What is IRS Form 1099?

The IRS Form 1099 is used to report a variety of unique income payments to the IRS. This form is usually used when the taxpayer has received income from other sources besides a wage-paying job.

How Does IRS Form 1099 Work?

There are many situations that call for the use of Form 1099. The 1099 is often used in cases where an investor has received dividend payments from a mutual fund, company, or other investment, or when the investor has received interest payments from a bank, bond fund, or other investment. The investor will receive a 1099-DIV or 1099-INT reflecting the sum of those payments for the year. He or she must then file this during tax season so that the government knows it is receiving the correct amount of tax from the individual.

Below are several kinds of Form 1099s required by the IRS.

1099-A: Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property
1099-B: Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
1099-C: Cancellation of Debt
1099-CAP: Changes in Corporate Control and Capital Structure
1099-DIV: Dividends and Distributions
1099-G: Certain Government and Qualified State Tuition Program Payments
1099-H: Health Insurance Advance Payments
1099-INT: Interest Income
1099-LTC: Long Term Care and Accelerated Death Benefit
1099-MISC: Miscellaneous Income
1099-OID: Original issue Discount
1099-PATR: Taxable Distributions Received From Cooperatives
1099-Q: Payments from Qualified Education Programs
1099-R: Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, Etc.
1099-S: Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions
1099-SA: Distributions from an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare+Choice MSA

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Why Does IRS Form 1099 Matter?

The IRS Form 1099 is a key component of completing an income tax return and is an important part of recording and verifying one-time or unique kinds of payments. Without this form, many types of special income would go untaxed.

It is important to note that income reported on a 1099 does not reflect the withholding of any state or federal taxes. The recipient of the 1099 income is responsible for remitting the appropriate tax to the IRS.

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