Fillable Form 1096 (2020)

What is Form 1096?

Form 1096, or Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, is a one-page transmittal form that serves as a cover sheet, reporting the summary of returns you are mailing to the Internal Service Revenue (IRS). You should only use the form if you are physically filing the accompanying forms; otherwise, if you are filing forms electronically, you do not have to use Form 1069. According to the IRS, if you have 250 or more of any type of information return, you must file electronically.

U.S. taxpayers, particularly professionals who paid more than $600 non-employee compensation to independent contractors in a financial year and used Form 1099, should fill out and submit Form 1096 when submitting paper reports to the IRS. Forms 1097, 1098, 3921, 3922 5498, 8935, and W-2G are legal forms that also need Form 1096.

In general, the due date for Form 1096 depends on the information returns you are submitting. With Forms 1097, 1098, 1099, 3921, 3922, or W-2G, file the form by February 28 each year, along with the returns it summarizes. With Forms 5498, file by June 1. The due dates may vary, depending on many factors, including holidays or weekends. Stay updated with IRS’s announcements during filing seasons to avoid missing deadlines.

Every type of form you submit to the IRS must come with its own Form 1096 cover sheet. The federal agency treats every version of its forms as a separate type of form. As an example, you should use different Form 1096 for different versions of Forms 1099.

Filing IRS forms late results in penalties. If you submit within 30 days of the due date, the penalty is $50 per form. The penalty increases to $100 after 30 days. If you still fail to file by August 1, the penalty becomes $260. If you deliberately fail to file, the penalty becomes $530.

How to fill out Form 1096?

To complete Form 1096, if you are the filer, you will need to provide personal and tax-related information. The form also requires details related to the forms you are transmitting.

Provide the name (filer) and address of your business, the name of the person to contact, telephone number, email address, and fax number.

Box 1 asks for your Employer Identification Number (EIN).
Box 2 asks for your Social Security Number (SSN).
Box 3 asks for the total number of forms you are submitting with Form 1096.
Box 4 asks for the total federal income tax withheld on all the forms you are submitting. Enter “0” if you did not withhold any amount.
Box 5 asks for the total amount of reported payments on all the forms you are submitting.
Box 6 has checkboxes that you should mark. Enter an “X” in one of the boxes to indicate the type of form you are filing. You can choose from the following:

• Form W-2G,Certain Gambling Winnings
• Form 1097-BTC, Bond Tax Credit
• Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement
• Form 1098-C, Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes
• Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement
• Form 1098-F,Fines Penalties, and Other Amounts
• Form 1098-Q, Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract Information
• Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement
• Form 1099-A, Acquisition or Abandonment of Secured Property
• Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions
• Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt
• Form 1099-CAP, Changes in Corporate Control and Capital Structure
• Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions
• Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments
• Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
• Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions
• Form 1099-LS, Reportable Life Insurance Sale
• Form 1099-LTC, Long Term Care and Accelerated Death Benefits
• Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income
• Form 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount
• Form 1099-PATR, Taxable Distributions Received from Cooperatives
• Form 1099-Q, Payments from Qualified Education Programs
• Form 1099-QA, Distributions from ABLE Accounts
• Form 1099-R, Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance, Contracts, etc.
• Form 1099-S, Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions
• Form 1099-SA, Distributions From an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA
• Form 1099-SB, Seller's Investment in Life Insurance Contract
• Form 3921, Exercise of an Incentive Stock Option Under Section 422(b)
• Form 3922, Transfer of Stock Acquired Through An Employee Stock Purchase Plan Under Section 423(c)
• Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information
• Form 5948-ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information
• Form 5948-QA, ABLE Account Contribution Information
• Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information

After providing the required information, sign the form, provide your title, and add a date.

Where to submit Form 1096?

You should submit Form 1096 with all information returns to the following:

Submit Form 1096 with all information return to:

Internal Revenue Service
Austin Submission Processing Center
P.O. Box 149213
Austin, TX 78741

if your principal business, office or agency, or legal residence in the case of an individual, is in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia;

Internal Revenue Service Center
P.O. Box 219256
Kansas City, MO 64121-9256

if your principal business, office or agency, or legal residence in the case of an individual, is in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; and

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service Center
Ogden, UT 84201

if your principal business, office or agency, or legal residence in the case of an individual, is in California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.