The end of the year will be here before you know it – and that means year-end tax forms will soon be on their way.
That’s right – many year-end tax forms are now due in January. As part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, the filing deadline for employers to submit forms W-2 (and forms W-3) to the Social Se
curity Administration, is January 31. The January 31 filing deadline also applies to certain forms 1099-MISC reporting non-employee compensation such as payments to independent contractors.
The law went into effect for forms filed last year so the relatively new deadline may still be confusing to employers and taxpayers. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hoping to get a jump on next tax season by issuing a reminder to employers and other businesses of the filing deadline.
In the past, employers and businesses could wait until the end of February, if filing on paper, or the end of March, if filing electronically, to submit these forms. However, the gap between the old due date and the beginning of the filing season made it difficult for the IRS to match up forms W-2 and forms 1099 with individual taxpayer returns requesting tax refunds. The result? Room for fraud. The new deadline, which was on the wish list for the IRS, will make it easier to verify the legitimacy of tax returns and properly issue refunds to taxpayers. The IRS says that, in many instances, this will enable them to release tax refunds more quickly than in the past.
The IRS is also asking employers to verify employee information, including names, addresses, Social Security or individual taxpayer identification numbers. If your employer asks you to verify this information, it’s to your advantage to do it sooner rather than later – especially if you are hoping for a tax refund in 2018.
Of course, with proposed tax reform on the way, a lot could still happen between now and January 31. Check back for the latest information – I’ll post as soon as it’s made available.