W2s and 1099s - Changing Deadlines & Penalties

Nov 15, 2016 | By: Katie Entwit

The one constant is change:

 Ahhh, fall is in the air. Along with the crisp smell of autumn, we look forward to the annual changing of the deadlines and filing requirements.

In an interesting twist, the federal government has both simplified the filing requirements for 1099s and W2s, and created harsher penalties for non-compliance for the 2016 tax year.

Highlights include:

1. The January 31^st deadline was already in place to hand out 1099s and W2s, but businesses were not required to file them with the government until February 28^th for mail-in, or March 31^st for e-file; the three sets of deadlines proved too confusing.
2. The new rule says almost all of them need to be both handed out and filed by January 31^st. The exception to this rule is those 1099s that are reporting income in any other box but in Box 7: Nonemployee Compensation. The deadlines for the “anything but Box 7” set are still February 28^th and March 31^st, respectively, as mentioned above.
3. Penalties are increasing from $100 to $250 for failure to file on time, or from $250 to $500 if the failure to file on time was intentional.

• Nobody likes penalties.

Read this article for a detailed accounting of what is expected of you (federally) for the 2016 tax year:

In traditional fashion, Oregon follows the federal government’s filing deadlines, so you’ll want to submit them to Oregon at the same time. Oregon penalties for non-filing or late filing are holding strong at $50 per return, or $250 per return if the failure to file on time was intentional.  Keep in mind that W2s and 1099s need to be sent to Oregon separately; the state doesn’t share info with the federal government.

The penalties for non-filing or late filing are getting more and more severe.

Call our office today if you’d like help navigating through the maze of deadlines and filing requirements. 

Or if you’d like to bring us Apple Cider.  Because fall wouldn’t be complete without that, either.