Information please: Comprehensive set of tax year 2021 forms

In the past several years, tax law information reporting requirements have mushroomed. In some cases, information returns are used to enforce tax rules and regulations. To that end, the Affordable Care Act imposed a number of information reporting requirements to determine compliance with the law’s health coverage mandates. On the other hand, many information returns serve as a double-check on the income and deductions reported on taxpayers’ returns.

For example, the newest information return—Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation—was introduced starting in 2020. The form is used to report payments of $600 or more for services of a nonemployee and payments to an attorney for services. In prior years, those amounts were reported along with other types of miscellaneous payments, on Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income.

As a general rule, information returns reporting tax return items are due to recipients by Jan. 31 and to the IRS by Feb. 28 (or March 31 if filed electronically). To keep you up to speed, here is a rundown of the most common information returns your clients are likely to receive in connection with their 2021 returns.

Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement: Mortgage interest (including points) and certain mortgage insurance premiums paid of $600 or more.

Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement: Student loan interest paid of $600 or more.

Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement: Qualified tuition and related expenses paid and reimbursements or refunds received. May optionally report scholarships or grants.

Form 1099-B, Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions: Information on sales or redemptions of securities, futures transactions, commodities, and barter exchange transactions.

Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt: Cancellation of debt of $600 or more owed to a financial institution or other lender.

Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions: Dividends, capital gain distributions, or nontaxable distributions paid on stock of $10 or more and liquidation distributions of $600 or more.

Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments: Unemployment compensation, state and local income tax refunds, agricultural payments, and taxable government grants.

Form 1099-INT, Interest Income: Interest income received of $10 or more ($600 or more in certain cases).

Form 1099-LTC, Long-Term Care and Accelerated Death Benefits: Payments received under a long-term care insurance contract and accelerated death benefits received under a life insurance contract or viatical settlement.

Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income: Miscellaneous income items including royalties of $10 or more, and at least $600 or more in: rents, taxable prizes or awards, gross proceeds paid to an attorney, and payments to physicians and other health care providers by health insurance plans.

Form 1099-Q, Payments From Qualified Education Programs (Under Sections 529 and 530): Distributions received from qualified tuition programs under Section 529 and Coverdell education savings accounts under Section 530.

Form 1099-QA, Distributions From ABLE Accounts: Distributions received from an Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) savings account.

Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.: Distributions of $10 or more received from a retirement plan, profit sharing plan, regular or Roth IRA, an insurance contract, an annuity, or survivor income benefit plan. Also reports retirement plan rollovers, certain disability payments, death benefit payments, and distributions from nonqualified deferred compensation plans.

Form 1099-S, Proceeds From Real Estate Transactions: Gross proceeds of $600 or more from the sale or exchange of real estate.

Form 1099-SA, Distributions From an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA: Distributions from health savings accounts, Archer medical savings accounts, and Medicare Advantage medical savings accounts.

Form 5498, IRA Contributions Information: Reports contributions (including rollover contributions to an individual retirement arrangement [IRA]), including a SEP, SIMPLE, or Roth IRA. Also reports Roth conversions, IRA recharacterizations, and the fair-market value of the account. Form 5498-ESA, Coverdell ESA Contribution Information: Reports contributions including rollover contributions to a Coverdell education savings account.

Form 5498-SA, HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information: Reports contributions to a health savings account (including transfers and rollovers) or Archer medical savings account. Also reports the fair-market value of an HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA.

Form W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings: Gambling winnings of $600 or more from horse racing, dog racing, jai alai, lotteries, sweepstakes, wagering pool, and poker tournaments; winnings of $1,200 or more from bingo or slot machines; and winnings of $1,500 or more from keno.

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