1099 Alert!

By Mary Grace Musuneggi

“Why are my 1099s late?” They probably aren’t.

For years, we got used to receiving 1099s by early February as the IRS required that they be mailed by end of January. When tax laws changed and made it necessary to get additional information for some calculations, the date for mailing was changed to February 15th.

If you have an IRA, or an investment with a single investment manager, you may receive them shortly after that time (assuming no delays with the mail).

But if you have a brokerage account, or a third-party manager, you may be in an account that requires additional calculations such as capital gains or dividend information. This may be coming to the reporting company from hundreds of companies or multiple managers. So these companies can extend to March 15th for mailing 1099s.

The other reason that your 1099 may come “late” is “qualified dividends”. To be a “qualified dividend” (and therefore eligible for lower tax rates which you will appreciate), the dividend-paying stock or fund must be held for “more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date. Since many stocks and funds pay out dividends at the end of the year, that means it takes until mid-to-late February to determine if you held them, and therefore made the dividend qualified. Again, the “delay” may present a tax advantage for you.

Companies don’t want to send out 1099s in January and then possibly have to send out revised versions if you or your investment company decide to sell something that paid a dividend in December that otherwise would have been qualified. If you had filed your return with the first 1099, you would then have had to file an amendment. Neither you, nor your accountant, would like that.

Just a reminder: we do not receive your 1099s. However, we can sometimes retrieve them if they are prepared and get them to you by email. Please reach out to us if you have questions about yours.

Mary Grace Musuneggi, CLU, ChFC, CFS, RFC
Chairman & CEO
Phone: 412-341-2888
Fax: 412-341-0725

Securities offered through Grove Point Investments, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through Grove Point Advisors, LLC. Grove Point Investments, LLC & Grove Point Advisors, LLC are subsidiaries of Grove Point Financial, LLC. The Musuneggi Financial Group, LLC is not affiliated with Grove Point Financial, LLC or its subsidiaries. Click here to view Form CRS.