By now, you should have most of your 2019 tax return documents in hand or they are in the mail on their way to you. But where are the rest of your tax forms?
Most forms are issued by January 31st
Form W-2, W-2G, 1098s, and most 1099s must be issued to taxpayers by January 31, 2020. If you donated a vehicle worth over $500 last year, a Form 1098-C should have been furnished by the charity within 30 days. If you cashed in savings bonds, check back through your records as you may have been issued a Form 1099-INT then.
Health Coverage Form
The tax penalty for failure to obtain health insurance expired at the end of 2018. The employer’s reporting requirements were not repealed, so you can still expect a Form 1095 to arrive. As they have in past years, insurance providers and self-insured employers were again granted an extension and have until March 2nd to issue Forms 1095-B and 1095-C. The IRS does not require that you submit this form with your return. Save it with your tax documents when it arrives.
Late Arriving Tax Forms
Schedule K-1
If you are a part of a business partnership, a shareholder of an S corporation, or the beneficiary of a trust or estate you will be receiving a Schedule K-1. These have an issue due date of March 15th, but the entity can apply for an automatic extension, pushing their due date back to September 15th. Because these forms cannot be generated until the business or trust has filed their own tax return, they are often not issued until after the April tax return due date. Check with the business, trustee, or executor to find out when it can be expected and contact us if you will need to file an extension.
Certain 1099 Forms
If you are expecting a 1099-B from selling investments this year, a 1099-S for a real estate sale, or a 1099-MISC for attorney’s fees, these can be issued as late as February 15th.
Form 5498, 5498-SA, and 5498-ESA
If you made any contributions or rollovers to an IRA you should be receiving Form 5498. Because you can contribute to your IRA for the 2019 tax year up until the 2019 filing deadline, this form can be issued as late as May 31st. This deadline also applies to Form 5498-SA HSA or MSA Information. If you made contributions to a Coverdell Education Savings Account, you could be waiting until April 30th for Form 5498-ESA.
What should I do if I’m missing a form?
Use our tax prep checklist to take inventory of the documents you are expecting. If haven’t received an expected form a week or more after the issue due date, don’t panic.
Check online
If you agreed to electronic communication or paperless statements with any of your accounts at any point, there may not be a paper tax form coming. Log in to your accounts for student loans, mortgages, etc. you pay online and look for tax forms there. Double check your email as well to make sure they weren’t caught in the spam filter.
Contact your employer
If you don’t receive your W-2 by mid-February and it wasn’t sent to you electronically, contact the employer first. Verify if it was sent and that they have the correct address. If you cannot straighten it out with your employer, you can call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 after February 28. You will need your personal information, the employer’s name, address, and phone number, the dates you worked for the employer, and your final paystub of 2019. They will attempt to contact your employer on your behalf and/or send you a substitute wage form you can use to file.
Verify required forms
If you think you are missing a Form 1099-MISC, double check that you were supposed to receive one. If you do freelance work and were paid less than $600 by a client, they are not required to furnish this form (you still need to report the income). If you get paid through a payment processor like PayPal or a credit card merchant servicer, you might receive a Form 1099-K from the processor but probably won’t receive anything from the client. If you should have received a Form 1099-MISC, contact the issuer first and attempt to get one before escalating to the IRS.
Search your records
If you redeemed savings bonds or donated a car valued at more than $500 to charity, you should have received a Form 1099-INT or 1098-C respectively within 30 days.
Even if you can’t resolve any issues by April 15th, do not neglect to file! You must file either your return or an extension by the due date regardless of any missing forms. If you anticipate your documents won’t arrive on time, give us a call at 860-216-2195 and we will help determine if an extension will be necessary.
