E-Delivery of 1099 forms for the recipients

E-Delivery or Web Presentment of 1098, 1099, and W-2 forms – a compliant and time-saving way to provide information return forms to recipients.

Updated December 15, 2023

When it comes to 1099 forms, you are required to issue copies to recipients and file the forms with the IRS. Mailing 1099 copies to the recipient is one of the most time-consuming work in the whole 1099 processing, as you have to print, stuff, seal, apply postage, and mail. Instead of mailing recipient copies, the e-Delivery method can be used to provide recipient copies electronically. Electronic Delivery (or E-Delivery) of recipient statements, instead of mailing paper copies, is rapidly becoming very popular for providing 1098, 1099, and W-2 copies to the recipients. E-Delivery saves time and cost.

IRS allows for the payers to provide recipients copies electronically. However, one must follow the IRS guidelines for electronic distribution. Emailing PDF copies of 1099 forms to your recipients is not secure, and it is not compliant with the IRS guidelines. Electronic delivery does not mean emailing the 1099 forms to the recipients. To provide 1099 electronically, you must follow the below instructions:

e-Delivery Requirements:

Before furnishing the statements electronically, the business must ask for the recipient’s consent.

The recipient must consent in the affirmative and have not withdrawn the consent before the statement is furnished electronically.

If the recipient does not consent to receive the statement electronically, a paper copy must be provided.

The applicable 1099 statement must be posted on a website accessible to the recipient, on or before the January 31 due date, and must be available through October 15 of that year.

At eFile360, we offer e-Delivery, or what is sometimes referred to as web-presentment, for recipient copies at no additional cost. All you have to do is provide your recipient emails with the 1099 data, and we take care of the rest. We offer for your recipients a secure website that they can use to access and print their forms. If your recipients do not accept e-delivery, then we mail out paper copies. Best of all there, is no additional cost for using our e-Delivery service.

How does e-Delivery work?

You need to provide us the email addresses of your recipients while submitting your forms. When you submit your forms, we inform your recipients automatically that they can access their forms online. Your recipients can log in to our secure website, eFile360, using their email and the last four digits of their tax id. They have the option of using e-delivery. If your recipients accept e-delivery, they can access, print, or save their forms immediately. However, if they do not accept e-delivery, or if they do not even open their email, we wait for three days and then print and mail their statements. If the deadline is approaching and we do not have three days to hold on, we mail out paper copies immediately. Our e-delivery is 100 percent compatible with the IRS guidelines.

Benefits of using our E-Delivery service for 1099 forms

Our E-delivery service is compatible with the IRS guidelines.

It eliminates the need for you to worry about which of your recipients opted for e-delivery and which did not. We manage this for you on our end.

Your recipients can print their statements as soon as you submit your forms on plain paper.

E-Delivery reduced the time and risk associated with mailing paper copies.

Your recipient information stays encrypted and secure.

Your recipients can jump-start in preparing their taxes without having to wait for the mail to arrive.

There is no additional cost for you, and all we need is your recipients' email ids.

We do all the work:

When you provide your recipient's email, we take care of the rest.

We inform the recipients about how they can access their forms from our website.

We ask them to provide their consent.

We provide electronic access to their forms if they have provided their consent.

We mail out paper forms by February 2 deadline for those who have not provided their consent.

When you provide recipients' email ids when submitting your forms, your recipients would be able to access their forms electronically. As long as the recipient provides their consent and we have made the recipients' statements available on our website by January 31, you are treated by the IRS as furnishing the statement timely. All recipient who does not want to give their consent will still receive their paper statements.

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Related Questions

The IRS requires you to deliver 1099 forms to your vendors by January 31st. A printed copy of the form needs to be delivered. If the vendor is accessible, it is okay to give it by hand. In most cases, this is not possible, and the mailing of the recipient copy is needed. Providing electronic copy via e-Delivery is another convenient way to deliver 1099 to recipients.

You need to mail all 1099 in envelopes that say “Important Tax Document.” If you are using regular envelopes, you can handwrite the phrase. It is always more convenient to use an e-file service provider like eFile3eFile360 to e-file your 1099 forms and mail recipient copies simultaneously.

If you file through snail mail, you must mail Form 1096 and Copy A of each Form 1099 to the IRS. For the recipient, you have to send Copy B and Copy 2. You can purchase the pre-printed forms at your local stationery stores like Staples. Alternatively, you can use an online service provider like eFile360 to file your forms electronically, and e-Deliver to your recipients.

Emailing PDF copies of 1099 forms is not allowed. It is not secure, and the email may land in the recipients' spam folder, and they may not realize they have received 1099. The IRS has precise guidelines on how to provide recipient copies electronically. E-Delivery offered by many online providers is the best way. For electronic delivery, the recipient must consent, and if they don't, then a paper copy must be mailed. Make sure the e-Delivery service you are using, is compliant and can mail out paper copies if the recipient does not consent to e-Delivery.

With eFile360, you can efficiently deliver 1099s electronically to your recipients. You need to provide your recipients' email ids at the time of submitting forms. E-Delivery is a compliant and time-saving way to deliver 1099. The service first asks for recipients' consent for e-Delivery, and if the recipient wants, they can access their statements online. If they don't, then a paper statement is mailed.

Generally, you must mail 1099 by January 31. See 1099 mailing deadlines for details.

Copy 1 is sent to the state tax department(s). Copy B is for the recipient. Copy 2 is for the recipient to file with his/her state income tax return. Copies B and 2 must be received by the person no later than January 31 of the year after the tax year.

Two copies of Form 1099 go to the recipient. Copy B is for the recipient. Copy 2 is for the recipient to file with his/her state income tax return.

Many companies choose to e-deliver 1099 forms to their recipients either through their platform or through email. But, to send electronically, the recipient must consent to receive the form electronically. If they don't respond or consent to e-delivery, mail delivery is required.

The IRS authorizes businesses to furnish an electronic copy to the recipient of form 1099s instead of a paper copy. IRS guidelines state that a recipient should give his/her consent before an electronic statement is delivered; otherwise, a paper copy must be provided.

As long as the foreign contractor is not a U.S. person and the services are wholly performed outside the U.S., no Form 1099 is required, and no withholding is required. By signing Form W-8BEN, the foreign contractor certifies that he or she is not a U.S. person. If your recipient is a U.S. citizen, but lives outside of the U.S., and performed services for you in the U.S., you are required to send 1099. You can use e-Delivery for issuing 1099 to foreign recipients.