UPDATE: New 1099 Requirements Repealed!
Two separate attempts to repeal the new 1099 reporting requirements failed this week as the two political parties continued their endless bickering:
- The Johanns amendment sponsored by Mike Johanns of Nebraska (a Republican) would have repealed the new requirements outright. This amendment was defeated 46-52 because it would have “paid for” the repeal by exempting more people from the new health insurance mandate by lowering the affordability exemption for individuals.
- The Nelson amendment sponsored by Bill Nelson of Florida (a Democrat) would have “fixed” the problem by raising the reporting threshold from $600 to $5,000 and exempting businesses with 25 or fewer employees from the new requirement. How all the poor bookkeepers of this country would have kept track of all that is still a question in my mind! Thankfully, this “fix” was defeated 56-42, as it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius have joined the IRS’s own Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olsen, in calling for Congress to scale back the new 1099 requirements. Thankfully, Senator Johanns isn’t giving up, stating “It is wrong to have paid for the president’s health care plan on the backs of small businesses. My amendment would have truly helped small businesses and I am committed to continuing this fight until this provision is appealed.”
Good luck, Senator! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you … and all of us!
Deb Howard Greenleaf, EA, CEO and Principal, of Greenleaf Accounting Services provides virtual accounting and bookkeeping services and specializes in financial management to consultants, coaches, solo professionals, and other small business owners across the US. Deb is an Enrolled Agent (EA)—an IRS-licensed tax professional—and specializes in small businesses and entrepreneurs filing Schedule C or as an LLC. As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Deb spends her day in QuickBooks Online and specializes in providing QBO support.
I read your posting about penalties per form and per business for not complying with current 1009 regs. If a vendor refuses to complete a W9 (after the fact, unfortunately), what recourse does a business have or what is the next step for the small business?
Sue: Technically, the instructions for the Form 1099 say to leave the TIN field blank if you don’t have the recipient’s tax ID. Of course, the same directions also state that you’re subject to a $50 penalty if the information is incomplete, such as a missing tax ID number! So your best bet is to threaten some kind of formal action if they don’t cough up that tax ID number. Sometimes, I’ve had the accounting firm send out written requests for missing ID numbers, as the formality of such a request sometimes scares them into compliance!