Who Must Report

If your corporation pays out dividends or distributions to shareholders (including yourself), payments of $10 or more ($600 or more for liquidations) must be reported to the IRS and to the recipient.

File Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions. Request a copy from the IRS at (800) 829-FORM or purchase it from an office supply company (the form is a triplicate form that cannot be downloaded from the IRS website). The IRS copy of Form 1099-DIV must be accompanied by Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns.

When to Report

Furnish the recipient with a copy of the form no later than January 31 of the year following the year in which dividends or distributions were paid.

File the form with the IRS no later than February 28 of the year following the year in which the dividends or distributions were paid. But if you file the form electronically, you have an additional month (to March 31) to file with the IRS.

Where to Report

The filing location you use depends on where your corporation is located—there are 4 IRS service centers in which this information return is filed.

Who Must Report

If you receive more than $10,000 in cash in one or more related transactions in the course of your business, you must report the transaction to the IRS. You must also report your reporting to the party that paid you. “Cash” for reporting purposes does not mean only currency; it includes cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts, and traveler's checks having a face amount of $10,000 or less received in a transaction used to avoid this reporting requirement.

File Form 8300, Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business.

When to Report

The form must be filed with the IRS by the 15th day after the date the cash was received. For example, if you receive a payment of $12,000 on February 2, 2017, you must report it by February 16, 2017. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, file by the next business day.

You must give a written statement to the party who paid you, but you have until January 31 of the year following the year in which the cash was received to do so. For example, on that February 1, 2017, cash payment, your written statement must be furnished by January 31, 2018.

Where to Report

File Form 8300 with the IRS, Detroit Computing Center, P.O. Box 32621, Detroit, MI 48232 (regardless of where you file your business return).

Who Must Report

If you use independent contractors, freelancers, or subcontractors in your business and pay them $600 or more within the year, you must report these payments to the IRS as well as the contractors. In most cases, payments to corporations are not subject to this reporting requirement. However, you are required to report payments in the course of your business to incorporated attorneys and law firms.

File Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income. Request a copy of the form from the IRS at (800) 829-FORM or purchase it from an office supply company (the form is a triplicate form that cannot be downloaded from the IRS website). The IRS copy of Form 1099-MISC must be accompanied by Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns.

When to Report

You must furnish a copy of the form to the independent contractor no later than January 31 of the year following the year in which the payments were made.

You must also send copies to the IRS by the same date. This deadline applies whether you submit copies to the IRS on paper or electronically.

If you need additional time to file, extensions are no longer automatic. You can request a 30-day extension by submitting Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns. You must give a reason why you need more time to file. The IRS will grant an extension only in extraordinary circumstances or catastrophe.

Where to Report

The filing location you use depends on where your business is located—there are 4 IRS service centers in which this information return is filed.

Who Must Report

You must report any distributions from qualified retirement plans to the recipient of the distributions as well as to the IRS.

Furnish Form 1099-R, Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, Etc., and file Copy A of this form with the IRS. Submit the copy with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns.

When to Report

You must furnish a copy of the form to the distribution recipient no later than January 31 of the year following the year in which the payments were made.

You must provide the IRS with its copy no later than February 28 of the year following the year of payment. But if you file the form electronically, you have an additional month (to March 31) to file with the IRS.

If you need additional time to file, request a filing extension on Form 8809, Request for Extension of Time to File Information Returns.

Where to Report

The filing location you use depends on where your business is located—there are 4 IRS service centers in which this information return is filed.

Who Must Report

If you have a qualified retirement plan, such as a profit-sharing plan, or an employee benefit plan, such as a funded deferred compensation plan, you must report annually on the plan's activities. Reporting includes information on annual contributions, distributions, and the number of participants.

File Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan. For plans with 25 or fewer participants, there is simplified reporting (you can choose not to file Schedules D and R, and to provide limited information on Schedule A of Form 5500).

