Variations on the 1099 Form
Not everyone has heard of the 1099 Form, but even among the relatively few who have it is not often recognized that several versions are available.
These several versions are used in circumstances even more special than the previously special ones that lead to using a 1099 series form in the first place.
The normal 1099 Form is filed by independent contractors, people or whole companies hired to perform a one-time service or a task that isn’t regarded as an essential part of the hiring company’s standard duties.
As an example, as opposed to fielding its own dedicated information technology staff, a small ad agency might decide to outsource such work to its webhost.
Variations of the standard 1099 Form exist to account for the peculiarities of numerous situations.
As an example, the 1099-B is used for reporting redemptions and surrenders from specific non-retirement accounts, while the 1099-R is utilized to report those from retirement accounts in the United States.
Other versions consist of the 1099-A for obtaining or abandoning secured property; the 1099-C for debt termination; the 1099-G for government payments; and the aptly branded 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income.
Then there are curiosities like the RRB-1099 as well as RRB-1099R for, respectively, payments and pensions by the Railroad Retirement Board.
The 1099 series of IRS forms even includes those whose names don’t bear the numerals “1099,” such as the 1042-S for the United States income of a foreigner and also the SSA-1042S for social security benefits to nonresident aliens.
There is even a W-2G for certain cash earned through gambling!
Regardless of version, all 1099 series forms are employed to report calendar-year income, no matter the foundation of the fiscal year used for other IRS requirements.
They must also be filed in the end of February, not in the middle of April as with other federal tax forms.