5 Easy Steps to eFile Form 1099-MISC Online through Taxseer

Taxseer provides form 1099 MISC online filing options to the filers through the online forms that mimic the paper forms. Filers generally used to performing paper filing of form 1099 MISC with IRS find the Taxseer online editable forms very easy to use and they rarely have any confusion during e-filing. The ease of filing online Form 1099-MISC without any support from anyone makes Taxseer a truly self-service efiling system for the filers or tax professionals.

5 Easy Steps to e-File Form 1099-Misc Online

Filers can eFile Form 1099 MISC easily and securely through Taxseer by following these five easy steps:

Step 1: Create a free account with Taxseer

Create a free account on www.taxseer.com by just providing your email address and name. It just takes less than a minute to sign up and then you are ready to start filing Form 1099 MISC.

Step 2: Add the Filer/Payer information

Select the TIN type (EIN or SSN) that will be used for the filer record and enter the TIN information based on the selection. Provide the complete business address and other information including the email address and fax#.

Step 3: Add the Recipient/Payee information

Select the TIN type (EIN or SSN) that will be used for the Recipient record and enter the TIN information based on the selection. Provide the complete business address of the recipient and the email address. Email address is important for the recipients using the recipient portal to download the various forms submitted by the filers.

Step 4: Complete the pre-populated form through the online editable form

The filer and recipient are automatically populated on the form and the rest of the information can be manually entered using the editable 1099 MISC online forms. The completed form can be confirmed and added to the shopping cart so that all completed forms can be checked out at the same time.

Step 5: Select the service type, pay the service charge, and submit the form for e-filing

Taxseer provides the following three service options for the 1099 MISC forms efiling:

·        eFile only: In this case, the filer downloads the completed form and mails the recipient copy by itself while Taxseer performs the efiling with the IRS system.

·        eFile and mail the recipient copy: In this case, Taxseer performs the efiling of the Form 1099 MISC with the IRS system and mails the recipient copy.

·        eFile and Recipient portal: In this case, email is sent to the recipient with the link for the form. Recipient logs into the Taxseer’s recipient portal to view and download the Form 1099 MISC submitted by the filer. Taxseer also eFiles the form 1099 MISC with the IRS system.

Taxseer’s e-Filing responsibility

Taxseer’s automated services will e-file your submitted 1099 MISC form with the IRS systems and update the result (Accepted or Rejected status) back in the Taxseer after it is processed. For any rejection, a detail rejection message will be provided so that the filer can edit the rejected forms and resubmit after correction. Taxseer maintains the filing history securely on cloud for at least 7 years and it is accessible 24x7x365 from anywhere.

About Taxseer

Taxseer (www.taxseer.com) is a leading IRS-authorized e-file service provider offering you the best cloud-based solutions to perform online filings of Form 1099 MISC,  1099 Series, W-2, ACA (1095-B & 1095-C), 2290, 8849, 8809, W-9 and many more. We provide Wizard-driven e-filing for guided and error-free submissions and extend the security, intelligence, availability, and agility of the tax solution on the cloud. SSL-encrypted connections are used for transferring sensitive information and to provide a very safe environment for clients. As part of our commitment to making e-filing easy and convenient, we are always available.

Form 1099 / W-2 / ACA Bulk Import – Salient Features (Part 2 of 2)

(Bulk upload is a very important topic for the e-file systems and there are several important features that need to be discussed to understand the complexity. This topic has been split into two parts to discuss each important feature in detail.)

In the previous blog related to the IRS Forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) Bulk Data Import (Part 1 of 2), we discussed about some key features like file format support (Custom & Standard), asynchronous data processing, and batch processing that we need to consider during bulk data upload using Excel file. In this part, we will discuss about the other important features that the bulk data upload utility should have for smooth data management.

Data Validation

Bulk data upload utility should ensure that all uploaded data are complete and contains the valid data fulfilling all required rules that the IRS system would need to accept the e-file.

