Get Ahead of the Game: Stress-Free 1099 Filing for a More Productive Business

As you already know, if you’ve been contracting services with outside professionals, you'll need to file 1099s at the end of the year. The IRS deadline for recipients to receive them is January 31st, but aiming to have them complete and sent out by the first or second week of January is ideal. So, have you started thinking about your 1099s yet? It’s time to get things ready—let’s make this year stress-free and ahead of schedule!

Stress reduction not only makes business operations smoother but also enhances productivity significantly. According to research published in *Harvard Business Review* (2015), companies that manage stress effectively see improvements in project completion rates and overall productivity levels. Furthermore, a study from *Journal of Occupational Health Psychology* (2017) found that businesses where both owners and employees experience lower stress levels tend to be more successful overall.

Points to consider:

1. The IRS requires you to file a 1099 for anyone you've paid more than $600 during the calendar year. Additionally, there's a specific 1099 form that needs filing if you've been paying rent.

2. The first step in preparing your 1099s is getting your vendors to complete W-9 forms and return them to you. Here’s a link for the W-9 form: [IRS W-9 Form](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf). What's great is they can fill these out and send them to you electronically.

3. It is usual that hand written W9's are difficult to read, or have incorrect data that will cause the IRS to reject the W-9.

4. You’ll need their email addresses for sending out the forms and phone numbers for any necessary follow-ups.

5. Completing the forms to send out happens fast with My Good Firm, that is of course if all information is correct that your recipients get to you.

6. Some software functions that all must be done at the same time, so if you have people who need them quickly, they will have to wait until all are completed.

If you're already working with My Good Firm, as usual, we'll handle filing and sending out your 1099s for you! Kindly reminding you that it would be incredibly helpful if you could start gathering those completed W-9 forms from your vendors now. The great news is as usual we'll file electronically—no more envelopes with stamps or trips to the post office required!

If you're reading this an are not in the My Good Firm family please reach out, let's work together, we'd like to be your accountancy team! Of course to all, let us know how we can assist or if you have any questions; we're always happy to hear from you!