Box 1: Employer identification numberEntities and sole proprietors with an EIN enter it here. Use box 1 or box 2, never both, and the same TIN as on the forms transmitted.Click to open the row in the table belowBox 2: Social security numberOnly individuals not in a trade or business, and sole proprietors with no EIN.Click to open the row in the table belowBox 3: Total number of formsCorrectly completed forms, not pages. Do not count blank or voided forms or the Form 1096 itself.Click to open the row in the table belowBox 4: Federal income tax withheldTotal federal income tax withheld on the forms transmitted, which should tie to the payer's Form 945.Click to open the row in the table belowBox 5: Total amount reported with this Form 1096Sum of the boxes listed in the instructions for the form type (for 1099-NEC, boxes 1 and 3; for 1099-MISC, boxes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11). No entry for 1098-T, 1099-A or 1099-G.Click to open the row in the table belowBox 6: Type of form being filedAn X in only one box. Two form types on one Form 1096 is listed by the IRS as a common error.Click to open the row in the table belowHover over a box for what goes in it; click to open its row in the table below. On a touch screen, tap the box to jump to the row.
Who files Form 1096
“Any person or entity who files any form checked in box 6 above must file Form 1096 to transmit those forms to the IRS.” It goes with paper Copies A only. When the returns are e-filed through IRIS, there is no Form 1096.
Paper is available only to filers below the e-file threshold: if you must file 10 or more information returns in total during the year, you must e-file, and “The 10-or-more requirement does not apply separately to each type of form.” Four Forms 1098 and six Forms 1099-A require e-filing. Corrections follow the originals: if the originals had to be e-filed, so do the corrections. A Form 8508 waiver, requested at least 45 days before the due date, is the only way out.
A transmitter, service bureau or paying agent may sign Form 1096 for the payer under a valid agency agreement, adding “For: (Name of payer)”, but the name and TIN on the form are always the payer's, and the payer stays liable for penalties.
Box by box
| Box | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Employer identification number | Entities and sole proprietors with an EIN enter it here. Use box 1 or box 2, never both, and the same TIN as on the forms transmitted. |
| 2 | Social security number | Only individuals not in a trade or business, and sole proprietors with no EIN. |
| 3 | Total number of forms | Correctly completed forms, not pages. Do not count blank or voided forms or the Form 1096 itself. |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld | Total federal income tax withheld on the forms transmitted, which should tie to the payer's Form 945. |
| 5 | Total amount reported with this Form 1096 | Sum of the boxes listed in the instructions for the form type (for 1099-NEC, boxes 1 and 3; for 1099-MISC, boxes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11). No entry for 1098-T, 1099-A or 1099-G. |
| 6 | Type of form being filed | An X in only one box. Two form types on one Form 1096 is listed by the IRS as a common error. |
Due dates
| What | Due | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| With paper Form 1099-NEC for 2026 | February 1, 2027 | January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday. |
| With paper Form 1099-LPS | February 1 | Date printed on the form. |
| With paper Forms 1097, 1098, 1099 (other than NEC), 3921, 3922, W-2G for 2026 | March 1, 2027 | The February 28 date falls on a Sunday; leap years do not move it. |
| With paper Forms 5498 | May 31 | Next business day if it falls on a weekend or legal holiday. |
Penalties
Form 1096 and its Copies A are information returns under IRC 6721. The penalty applies to late or incomplete returns, incorrect TINs, filing on paper when you were required to e-file, and paper forms that cannot be machine read. For returns due in 2027, it is $60 per return corrected within 30 days, $130 by August 1, $340 after that, and $690 per return for intentional disregard. The failure-to-e-file penalty counts only returns above 10: “the penalty for a failure to file electronically applies only to the number of returns that exceeds 10”.
Format matters because paper is scanned. The red Copy A and 1096 printed from IRS.gov cannot be filed (except the black-and-white online fillable forms for low-volume types), “Photocopies are not acceptable”, and substitute forms must meet Pub 1179. Each nonconforming document can draw a penalty.
Corrections
“You do not need to correct a previously filed Form 1096.” To correct paper returns, prepare a new Form 1096 for the corrected Copies A (one per form type), and you may combine originals and corrections of the same type under one 1096. If you discover additional returns after filing, send them with a new Form 1096 without repeating returns already filed. Duplicate filing is itself a common error: never send the same returns twice, and never file on paper what was e-filed.
