Save Time with these QuickBooks W-2 and 1099 Tricks

In this article we’ll explore how to print W-2s and 1099s in QuickBooks, along with a couple filing tricks you may not know. For instance, you can order W-2 and 1099 forms for free from the IRS instead of purchasing them from a form supplier. Further, small businesses with 20 or fewer employees print and file W-2 forms online for free via the Social Security Administration.

Understand the Filing Deadlines
Forms W-2 and 1099 are informational returns that inform the government how much you’ve paid an employee or vendor. You’re required to provide a W-2 to each employee in your company by February 2, 2009. The deadline is usually January 31, but you get two extra days this year. You must then file copies of your W-2s with the Social Security Administration by March 2, 2009 (since February 28 falls on a Saturday).

In addition, you should send a 1099 to any vendor that you paid $600 or more during the calendar year 2008. Corporations are generally exempt from this requirement, but consult your tax advisor or visit www.irs.gov and enter 1099 requirements in the Search field to learn more. As with W-2s, the vendor copies of Form 1099 must be postmarked by February 2, 2009 and then be filed with the Internal Revenue Service by March 2, 2009.

Prepare to File
QuickBooks allows you to choose between preprinted W-2 forms and blank perforated paper. The benefit to perforated paper is that you can save any excess for next year, whereas you won’t have any other use for extra preprinted forms. Regardless, you can only use preprinted forms for 1099s. Keep in mind that the IRS requires perforated paper or preprinted W-2 forms, so don’t try to use plain paper instead.

Free forms: As long as you plan ahead, you can order W-2 and 1099 forms for free from the IRS at www.irs.gov/formspubs/page/0,,id=10768,00.html. You may already have your 2008 forms in hand, but the site will allow you to preorder 2009 forms for automatic shipment at the end of this year.

Free W-2 Filing: The Social Security Administration offers free online W-2 filings for employers with 20 W-2s or less. You must enter the W-2 data manually, but this provides several benefits:
• Your filing deadline is extended to March 31
• You can print employee copies of the W-2s for free from the Social Security web site
• You won’t have to stand in line at the post office to send your W-2 copies via certified mail.

Visit  www.ssa.gov/employer to get started with the process. As shown in Figure 1, choose Electronically File Your W-2s and follow the onscreen instructions.

Figure 1: Employers with just a few W-2s can print and file W-2s online for free.

Now back to QuickBooks: you must subscribe to one of QuickBooks’ payroll services to be able to generate tax forms such as W-2s. You can learn more by choosing Employees, Payroll, and then Learn About Payroll Options. No subscription is required to print 1099s.

File Online: Enhanced Payroll subscribers can elect to file W-2s and other tax forms electronically through QuickBooks. To do so, you must first configure the forms you wish process in this fashion:
1. Choose Employees, and then Payroll Center.
2. Click on the Payroll tab, and then click the Related Form Activities button.
3. Choose Edit Filing Methods, and then follow the onscreen instructions.
Keep in mind that employers that have more than 250 W-2s or 1099s, respectively, must file electronically. QuickBooks does not support electronic 1099 filing, but third party applications that do so are readily available.

Print W-2s Through QuickBooks
Tax forms seem to be in a constant state of flux, so make sure that you install the latest payroll update before you print W-2s:
1. Choose Employees, Payroll, and then Get Payroll Updates.
2. As shown in Figure 2, choose Download Entire Payroll Update, and then click the Update button.



Figure 2: Be sure to download the latest payroll update before you print W-2s.

Once you have the payroll update installed and W-2 forms in hand, you’re ready to print W-2s. QuickBooks makes the process easy:
1. Choose Employees, Payroll Tax Forms & W-2s, and then Process Payroll Forms.
2. Choose the Federal Form, and then click OK.
3. Choose Annual Form W-2/W-3–Wage and Tax Statement/Transmittal, as shown in Figure 3.
4. Specify the filing year, and whether you want to print forms for all or selected employees, and then click OK.
5. As shown in Figure 4, the Forms W-2/W-3 Interview walks you through the rest of the process.

Figure 3: QuickBooks makes it easy to print various tax forms, including W-2s and the W-3 transmittal.

Figure 4: The Form W-2/W-3 Interview guides you through reviewing and printing your tax forms.

Print 1099s Through QuickBooks
You’ll also find that it’s easy to print 1099 forms through QuickBooks:
1. Choose Vendors, and then Print 1099s/1096.
2. As shown in Figure 5, the 1099 and 1096 Wizard appears.
3. Choose Run Report and look over the 1099 Vendor Review report. You can update vendor records as needed from this report: simply double-click on a vendor name.
4. When the vendor record appears, confirm that they have a valid address on the Address Info tab, and then choose Additional Info. As shown in Figure 6, you must enter a Tax ID and click Vendor Eligible for 1099.

Figure 5: The 1099 and 1096 Wizard guides you through reviewing and printing 1099s.

Figure 6: You must specifically indicate that a vendor should receive a 1099.

Once you’ve confirmed the vendor 1099 classifications, the next step is to confirm the account mapping. As shown in Figure 7, you can choose a single account, or scroll up to the top of the list and choose Multiple Accounts.

Figure 7: You can map multiple accounts to each box on the 1099 form.

Next, review the 1099 Summary report, shown in Figure 8. QuickBooks confirms the amounts that will appear in each box on the 1099 form. You can double-click on any numbers in this report to see the underlying transactions. You can change the account if a transaction is improperly classified.

At this point you’re ready to print 1099s. Click the Print 1099s button shown in Figure 5 and confirm the date range you wish to use. You’ll then use the Select 1099s To Print window shown in Figure 8 to print your 1099s and the 1096 transmittal form.

Figure 8: You can easily reprint 1099 forms should a vendor misplace the original copy.

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