If your business paid $600 or more in 2011 to a landlord, accountant, lawyer or any other entity that requires a Form 1099 , you should be aware of an important change in the 2011 individual and corporate business tax returns. The IRS has added two questions to the business income tax returns (both to the Schedule C on the 1040 and the Forms 1120 and 1065):
#1) Did you make any payments in 2011 that would require you to file Form(s) 1099?
#2) If “Yes,” did or will you file all required Forms 1099?
While the taxpayer was obligated in prior years to issue a Form 1099 to a party that was paid for rent or other services including professional services, repairs and maintenance, and subcontractors, the burden of stating that it was/will be done did not rest on the tax payer until now. It would be wise to make sure the 1099s are taken care of before signing your income tax return. For 2011, the deadline to issue Form 1099s to the recipients is January 31, 2012, and the deadline to submit them to the IRS is February 28th, 2012.