Taxseer’s inbuilt rules engine enables all required data validation and the failure to pass the validation check causes the data rejection which ultimately rejects the entire file upload. The important feature in the rules engine is the validation of the entire data file in one attempt and generating the error report such that the user is notified with a consolidated error report instead of exiting after encountering the first problem.

Error Handling

A proper exception handling ensures that the bulk upload program gracefully errors out after encountering any error during the file processing. Any unhandled errors could cause the program to behave abnormally causing disruptions. This can be a costly affair as data cleanup will be required if partial and incorrect information are uploaded to the database.

Taxseer’s well designed exception handling ensures that proper error messages are logged so that the user can easily perform corrective actions. We don’t leave any unhandled exception that could cause any data corruption during the bulk data upload for IRS Forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) and the entire file is rejected even if single error is encountered. The user is provided a consolidated list of issues with the bulk data file so that the user can correct the entire file in one attempt.

Workflow

E-file system should provide well defined workflow for each IRS Form (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) type. It should provide maximum automation but at the same time there should be provision for manual intervention wherever required. The workflow component should never miss any key step in the workflow under any circumstances. Any failure encountered during the workflow should stop the further workflow activity and the administrator should be notified through email or dashboard notification. Administrator should have the utility to fix the error and reprocess it after correction.

Taxseer provides well defined workflow steps for each form type with maximum automation possible. There is an optional manual review step in the entire e-filing workflow process and the user can opt for the final submission with/without reviewing.  We automatically generate the final PDF form when the complete form data is entered. However, we provide optional form edit option so that the user can correct any data in the form during the review process and regenerate the final PDF form.

The user can also configure the bulk upload utility such that the final file is created and made ready for submission without review and the user has to just pay through the credit card and submit the forms for e-filing.

The entire e-filing of bulk data can be performed in three easy workflow steps:

1. Upload Excel data through Taxseer’s bulk upload utility
2. Review, pay and submit the forms for e-file/print-mail; Taxseer automatically performs e-filing to the IRS system
3. Download the final PDF form in bulk as a single zip file

Form Status Tracking

E-file system should provide the form status tracking option so that the user can take any corrective action during errors or rejections.

Taxseer users can track the real-time status of the IRS Forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) e-file and print/mail anytime. Users are notified through email about the form status changes during critical events.

Form Download

E-file system should provide the option to download all PDF forms generated for the bulk data import for a batch in one single zip file rather than downloading each form at a time as downloading thousands of forms could become a tedious task.

Taxseer provides a very user friendly forms download utility to download all PDF forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) in one single zip file. Additionally, there are features to download selected PDF files and users can use the search and select the required forms for download. Download history is maintained to keep track of all form downloads and re-download is possible any time. The entire process of creating the downloadable zip file for thousands of forms could take some time and so Taxseer provides asynchronous process to perform this activity.

This concludes the Bulk Import discussion for the e-file system. We hope that this discussion has provided enough details about the complex data upload utility in the Taxseer e-file system. Please send us your questions to support@taxseer.com and we will make every effort to respond as soon as possible.

About Taxseer

Taxseer is a leading IRS-authorized e-file service provider offering you the best cloud-based solutions to perform online filings of Forms 1099 series, W-2, ACA (1095-B & 1095-C), 2290, 8849, 8809 and many more. We provide Wizard-driven e-filing for guided and error-free submissions and extend the security, intelligence, availability, and agility of the tax solution on the cloud. SSL-encrypted connections are used for transferring sensitive information and to provide a very safe environment for clients. As part of our commitment to making e-filing easy and convenient, we are always available.