If you are self-employed and the only participant is you (or you and your spouse, or you and your partners and spouses), you can file Form 5500-EZ, Annual Return of One Participant (Owners and Their Spouses), a simplified form. You do not have to file any form if you qualify to file Form 5500-EZ and plan assets did not exceed $250,000 at the end of the plan year. And you must file this form, regardless of the amount of plan assets, for the final year of the plan.

When to Report

The form is due on the last day of the seventh month following the close of the plan year (for example, for the 2016 plan year that was on a calendar year, July 31, 2017).

If you need additional time to file, obtain an automatic 2-month filing extension on Form 5558, Application for Extension of Time to File Certain Employee Plan Returns. If you obtained an automatic 6-month filing extension for your personal income tax return, you automatically have until October 16, 2016, to file Form 5500 or 5500-EZ for 2016 (attach a copy of your personal extension when you file the form).

Where to Report

File the form with the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (not with the IRS), which is now called the Employee Benefits Security Administration (the addresses for paper filing, filing by disc, CD-ROM, or tape; or by private delivery service are listed in the instructions to the form). For plans with 25 or fewer participants, there is simplified reporting.

The form can be e-filed through a filing professional. For more information, click on www.efast.dol.gov.

Who Must Report

If you are in a business that sells or redeems money orders or traveler's checks in excess of $1,000 per customer per day or issues your own value cards, you are asked by the government to report suspicious transactions that exceed $2,000. Such businesses include convenience stores, groceries, liquor stores, travel agencies, courier services, and gas stations (the government estimates that there are about 158,000 business within these categories and that they provide financial services of $200 billion each year).

Suspicious activities include a customer who:

• Attempts to bribe or threaten you or your employee

• Buys multiple money orders in even hundred-dollar denominations or in unusual quantities

• Provides false or expired identification

• Refuses to proceed with a transaction once you notify him/her that a form will be completed

• Tries to keep the transaction from being reported or asks you how to avoid reporting requirements

• Works with one or more other individuals who split up to conduct separate transactions that combine for more than $3,000

All reporting is done electronically. First, you must submit Registration of Money Services Business (RMSB) form through the BSA e-filing system (http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html). Then you must renew this registration every two years. When reporting suspicious activity, file FinCEN Form 109, Suspicious Activity Report by Money Services Businesses. Filing the form does not give you any financial exposure; you have complete protection from civil liability (the person you report cannot sue you for damages). Find more details at www.fincen.gov/financial_institutions/msb/msbsar.html.

When to Report

File the form within 30 days of the suspicious activity. However, because this filing is voluntary, there are no penalties for nonfiling or late filing.

Where to Report

File the form with the U.S. Treasury Department's Money Services Businesses Division, through the BSA e-filing system at http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html.

Who Must Report

If you have any employee (including yourself if your business is incorporated), you must report annual compensation and benefits to the employee and to the Social Security Administration. Information about what compensation is reportable is explained in Chapter 7.

File Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, with the Social Security Administration and furnish a copy to the employee. Also file Form W-3, Transmittal of Income and Tax Statement, with the Social Security Administration. Large employers (those filing 250 or more W-2 forms) must file electronically. Smaller employers can continue to file paper forms, but are encouraged to file electronically through an extended filing deadline.

The IRS lists the following as common errors on Forms W-2, some of which are relevant only to paper returns and not to those prepared and filed electronically. Do not:

• Omit or incorrectly enter an employee's name, Social Security number, or address.

• Omit the decimal point and cents from entries.

• Make entries using ink that is too light. Use only black ink.

• Make entries that are too small or too large. Use 12-point Courier font, if possible.

• Add dollar signs to the money-amount boxes. They have been removed from Copy A and are not required.

• Report an incorrect amount in box 12, Code DD (aggregate cost of health insurance).

• Inappropriately check the “Retirement plan” checkbox in box 13.

• Misformat the employee's name in box e. Enter the employee's first name and middle initial in the first box, his or her surname in the second box, and his or her suffix (such as “Jr.”) in the third box (optional).

• Cut, fold, or staple Copy A paper forms mailed to SSA.

