Bills have a way of piling up, and if it's hard enough staying on top of this month -- or avoiding opening whatever's due this month -- then you might also be in a bit of denial about what's coming in April: Tax Day. Remember that? Yup. It happens every year, just like that sexy Ben Franklin forecasted, tax season approacheth.
If you're a first-time employer or new entrepreneur with employees working for you, you might have enough on your mind that this could've slipped your mind. Well, Greatland, a Michigan- and Wisconsin-based company that aspires to be "the leading provider of W-2 and 1099 presorting solutions to small to mid-sized businesses that do their own wage and income reporting" was kind enough to send along a release to us that lays out the deadlines you should be sure not to miss if you want to stay in the government's good graces. (And here's a freebie hint: you do.)
Anyway, here are the dates. Save them:
- January 31, 2012: Due date to send most 1099s and Copies B, 2, and C of form W-2 to each employee / recipient
- February 28, 2012: Due date to send Copy A of form 1099 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on paper
- February 29, 2012: Due date to send Copy A of form W-2 to the Social Security Administration (SSA) on paper
- April 2, 2012: Due date to send copy A of form W-2 to SSA and form 1099 to IRS electronically (e-file)
- State deadlines: the deadline for state W-2 and 1099 filing varies by state.
Greatland has a nifty FAQ resource over on its site, and something else you should be aware of is that according to the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, Congress has upped many of the penalties for late filing. In some cases only $15 or $50 increases, but in others, as much as $175,000. So, this would be a good thing to not snooze on.
And here's two more freebies from us: Leap year's extra day in February isn't as much extra time as you might think. Oh, and you don't need to wear a coat to be fully prepared for tax season. Good luck!
David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a columnist for EGM. He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. When not playing video games for work he's thinking of dashing out to Chicago Diner, Pizano's, or Yummy Yummy. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.
