We discuss and show the due dates for all of the information returns for a calendar year. These due dates are not exact but close to the actual due date. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, then the due date moves to the next business day.
January 31
By the end of January, the payer must print and mail all recipients Copy B of Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922 or W-2G. You can also e-mail Copy B to the recipient, fax it or hand it to them. You just have to make sure that the recipient actually gets the form and data. Sometimes emails are blocked and faxs are misplaced. But buying stamps, postmarking the letter on or before January 31 and mailing Copy B to someone is something you can show the IRS as proof that this task was completed.
Employee copies of Form W-2 and all participant copies of Forms 5498 are also must be sent out by the end of January.
February 15
There are some Forms that are not required to be sent out by the end of January. They include Form 1099-B, 1099-S and 1099-MISC if you are reporting payments in Boxes 8 or 14. Copy B of these forms must be mailed by mid-February. Oftentimes the due date is the 15th of February but sometimes the due date is the 16th or 17th.
February 28
If you are paper filing, the due date for sending Copy A along with the 1096 is the end of February. All 1097, 1098, 1099 and W-2G records must be paper filed and sent to the IRS and all W-2’s must be sent to Social Security.
March 15
The 1042-S is due in mid-March. Form 1042-S reports Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding. Every aspect of that form is due in mid-March. Copy B must be sent (mailed, emailed, fax) to the recipient. And you either need to paper file the 1042-S along with the 1042-T by that date or efile via the IRS FIRE website.
March 31
One benefit of efiling is that you get an extra month to file. The IRS goes out of their way to encourage businesses to efile and they promote the service by mentioning this additional time. If you don’t paper file by the end of February, you must efile by the end of March. All 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922 and W-2G records must be submitted via the IRS FIRE website while all W-2’s are sent via SSA website.
April 30
If you can’t efile by the end of March, you can apply for and automatically receive a one-month time extension to efile. If you apply for this extension online, you will automatically receive the additional time. The extended due datefor submitting the 1099 records is April 30.
Also, all Form 5498-ESA recipient copies are due.
May 30
All 5498 and 5498-SA recipient copies must be sent by the end of May. All 5498, 5498-ESA and 5498-SA records must be paper filed or efiled by the end of May. You can apply online for additional time and will receive an extension to the end of June.
August 1
If you submitted any erroneous information, you have until August 1 to submit a correction. All corrected 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, 5498, W-2G, 1042-S and W-2 forms are due by August 1.