• Download Copy A of Forms W-2, W-2AS, W-2GU, W-2VI, W-3SS, or Form W-3 from IRS.gov and file with SSA. Copy A posted on the IRS website is for information purposes only.

When to Report

Forms W-2 must be furnished to employees by January 31 of the year following the year in which the wages were paid. The same deadline applies for sending copies of the forms to the Social Security Administration (SSA), whether filing on paper or electronically.

If you need more time to provide the forms to employees, you can request an extension from the IRS. If approved, the extension usually is for no more than 15 days from the due date, unless a need for a 30-day extension is shown. To obtain this extension, you must write your own letter to the IRS, Attn: Extension of Time Coordinator, 240 Murall Drive, Mail Stop 4360, Kearneysville, WV 25430. The letter must include your name, address, and EIN, a statement that you need more time to furnish Forms W-2 to employees and the reason why, and your signature or that of an authorized agent.

If you need more time to submit copies to the SSA, you can request a 30-day extension from the IRS (not SSA). Submit Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns. You must give a reason why you need more time to file. The IRS will grant an extension only in extraordinary circumstances or catastrophe, such as a natural disaster or fire that destroyed the books and records needed for filing the forms. No additional extension will be granted.

Where to Report

File forms electronically using the Social Security Administration's Business Services Online at https://ssa.gov/employer. You can find a list of vendors who can file forms electronically for you. You can also file up to 5 W-2s for free using W-2 Online at www.ssa.gov/employer/bsohbnew.htm. File paper forms (copy A of W-2 and the entire page of W-3) with the Social Security Administration, Data Operations Center, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18769-0001. If you use certified mail, change the ZIP code to 18769-0002. If you use an IRS-approved private delivery service, add “Attn.: W-2 Process, 1150 E. Mountain Drive” to the address and change the ZIP code to 18702-7997.

Who Must Report

If you have 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees, you must report health coverage to the employees and to the IRS. This information is necessary for purposes of the individual and employer mandates under the Affordable Care Act. If you have fewer than 50 employees but have a self-insured plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement, you are also subject to reporting requirements.

For applicable large employers (ALEs), which are employers with 50 or more full-time and full-time equivalent employees, furnish Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, to employees. For non-ALEs, use Form 1095-B, Health Coverage. Even though forms include information about coverage for dependents, the forms need not be furnished to them.

The transmittal for the IRS is Forms 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns, and 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns, respectively.

When to Report

The timing for reporting for these information returns mirrors that for W-2s. The returns must be furnished to employees by January 31 of the year following the year in which the wages were paid. The same deadline applies to sending copies of the forms to the IRS, whether filing on paper or electronically. The special filing deadlines that had applied for 2015 returns filed in 2016 under Notice 2016-04 do not apply for 2016 returns filed in 2017.

If you need more time to provide the forms to employees, you can request an extension from the IRS. If approved, the extension usually is for no more than 15 days from the due date, unless a need for a 30-day extension is shown. To obtain this extension, you must write your own letter to the IRS, Attn: Extension of Time Coordinator, 240 Murall Drive, Mail Stop 4360, Kearneysville, WV 25430. The letter must include your name, address, and EIN, a statement that you need more time to furnish the applicable Form 1095 to employees and the reason why, and your signature or that of an authorized agent.

Where to Report

As a small employer you can file by paper or electronically. Large employers—250 or more information returns—must file electronically.

Who Must Report

Any “United States Person” with signature authority over at least one financial account located outside the United States with an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during the year must report certain information to the U.S. Treasury. This reporting, which is required by the Bank Secrecy Act, is known as FBAR reporting. A United States Person includes:

• An individual who is a U.S. citizen or resident

• A domestic corporation

• A domestic partnership

• A domestic limited liability company

When to Report

A report for 2016 is due by April 18, 2017. The Treasury may grant a filing extension of up to 6 months. Previously, the filing deadline had been June 30, with no possibility of any extension.

Where to Report

FinCEN Report 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, is filed electronically through the Treasury's BSA e-filing system at http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html. It cannot be filed by paper. It is not filed with the IRS or attached to a tax return.