Form 1099 / W-2 / ACA Bulk Import – Salient Features (Part 1 of 2)

(Bulk upload is a very important topic for the e-file systems and there are several important features to discuss to understand the complexity. This topic has been split into two parts to discuss each important feature in more detail)

Companies having to e-file thousands of IRS forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C) prefer to use the Excel file to upload bulk data, extracted from their accounting systems, to the e-file service provider’s system. The expectation is to use the e-file system as a black box where they upload the Excel data, pay for the forms and download the final PDF document and the e-file service provider’s system automatically e-files to the IRS system and print & mail the hard copy to the payees/recipients. The filers only wish to use the online user interface for any form corrections, track forms statuses, and download the PDF forms for their records. The need of the user is a highly automated e-file system where the manual intervention is optionally required only at some key steps e.g., for review, payment through credit card, etc.

Taxseer.com has developed the e-filing system from ground up considering some key user requirements to provide a high quality e-file experience to the users, ensure data integrity, and allow easy data management. Taxseer enables users to import thousands of records using both Standard & Custom Excel file format and automatically generate the IRS forms (1099 Series, 1099 MISC, W-2, and ACA – 1095B / 1095C), e-file to the IRS system, print & mail to the individual recipients, provides real-time status of each form, and email notifications at key workflow steps. The easy form download option allows multiple forms to be downloaded as a single zip file based on the criteria provided by the user. Users are only required to use the user interface when data issues are encountered or they want to track the forms status.

The following sections provide details about the salient features of the Taxseer’s data import utility and the key considerations during its design and development:

1.     File Format Support (Custom & Standard)

There are generally two categories of users using the bulk data import functionality. First category users prefer to use Standard Excel template provided by the e-file service provider. In this case, the user downloads the standard Excel file template and fills the data, either manually or programmatically, and imports the data to perform e-filing. The second category users like to reuse their existing file format for which they have invested their time & resources to extract data from their accounting system and they are reluctant to apply another effort to develop new data format. Vendors should provide the flexibility to the users to use either of the file formats and perform data mapping all by themselves through a easy-to-use designer without writing any code.

Taxseer provides a very easy to use data mapping utility to map the custom file fields with the standard fields. Users can use the drag-and-drop feature to map the fields and the complete exercise can be completed within minutes. They can also download the standard file format template from Taxseer and enter the complete information and finally upload the data. The use of standard file format prevents the user from performing the mapping exercise and the user will have to just fill the data in the template and upload the data.

2. Asynchronous Data Processing

E-file service providers have struggled in the past to handle bulk data involving thousands of recipients as their bad design and the use of synchronous processing from the user interface fails more often and never guarantees the successful data processing in the first attempt.

Taxseer’s proven architecture uses asynchronous processing of the bulk data to process the file in the server side. This technique allows handling of unlimited data volume with a guarantee to successfully process the complete file in a single attempt. Clients can upload any number of bulk data files and the server side parallel processing feature ensures performance consistency and prevents performance degradation due to multiple submissions concurrently.

3. Batch Transaction

Bulk upload utility should ensure that all records from the bulk data file should be uploaded and if errors are encountered during the processing then the entire transaction should be rolled-back and no record should be uploaded to the e-file system. This approach ensures that data integrity is maintained during the bulk upload processing and the entire batch is accepted only when no error is encountered.

Taxseer creates a Batch ID for each file upload to ensure that all records available in the file are actually uploaded to the target system and a proper reconciliation is done. This guarantees that no records are lost during the upload process and in case of critical errors; the entire batch is rejected with a very user friendly error message appended to the Excel file. Use of batch id technique provides full control to the user performing bulk upload to track and rectify anomalies.

The remaining features will be discussed in the next blog 1099 / W-2 / ACA Bulk Import – Salient Features (Part 2 of 2)

 

IRS Form 1099-MISC Box 7 (Non-Employee Compensation) Basics

Taxseer provides form 1099 MISC online filing options to the filers through the online forms that mimic the paper forms. Filers used to performing paper filing of form 1099 MISC with IRS find the Taxseer online editable forms very easy to use and they rarely have any confusion during e-filing. We also provide the e-file of the extension form 8809 if the filer is not ready to file form 1099 MISC before the IRS due date. This blog provides the critical information that the filer must know before they e-file form 1099-Misc NEC.

