Important News Regarding W-2 Wage Statement and 1099 Information Returns Electronic Filing Information for Tax Year 2018.

What changed?

• Businesses with 1 or more 1099s containing Iowa tax withholding are required to electronically file all 1099 Information Returns, for tax year 2018 by January 31, 2019.
• Businesses with 1 or more W-2s containing Iowa tax withholding are required to electronically file all W-2 Wage Statements, for tax year 2018 by January 31, 2019.
• Businesses with 50 or more Iowa W-2s in tax year 2017 who received a filing extension for tax year 2017 must electronically file on or before January 31, 2019.

Note: IDR will not issue permits and Business eFile Numbers (BENs) for purposes of electronically filing 1099s or W-2s with no withholding.

Can IDR make filing easier?

The Department is working with software vendors to register and test software prior to the 1/31/2019 filing deadline. As a result, IDR will be able to guide businesses who are required to file W-2s and/or 1099s for tax year 2018 to a list of vendors who have completed testing, offer their software services for sale, and who support the IA W-2 and 1099 file formats.  Sign up for email updates to learn more about these services.

When will I know if the IDR proposal was approved?

Sign up for email updates.   Stay tuned in to these email bulletins for updates about Iowa’s W-2/1099 filing program.  When more information is available, IDR will notify you.

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Original article: https://tax.iowa.gov/tax-year-2018-news-w-21099-electronic-filing

WASHINGTON — Despite the government shutdown, the Internal Revenue Service today confirmed that it will process tax returns beginning January 28, 2019 and provide refunds to taxpayers as scheduled.

“We are committed to ensuring that taxpayers receive their refunds notwithstanding the government shutdown. I appreciate the hard work of the employees and their commitment to the taxpayers during this period,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig.

Congress directed the payment of all tax refunds through a permanent, indefinite appropriation (31 U.S.C. 1324), and the IRS has consistently been of the view that it has authority to pay refunds despite a lapse in annual appropriations. Although in 2011 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed the IRS not to pay refunds during a lapse, OMB has reviewed the relevant law at Treasury’s request and concluded that IRS may pay tax refunds during a lapse.

The IRS will be recalling a significant portion of its workforce, currently furloughed as part of the government shutdown, to work. Additional details for the IRS filing season will be included in an updated FY2019 Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan to be released publicly in the coming days.

“IRS employees have been hard at work over the past year to implement the biggest tax law changes the nation has seen in more than 30 years,” said Rettig.

As in past years, the IRS will begin accepting and processing individual tax returns once the filing season begins. For taxpayers who usually file early in the year and have all of the needed documentation, there is no need to wait to file. They should file when they are ready to submit a complete and accurate tax return.

The filing deadline to submit 2018 tax returns is Monday, April 15, 2019 for most taxpayers. Because of the Patriots’ Day holiday on April 15 in Maine and Massachusetts and the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16 in the District of Columbia, taxpayers who live in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, 2019 to file their returns.

Software companies and tax professionals will be accepting and preparing tax returns before Jan. 28 and then will submit the returns when the IRS systems open later this month. The IRS strongly encourages people to file their tax returns electronically to minimize errors and for faster refunds.

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Original article: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-confirms-tax-filing-season-to-begin-january-28