IRS forms are tax documents U.S. taxpayers use to report their financial activities to the federal government, calculate their tax liability, and prepare their tax returns. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues different tax forms for various purposes, though it’s unlikely that individual taxpayers will need to complete more than a handful of forms each year. The IRS also reissues multiple tax forms annually to incorporate new changes in the tax code.
IRS Form W-9, or the Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is a tax form that employers use to identify their employees. In order for employers to properly withhold taxes from an employee’s pay, they need to know the employee’s identification number that is unique to each taxpayer. Form W-9 provides an employer with that identification number.
Businesses with employees need to prepare the W9 form to properly file their taxes. In some special cases, such as if you are an independent contractor, your client may request a W-9 from you so they can accurately prepare the 1099-NEC form and report how much they paid you at the end of the year.
Form W-9 is usually accompanied by form W-4. The W9 form provides the employer with all of the required identification information. The W-4 helps them to calculate how much to withhold.
Form W-9 does not have a due date. It is typically provided to employees upon their hiring date and then kept on file. Despite having no strict deadline for filing a W-9, employees should fill it out as soon as they receive one. In the event an employer fails to send someone a W-9 or sends the form containing the wrong information, they may be subject to a $50 penalty.
The above-mentioned Form W-4, known as Employee’s Withholding Certificate, is used:
Submitting Form W-4 is a must for almost any employee. However, those without a federal income tax liability for the previous year or who do not expect a federal tax liability for the current year are exempt from federal income tax.
Take note: even the exempt categories still have to fill in their name, address, SSN, signature, after which they need to write ‘Exempt’ in the space below the Line ( c ).
The updated W-4 form 2022 has no option of claiming personal allowances. The submitter will only be asked to indicate the number of dependents in their household.
Be aware that you don’t need to submit Form W-4 every year. There are two cases when you have to submit this form:
An employee must provide their employer with a new Form W-4 (claiming exempt status) by February 15. Otherwise, an employer withholds the tax as if the employee is single or married, submitting separately and skipping Steps 2, 3, and 4.
The Form W-2, or the Wage and Tax Statement, is used to track employment income during the previous year. It’s the employer’s duty to send each of their employees a W-2 Form as well as file it to the IRS at the end of the year.
Any employer who deals with business or trade and pays salaries is obligated to submit a Form W-2 for each of their employees. Employees themselves do not fill out the documents, they only receive the document (as well as the federal government and the state) from the employer.
Along with Form W-2, employers need to submit Form W-3. The latter must be sent to the SSA (Social Security Administration) with a copy of Form W-2.
In 2022, if the number of W-3 Forms equals or exceeds 100, they should be submitted to the SSA electronically.
An employer has to submit Form W-2 to the SSA by January 31 of the year following the tax year. The same deadline applies to sending copies of Form W-2 to employees.
The Form W-3, or the Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statements, is used by the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration to transmit Copy A of Form W-2.
The W-3 Form shows:
It’s the duty of employers who file the W-2 Form to also submit the W-3 Form to the Social Security Administration.
Both the W-2 and W-3 Forms must be filed with the Social Security Administration by January 31 of the year following the tax year.
The Form 1040 is the document that an individual US taxpayer uses to submit their annual income tax return.
Based on the information provided, the taxpayer is either subject to additional taxes or receives a tax refund.
Filling out a Form 1040 is a general requirement for anyone whose filing status at the end of 2019 was single and under 65 with a gross income of at least $12,200.
Schedule A is an optional attachment to Form 1040 and allows you to calculate an alternative deduction according to your accumulated annual expenses. If the standard deduction is smaller than the aggregate value of your itemized deductions, Schedule A will help to decrease your tax obligations.
In 2022, the deadline for submitting tax returns and conducting tax payments is April 18.
Form 941, or the Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, is used to identify the amount of taxes that you owe. The document allows employers to report the amounts of tax withholdings for the estimated income tax and employer payments as well as for the FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare).
Any business or individual that pays wages to at least one employee must submit an IRS Form 941 on a quarterly basis.
Since Form 941 should be filed each quarter, there’s a separate deadline for each quarter. As a rule, the deadline is the last day of the month following the end of the quarter (e.g., the due date to file Form 941 for the 1st quarter is April 30).
Form 1099-MISC, or the Miscellaneous Income (Miscellaneous Information), is an IRS document used to report different types of miscellaneous payments such as rents, awards, healthcare payouts, etc.
The 1099 series includes a number of other forms, among which Form1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC (Nonemployee Compensation) are the most commonly used.
A Form 1099-MISC must be filed whenever an individual pays an incorporated independent contractor (a sole proprietor/member of partnership/LLC) $600 or more within a year for work performed during the course of your business.
January 31 is the deadline for mailing Form 1099-MISC to recipients. February 28 is the due date for submitting 1099-MISC to the IRS, while the deadline for electronic filing is March 31.
Form 8962 is an IRS document used to calculate the premium tax credit and align it with the advance payment of the premium tax credit (which is taken in advance to decrease one’s monthly health insurance payment).
An individual only needs to submit a Form 8962 if they have received health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace.
Take note: if your insurance company provided you with Form 1095-B or your employer sent you Form 1095-C, you don’t need to submit Form 8962.
Form 8962 should be submitted as an accompanying document along with Form 1040. The deadline for filing these forms in 2022 is April 18.
The Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement sums up the costs, revenues, and expenses incurred during a quarter or fiscal year. The Profit and Loss Statement along with the balance sheet and the cash flow statement are the three financial statements each public company is required to issue quarterly or annually.
When applying for a loan, any independent contractor or self-employed individual should fill out the P&L statement, thus summarizing their revenues and expenses for a specific period.
The P&L Statement must be submitted once a quarter (minimum period). Depending on the creditor’s decision, the statement can be submitted less often (up to an entire fiscal year).
The SS-5 form is an SSA (Social Security Administration) document used to apply for a new or replace an existing Social Security Card. A SSN (Social Security Number) is a must-have in such cases as:
and more.
Every US resident is required to have a Social Security Number. A SSN is used to report individual wages to the government and to determine their eligibility for benefits. A person might need to apply for a Social Security card if they never received one, lost, or damaged their existing card. In this case, the individual needs to fill out an SS-5 Form.
Basically, there’s no set deadline for receiving an SSN and, therefore, filling out the SS-5 Form. However, parents are required to apply for an SSN for their children as soon as possible after the child’s birth. Immigrants should apply for their SSN ten days after their arrival in the United States.
Finally, there are a couple of important dates US residents should keep in mind regarding tax payments for 2022:
The Internal Revenue Service’s starting date for accepting and processing tax returns.
The due date to submit one’s 2021 tax return, though it’s also possible to request a six-month extension.
The due date to submit one’s 2021 tax return if a six-month extension was requested.