1099 Updates: April 15-30

Regulatory and legislative updates to 1099 form requirements that took place in recent weeks. Individual states and the IRS introduce new 1099 form requirements and changes to existing legislation on a frequent basis. Sovos documents each of these updates in its Taxport Compass portal to arm clients with the most current and accurate information and ensure that they are on the right track in their compliance efforts. Here are several recently updated requirements courtesy of Taxport Compass:

Pennsylvania Updates Forms REV-1705R and REV-1706

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue revised its Form REV-1705R – Tax Account Information Change/Correction Form, and Form REV-1706 – Business/Account Cancellation Form. There are no changes to the forms themselves. However, the DOR is now asking that filers e-mail or fax these forms to the address or number provided, rather than mailing them. In addition, the state changed both the website and phone number for enterprise registration.

Ohio Issues New Instructions Filing a Withholding Tax Application for Refund

Ohio recently published new instructions for Form WT-AR, Withholding Tax Application for Refund. These instructions profile when it is proper to file WT-AR, and gives examples of these limited instances. Generally, over-withholding within a calendar year that is identified either in a subsequent period or upon annual reconciliation should be addressed by an adjustment in the tax due reported on the next filing cycle, or with an amended IT 941 or IT 942 form. Among the valid reasons for properly filing Form WT-AR include:

• Erroneous payment made to the Ohio Department of Taxation that was intended for a non-ODT entity
• Excessive payment or duplicate payment
• Situations in which a return is filed with payment in error that would cause financial hardship if not refunded immediately (e.g. mistakenly paying $300,000 instead of $3,000)
• Payment of school district income tax when no employees live in said district

Filers are instructed to e-mail the Ohio Department of Taxation at EWT@tax.state.oh.us stating the reasons for filing Form WT-AR, and the Department will provide further direction if appropriate.

Oklahoma Releases 2017 Income Tax Withholding Tables

Oklahoma released its Income Tax Withholding Tables for 2017. The tables have several changes for 2017. In addition to the changes, the document also notes Oklahoma’s W-2 filing requirement with a due date of February 28, 2018 for 2017 reporting.

Mississippi Publishes Updated Specifications for Filing Wave and Tax Information Electronically

Mississippi recently published an updated version of Publication 89-145, the Procedures and Specifications for Filing Wage and Tax Information Electronically. This publication provides the format in which wage and tax data is transmitted electronically to the Mississippi Department of Revenue. This most recent version is a slight update from the previous 2016 version of this publication. The only change involves fields using the descriptor “Reporting Period”, “Date First Employed”, and “Date of Separation”: in these fields, the year “2016” was added where applicable.