You do not need to use the red forms (government filing copy) to file your 1099-MISC and 1096 forms.
The IRS will accept these forms even if the are not printed in color.
You also have the option to e-file these forms using TurboTax (Home & Business edition for desktop or Self-Employed for online).
What is the conclusion with IRS accepting B&W Form 1096s and 1099s? They are specific about being in red or else they could charge penalty. I purchased the Home & Business (CD) because it said it would print the 1096s and 1099s for filing with IRS and also purchased forms (red and black) thinking TT would simply print payer's and recipient's information directly onto the forms. It's only year I need to file these forms and would prefer no penalties.
As I pointed out below, the IRS criteria clearly says they must be on the specific qualifying red forms.
However, you can E-FILE the 1096 and 1099s to the IRS through TurboTax (actually Quick Employer Forms), so there is no need for any paper forms at all to be sent to the IRS.
Ah, apologies, I read that incorrectly. Was attempting not to file online... 😉
I did the same. I do not like the E-FILE and prefer to mail. Does TT have a way to do this?
You do not need to use the red forms (government filing copy) to file your 1099-MISC and 1096 forms.
The IRS will accept these forms even if the are not printed in color.
You also have the option to e-file these forms using TurboTax (Home & Business edition for desktop or Self-Employed for online).
Thanks. I posted similar question about a week ago. Yours was the clearest answer.
Are you sure We can print 1099 misc without RED ink? Does IRS accept it? I heard they are must be in RED ink...., can you clarify please?
Positive. I used the 1099-MISC last year and filed them with the IRS (black not red) and they passed muster. I am doing the same this year. The red ones only if you are using the official IRS forms. Hope that helps.
I would like to clarify one more time. I’m using TurboxTax Home and Biz. I could create 1099misc form and print out black and white along with 1096 forms , and IRS accept these form without a rejection? I would like knowing for sure IRS accepts black and white printout 1099misc and 1096 forms . This is my first time doing this. thanks !
The IRS states that the 1099/1096 must be Red.
Whether or not they will accept forms that don't meet their specifications, I don't know, but their own rules say they must be red. Their rules also say there are penalties for filing them against their specifications. Here is what they say:
"All print on Copy A of Forms 1097-BTC, 1098, 1098-C, 1098-E, 1098-MA,
1098-Q, 1098-T, 1099-A, 1099-B, 1099-C, 1099-DIV, 1099-G, 1099-INT,
1099-K, 1099-MISC, 1099-OID, 1099-PATR, 1099-Q, 1099-R, 1099-S, 3921,
3922, 5498, and the print on Form 1096 above the statement, “Return this
entire page to the Internal Revenue Service. Photocopies are not acceptable.”
must be in Flint J-6983 red OCR dropout ink or an exact match. However, the
four-digit form identifying number must be in nonreflective carbon-based
black ink in OCR A font."
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1179.pdf#page=14">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1179.pdf#page=14</a>
In most cases, it is easier to e-file them, rather than mail them.
While the answer to this question seems simple and straight forward, I have the newest addition of TurboTax home and office desktop and it is not allowing me to e-file the form. Why not?
@frenchdm did you find how to efile them? You get 2 choices to do them in the Windows Desktop Home & Business program. On your computer or online using Quick Employer Forms
TaxGuyBill is wrong. I have filed the Turbo Tax BLACK 1096 and W3's and copy A for two years now and the IRS has accepted them. I had the same concerns last year however the TT response was that the IRS allowed the BLACK forms to be filed. They can be read by IRS OCR software.