What is Non-employee Compensation?

1099-MISC NEC applies to the self-employed professionals and independent contractors who earn their income outside the usual employer-employee association and includes any payments related to fees & compensation for services performed as a non-employee for a business by an individual;  for prizes and winners of contest awarded by your business since the winners have to pay taxes on prizes; for any legal services provided directly to a payer, the service fees to an attorney; for fish purchases for cash;  for compensation to vendors for services, including payments to corporations provided by Federal executive agencies. You do not withhold taxes from the payment made to an independent contractor because they are not on your company’s payroll and so you don’t have to pay the employer contribution of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax (made up of two separate taxes, Social Security and Medicare) and the independent contractor pays the self-employment tax.

How is the Non-Employee Compensation filing for IRS performed?

Non-Employee Compensation is filed with IRS through the Form 1099-MISC in Box 7 and it is subject to self-employment tax.  Any payment not subject to self-employment tax and not reported elsewhere on Form 1099-MISC must be reported in Box 3 – Other income.

Condition for entering 1099 MISC (box 7) as non-employee compensation

The general rules for classifying the non-employee compensation relates to any payment made to the recipients for $600 or more during the tax year; an individual who is not a direct employee; an independent contractor for the services in the course of your business; an individual, estate, partnership, or, in some cases, a corporation, etc.

Some examples of payments reported in Box 7

Payments reported in form 1099 Misc Box 7 include:

• Professional service fees such as fees to attorneys, accountants, contractors, etc;
• Payment for services including parts/materials used to perform the services;
• Payments by attorneys to witnesses or experts in legal arbitration;
• Commissions paid to non-employee that are subject to repayment but not repaid during the calendar year;
• Taxable fringe benefits for non-employees;
• Payments by a federal executive agency for services (vendors)
• Cash payments for fish (or other aquatic life) you purchase from anyone engaged in the trade or business of catching fish

What should not be reported in Box 7?

You should not report in Form 1009 Misc – Box 7 any payments related to rent, royalties, other income not subject to self-employment tax, interest, the cost of group-term life insurance paid on behalf of a former employee, Payments made to deceased employee in wages paid in the year after death, Expenses reimbursement paid to volunteers of non-profit organizations, Employee’s wages, travel allowance, bonus, prizes, etc.

Due date for 1099-MISC box 7

1099-MISC form with Box 7 should be filed by Jan 31 and the rest could be filed before March 31. Any e-Corrections can be done no later than Aug 31.

1099 Extension

If your company needs more time to file your 1009s, then you need to apply for an extension using Form 8809. There are two types of extensions:

• Extension for filing 1099 forms with the IRS
• Extension for delivering 1099 forms to recipients

If you plan to file Form 1099-MISC reporting non-employee compensation payments in Box 7, you must request an extension not later than January 31.

Penalty

The penalty varies from $30 to $100 per form ($500,000 maximum per year), depending on the delays made by the company to issue the form. For deliberate disregard to the requirements to provide a correct recipient/payee statement, the company may be subjected to a minimum penalty of $250 per statement with no maximum limit.

W-9 Management prior to 1099-MISC filing

Independent contractors need to complete Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number, in order to fill out Form 1099-MISC when they begin working for you. Form W-9 captures information related to the contractor’s name, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and address which is needed to complete form 1099-MISC.

About Taxseer

Taxseer is a leading IRS-authorized e-file service provider offering you the best cloud-based solutions to perform online filings of Forms 1099 series, W-2, ACA (1095-B & 1095-C), 2290, 8849, 8809 and many more. We provide Wizard-driven e-filing for guided and error-free submissions and extend the security, intelligence, availability, and agility of the tax solution on the cloud. SSL-encrypted connections are used for transferring sensitive information and to provide a very safe environment for clients. As part of our commitment to making e-filing easy and convenient, we are always available.