Important Tax Season Changes

Published
As summer comes to a close it is time to plan for tax season. Step one is to learn about the new changes affecting tax forms and tax filing and then make your plan to efile or print forms.
 
Changes to tax forms in FE:
  • The bulk of the 1099-MISC and W-2 forms will now print to blank tax forms paper, a specialty paper constructed with specific perforations required by the IRS. The W-3 transmittal form and the W-2 federal copy A can be printed to plain copy paper.
  • Some forms must use red preprinted forms: These are the 1096 transmittal forms and the IRS/federal copy A for the 1099-MISC. Note, only the preprinted form must be red. Load these into a normal laser printer with regular black toner.   
  • The layout of the employee copies has changed from 4-up horizontal strips to a 4-up (two over two) box alignment with one form in each corner. This means that the 1099s, the ACA health care reporting forms, and the W-2s can all be mailed in the same envelope.
  • Blackbaud Forms has all the new tax forms available on www.blackbaudforms.com. You can also reach them at forms@blackbaud.com.
 
Earlier filing deadlines:
  • 1099-MISC must be filed on or before January 31, 2017, when you are reporting non-employee compensation payments in box 7. Otherwise, file by February 28, 2017, if you file on paper, or by March 31, 2017, if you file electronically. The due dates for furnishing payee statements remain the same. 
  • The due date for filing 2016 Forms W-2, W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU, W-2VI,W-3 and W-3SS with the SSA is now January 31, 2017, whether you file using paper forms or electronically.
 
Efiling is best:
The federal government has a goal to have all businesses efile 100% of their taxes within the next five years. Thirteen states now mandate some form of efiling and the trend is growing. Electronic filing has many advantages.  If you take into account the cost of time and materials, efiling is much cheaper that using paper tax forms. It’s also more efficient, more accurate, and good for the environment too!
 
Make efiling easy:
We are working to make efiling easier than ever. There were technical issues in the past that made efiling difficult. We conducted a root cause analysis to understand those issues and assembled a team of technicians to proactively remove technical barriers. As we complete our testing, we’ll report on the changes to Aatrix installation, updating, and data transfer.
 
Aatrix offers a number of options: the complete service electronically files all the forms, hosts the recipient copies online, and mails the recipient copies. The “online” option files all the forms and hosts the recipient copies for self-serve printing. Take the stress out of tax season and learn more about this great service today at www.aatrix.com/blackbaud.
 
Look for more posts in your community as we get closer to tax season. Together we can make it this tax season easy!
News ARCHIVED | Financial Edge® Tips and Tricks 09/15/2016 1:24pm EDT

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