Fri, January 16, 2009
Brokerage 1099 Statements May Arrive Later This Year
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (a.k.a. “the Bailout Bill”) changed the reporting requirements for annual tax statements from brokers. Form 1099-B, which formerly had to be sent by January 31, is now due on February 17 this year (the statutory date is February 15, but in 2009 that's a Sunday and the 16th is Presidents' Day).
This means that the forms needed to complete your tax returns if you have brokerage account transactions will probably reach you about two weeks later than normal. Last year a number of brokerage firms (including a couple that I use) ended up sending out revised 1099-B’s after the January 31 date, complicating things for early filers. We can only hope that the new later date will help reduce the prevalence of revised filings this year.
The IRS has clarified, in Notice 2009 -11, that the later reporting date also applies to tax information customarily reported with Form 1099-B on composite tax statements (typically, this would include items like interest and dividends).
If you were hoping to get started on your tax returns in early February, you still can, but you may need to wait a couple of weeks to obtain your brokerage forms. One possible solution: many brokerage firms have started providing access to 1099s online. The paper forms will come later, but the online info may enable you to complete your 2008 tax return a bit sooner.