIV = dividends

•  Form 1099-G = state tax refunds and unemployment compensation

•  Form 1099-INT = interest income

•  Form 1099-K = business or rental income processed by third party networks

•  Form 1099-LTC = benefits received from a long-term care policy

•  Form 1099-MISC = self-employment and other various types of income

•  Form 1099-OID = original issue discount on bonds

•  Form 1099-PATR = patronage dividends)

•  Form 1099-Q = distributions from an education savings plan

•  Form 1099-QA = distributions from an ABLE account

•  Form 1099-R = distributions from retirement savings plans

•  Form 1099-S = proceeds from the sale of real estate

•  Form 1099-SA = distributions from health savings accounts

•  Form SSA-1099 = Social Security benefits

•  Form RRB-1099 = Railroad retirement benefits

•  Schedule K-1= income from partnerships, S corporations, estates, or trusts  

Deduction Related Documents:

•  Form 1097-BTC = bond tax credit

•  Form 1098 = mortgage interest

•  Form 1098-C = charitable contribution of vehicles

•  Form 1098-E = student loan interest)

•  Form 1098-MA = homeowner mortgage payments

•  Form 1098-T = tuition for higher education

Medical Coverage Documents:

•  Form 1095-A = Health Insurance Marketplace Statement

•  Form 1095-B = Health Coverage

•  Form 1095-C = Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage 

The Form 1095-B and 1095-C are NOT necessary to prepare your returns - so do not hold up doing so, or giving your “stuff” to your tax preparer, until these arrive.  These forms may not arrive in the mail until mid-March.  However, Form 1095-A is most definitely needed to prepare your return.

Most information returns are required to be delivered to you by January 31st.  However, Form 1099-B, Form 1099-MISC reporting attorney fees and “substitute payments”, and Form 1099-S are required to be delivered by February 15th.  The deadline for filing partnership returns, and corresponding K-1s, is now March 15th, but the partnership may request an automatic extension until September 15th.

Brokerage houses (Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, UBS, etc) will usually provide a “Consolidated 1099 Statement” that combines the information of 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-OID, and 1099-B.  There is an excellent chance that the brokerage will issue at least one, if not two, corrected statements.  The final corrected 1099 may not arrive until mid-March.

Many states no longer send out Form 1099-Gs for state tax refunds and unemployment compensation.  You will need to go to the website of your state's tax department or unemployment agency to download these forms.  State tax refunds are not necessarily taxable, but unemployment compensation is.

As you receive information returns you should check the amounts reported on the forms against your own records.  And it is important to verify that the Social Security numbers on all forms are correct.  If you discover an error, or something you don’t understand, contact the employer or financial institution for an explanation or a corrected return.

Some information returns may come attached to other documents. Check the contents of each envelope carefully. Your Form 1098 for mortgage interest may arrive attached to the January or February monthly mortgage statement. Some year-end dividend checks have a Form 1099-DIV attached. Don’t separate the check and throw out the 1099-DIV thinking it is a stub. And check 1099-DIVs you receive to see if there is a check attached. I can’t tell you how many times I have found checks attached to 1099s given to me by clients. 

Remember – you are required to report ALL INCOME, whether or not you receive a Form 1099 or other information return.  And just because you have not received a Form 1099 does not mean that one was not sent to the IRS.

TTFN