Form 1042-T is the paper transmittal cover sheet you send with Copy A of your paper Forms 1042-S. It summarizes the batch, gives the IRS one reconciliation point against your Form 1042, and is only used when you file on paper. For tax year 2025, the package is due at the IRS Ogden Service Center by March 16, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
When You Need Form 1042-T (and When You Don’t)
Form 1042-T is required only when you file paper Forms 1042-S. If you file electronically through the IRS Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system, you do not use Form 1042-T at all.2Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
Since tax year 2023, the mandatory e-file threshold has been 10 information returns, down from 250. That count combines all information return types, not just Forms 1042-S. Five Forms 1099-INT plus six Forms 1042-S in the same year puts you over the line, and everything has to be filed electronically.3Internal Revenue Service. 2023 Electronic File Requirement Financial institutions must file electronically regardless of volume, and so must partnerships with more than 100 partners.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1042 (2025)
If you cross the threshold but genuinely cannot file electronically, Form 8508 requests a waiver. First-time waivers are automatic; after that, you need a qualifying reason such as undue financial hardship, and you must attach two current third-party cost estimates for the software or programming needed to e-file.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 8508, Application for a Waiver from Electronic Filing of Information Returns
One more boundary. Form 1042-T does not replace Form 1042, the Annual Withholding Tax Return for U.S. Source Income of Foreign Persons. Form 1042 is your actual tax return for the year’s withholding liability. Form 1042-T is only the cover sheet for the paper information returns that support it.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
How to Fill It Out
The form is short. What matters is that every number on it can be tied back to the paper Forms 1042-S underneath and to the totals on your Form 1042.
Identifying Information
Enter the withholding agent’s name, address, and Employer Identification Number. Qualified intermediaries use their QI-EIN. These have to match exactly what appears on Form 1042 and on each Form 1042-S in the batch. Give a contact name and phone number so the IRS can reach a real person if a question comes up.
The Key Lines
File a separate Form 1042-T for each type of Form 1042-S you are transmitting. Original and amended Forms 1042-S sent on paper each get their own transmittal.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
- Line 1b: check either “Original” or “Amended” for the batch. Never both.
- Line 1d: the total number of paper Forms 1042-S attached.
- Line 2: combined gross income from all attached Forms 1042-S (the total of each form’s box 2).
- Line 3: combined federal tax withheld (the total of boxes 10 and 11 on each attached form).
Before you enter any totals, add up the columns across every 1042-S in the batch and confirm the sums against your internal records. Mismatched totals are one of the fastest ways to trigger IRS correspondence.
Where to Send It
Form 1042-S is due to the IRS by March 15 of the year after the income was paid, and the transmittal travels with it. When March 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.6Internal Revenue Service. Discussion of Form 1042, Form 1042-S and Form 1042-T March 15, 2026 is a Sunday, so the 2025 filing is due March 16, 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
Mail the package flat. Do not fold the forms. Send it to:
Ogden Service Center
P.O. Box 409101
Ogden, UT 844091Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
If You Need More Time
File Form 8809 for an automatic 30-day extension on your Forms 1042-S. You do not need to give a reason for the first extension.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
A second 30-day extension is possible only if the first was already granted and you request the additional time before that first extension expires. The IRS requires a qualifying reason for the second one: a federally declared disaster, death or serious illness of the person responsible for filing, fire or natural disaster, first year of business, or not receiving a payee statement (such as a Schedule K-1 or a Form 1042-S from another party) in time to prepare an accurate return.7Internal Revenue Service. Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
Correcting a Form 1042-T You Already Filed
To correct a Form 1042-T, prepare a new one for the same tax year, check the “Amended” box on Line 1b, and enter the corrected totals. You can submit amended Forms 1042-S even when they change the gross income or tax withheld totals reported on the original transmittal.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S
If those corrected Forms 1042-S change the amounts you originally reported on Form 1042, specifically lines 62c or 63e, file an amended Form 1042 too.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 1042-T, Annual Summary and Transmittal of Forms 1042-S Skipping that step is a common oversight and it leads to IRS notices months later.
Penalties for Late or Wrong Filings
Penalties apply per Form 1042-S and add up fast across a batch. The IRS uses a tiered schedule that rewards faster corrections. For the 2026 filing year:8Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
- Corrected within 30 days of the due date: $60 per return.
- Corrected after 30 days but on or before August 1: $130 per return.
- Filed after August 1 or not filed at all: $340 per return.
- Intentional disregard: $680 per return or 10% of the amount required to be reported, whichever is greater, with no annual cap.
Annual maximum penalties scale with the size of the filer. Withholding agents with average annual gross receipts above $5 million face a $3,000,000 ceiling on general failures outside the intentional disregard tier. Filers averaging $5 million or less over the prior three tax years get lower caps: $1,397,000 for failures not corrected by August 1, $698,500 for those corrected between 30 days and August 1, and $244,500 for those corrected within 30 days.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6721 – Failure to File Correct Information Returns
A separate penalty of up to $340 per statement applies for failing to furnish correct Forms 1042-S to the recipients themselves on time.10Internal Revenue Service. Penalties Related to Form 1042-S The IRS can waive these penalties for reasonable cause not due to willful neglect, but the bar is high: you generally need to show you took meaningful steps to comply and that something genuinely outside your control prevented timely, accurate filing.