Does anyone know the law in California on when the companies have to send the 1099? I thought it had to be in the contractors hand no later the Jan 31st. When I contacted the specific company asking when I should be receiving it they responded they do not know when or if it had been sent out. They are the last one Im waiting on to file my taxes and I would do it myself but there are soooooooo many jobs to go through with them. Does anyone know if it has to be in my hand by the 31st or is it that it has to be sent no later then the 31st?

I think it is a Fed. law, not state-specific. And, as far as I know, they have to send it by 1/31 IF you made $600 or more. Less than $600, you are on your own.

Years ago (may or may not be true now) a company could get fined for not sending you the form by the due date.

I'd check with an accountant on this one.

I think it's actually a federal law and they have to be in your hands by January 31.

you're channeling me, Lisa!!! LOL

Federal law; must be mailed by Jan 31.

Really, just postmarked? Learn something new every day around here

kind of makes sense. The post marked thing,

I was doing a lot of freelance at one point. Did not get the required 1099 by the first week of February and called the IRS. Don't remember all the what-have-yous but it wasn't pretty. For the company.

I have not received a single 1099 yet

remember, you will not receive a 1099 unless you made at least $600 with the company. If you made $599, they don't have to (and prob.will not) send you a form. They will still report your earnings to the IRS.

OK yah I'm still waiting on the one company. I did all my totals for the other companies myself since I know I won't get a form from them, but this one company has to send me one but they don't know if and when they've been sent. So then if they have to be sent my tomorrow I should expect it by the weekend then right? Thanks for all the responses!

Yes, Dondeb..and if they don't, I would suggest calling the IRS. They are required to send it. I would wait a few days, of course.

just received one from Sinclair today.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2012 11:59PM by jersey07032.

Just got one today; the only one that I made over 600.

So I got the 1099 I was waiting for but instead of just having the commissions on there it is the total including reimbursements. What do I do now since it has been reported to IRS like that now??

I plan to file Schedule C and report the total. I then plan to deduct reimbursements and gas from the total.

So should I just bring the 1099 and do all the reimbursement totals and let the tax accountant do it? This is my first year filing as a Ms so this is all very new to me.

Routinely I claim every penny received as "Income". This can readily be supported by deposits to my bank account (both by check and direct deposit) and by Paypal transfers.

I then look at the 1099s received and if they are not more than $100 unreconcilably "off" just use them as received. I take my total "Income" amount, subtract out the face values of my 1099s (because they are entered separately) and call the rest of it "Income for which I have received no 1099s". At the end of the day, doing this has the line 1 of my Schedule C match my total receipts.

Now it is time to deduct expenses. I use the mileage method for my vehicle, I usually take the Section 179 expense for any new equipment worth a couple hundred bucks or more, include as 'supplies' less expensive equipment and actual office supply stuff I purchased not on a shop and my cell phone since it is used almost exclusively for shop related work.

I create a category in "Other Expenses" for "Reimbursed businesses claimed as income" and that is where all the reimbursements get pulled out as a single line item. This is supported by my spreadsheet of specific reimbursements for specific jobs. I then create an "Unreimbursed business expenses" line item that is also from my spreadsheet and includes required purchases on flat fee shops, purchases I made on shops that were subsequently rejected, expenses beyond reimbursements when purchase requirements could NOT be met and stay within the reimbursement amount.

As long as 1099s are not orders of magnitude off and I don't know why, I just do not worry about it. They will NEVER perfectly match whether you are a cash or an accrual tax payer unless you began working with the company during the year and they paid you enough before the end of the year that the last check you received from them covered any and all outstanding work.

1099s SHOULD only include fees and bonuses since reimbursements are not taxable but when their accountant tells them to send out 1099s based on every cent paid to you in the calendar year they trust their accountant and get stupid. Similarly, if during the year their accounting department coded your reimbursement as a bonus or a fee by accident, they are not about to go back and change their books. If IRS audits them there will be issues with their bookkeeping and reporting as the initiator of these payments. On your end if IRS audits you, you are doing what you can to claim everything and pay taxes on what you need to.