Where it goes wrong
- Name or EIN that does not match the payer's tax account. The filer name and TIN “must match the name and TIN used on your 94X series tax return(s) or you may be subject to information return penalties.” “Do not use the name and/or TIN of your paying agent or service bureau.” Test the name line with the payer name-line checker; the unpostable guide explains what happens when it fails.
- Mismatch between the 1096 and the forms. The name, address and TIN on Form 1096 must be the same as in the upper left of every form it transmits.
- Several form types under one 1096. “Group the forms by form number and transmit each group with a separate Form 1096.”
- Cut, stapled or folded forms. Send the whole page of two- or three-to-a-sheet forms even if one is blank, flat and unstapled, by First-Class Mail, with Form 1096 in package 1.
- Paper when e-file was required. Count every information return of every type before choosing paper. See the paper 1099 filing checklist and what happens to paper 1099s inside the IRS.
Inside the IRS: what happens to Form 1096
Paper information returns are opened, sorted and keyed at three campuses: Form 1096 and the returns it transmits “are processed in AUSPC, KCSPC and OSPC” (Austin, Kansas City and Ogden). During the filing season, a 1096 transmitting Forms 1099-NEC goes into an expedite sort ahead of other form types. The 1096 anchors the whole package: “Number Form 1096 first.” Each return behind it is stamped with the 1096 document locator number, and on the scanner “The first document imaged MUST be a drop-out ink Form 1096.” If no usable 1096 came with the returns, the IRS creates one, coded as “created by the service because a form was not present, or not usable” and marked “Prepared by IRS” on the signature line.
The data then feeds the Information Returns Program, “allowing the IRS to identify underreported income, excess deduction, and non-filers”. Each 1096 also becomes a record on the Payer Master File (PMF), which holds five years of transmittal data, including the type and number of forms, paper or electronic, and the totals paid and withheld. The IRS's own count can differ from box 3: it “will sometimes differ from the count entered by the filer on Form 1096”, because voided, blank and under-one-dollar forms are dropped.
Penalties come from the PMF. “No penalty is applicable to a particular Form 1096 submission unless separate amounts are shown” for late filing, media or TIN failures. Paper filing by a payer required to e-file draws a proposed IRC 6721 penalty on Notice 972CG. Unprocessable paper is handled differently: the penalty is assessed by the campus on CP 215 or CP 15, and “It is not preceded by a Notice 972CG.” “For paper returns, only a sample of the unprocessable returns are returned to the filer to identify the problem.” The payer must still resubmit the whole package.
What to do: count every information return before choosing paper, send scannable official or Pub 1179 forms with the 1096 on top, and keep a copy of each 1096 to compare with what the IRS shows on the PMF. See what the IRS sees on PMFOL and the 972CG penalty notice guide.
Questions people ask about Form 1096
Do we need a Form 1096 if we e-file our 1099s?
No. Form 1096 transmits paper Copies A only. E-filed returns, including those filed through the IRIS portal, have no 1096.
Can one Form 1096 cover our 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms?
No. Use a separate Form 1096 for each form type, with one box checked in box 6.
Can we print Form 1096 from the IRS website?
Not for filing. The downloadable 1096 is not scannable and a penalty may apply. Order official forms or use substitutes that meet Pub 1179.
We have 4 Forms 1099-NEC and 7 Forms 1099-INT. Can we file on paper?
No. The 10-return threshold counts all information returns together, so 11 returns must be e-filed unless you have an approved Form 8508 waiver.
Where do we mail it?
To the address on Form 1096 for the state of your principal business or legal residence: Austin, Kansas City or Ogden. Filers outside the United States use the Austin address.
Other employer, withholding and ACA forms
Payroll and employment tax returns: W-4 · 941 · 941-X · 944 · 943 · 940 · W-2 · W-3 · W-2c · 8027
Withholding returns: 945 · 1042
Health coverage (ACA) returns: 1095-C · 1094-C · 1095-B · 1094-B
All of them on one table · Information returns (1099 series)
Sources: Form 1096 (2026) with its instructions; Form 1096 (2027 draft, posted Aug. 26, 2026); Pub 1099 (2026) parts E, F, G, H and O; Rev. Proc. 2025-32.