How to Print 1099 Forms: Copy A, Form 1096, and Deadlines

To print 1099 forms correctly, you need the right paper for each copy, a laser printer, and precise alignment with the pre-printed boxes. Copy A, the version that goes to the IRS, must be printed on official red-ink scannable paper ordered from the IRS or a tax-forms vendor. Copies B, C, 1, and 2 print on plain white paper from any standard printer. The IRS reads Copy A with optical scanning equipment, so smudged toner or drifted alignment can get your return rejected and trigger penalties that start at $60 per form.1Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties

Check Whether You Can File on Paper at All

Before you order forms, confirm paper is still an option for you. If you file 10 or more information returns in a calendar year, counting all 1099 types plus W-2s together, you must file electronically.2Internal Revenue Service. E-file Information Returns The threshold is an aggregate across form types, so it catches more businesses than most expect.3Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 801, Who Must File Information Returns Electronically Under that count, printing on paper is still permitted, and the rest of this walkthrough is for you.

Which Copies Print on Which Paper

A 1099 is a multi-copy form, and each copy has a different destination. Only one of them needs the special paper.

  • Copy A goes to the IRS. This is the only copy that must be on the red-ink scannable stock.
  • Copy B goes to the recipient for their federal return. Plain white paper.
  • Copy C is your file copy as the payer. Plain white paper.
  • Copy 1 goes to the state tax department, where applicable. Plain white paper.
  • Copy 2 goes to the recipient for their state return, where applicable. Plain white paper.

Your tax software generates copies B, C, 1, and 2 in a black-and-white format that includes the form borders, so no special forms are needed for those.

Get the Red-Ink Copy A Forms

The red background on Copy A is engineered to be invisible to the IRS’s scanners, so only your black data registers. You cannot substitute plain white paper, and you cannot print your own red background. Either approach produces a non-scannable return and exposes you to penalties.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns

Order pre-printed forms directly from the IRS through the ordering page at irs.gov, or buy compatible stock from authorized tax-form vendors and office supply retailers. The IRS no longer prints carbonless multi-part forms for the 1099 series, W-2s, or Form 1096, so what arrives will be single-sheet forms.5Internal Revenue Service. Order Paper Information Returns and Employer Returns Allow at least 15 business days for IRS orders to arrive. Don’t wait until January.

Some commercial tax software is approved to print substitute Copy A forms that meet IRS Publication 1141 specifications, meaning the software itself generates the scannable red-ink format on blank paper. If your software advertises this, confirm it explicitly states Pub 1141 compliance before submitting. Most small-business accounting tools do not include this feature.

Clean Up Your Data First

Most 1099 filing errors are data errors that get printed onto the form, not printer errors. Fix the data before you load a single sheet.

Every recipient should have a completed Form W-9 on file giving you their legal name, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number.6Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 The cleanest workflow is to collect the W-9 before the first payment goes out, not in January. A missing or incorrect TIN triggers backup withholding obligations and penalty exposure that no amount of careful printing can undo.

Run Payees Through the TIN Matching Tool

The IRS’s free TIN Matching Program, available through e-Services, checks whether a payee’s name and TIN match IRS records before you file. The interactive option handles up to 25 combinations at once with instant results; the bulk option processes up to 100,000 combinations within 24 hours.7Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Matching Tools Running your list through TIN Matching before printing catches mismatches that would otherwise come back as a CP2100 notice months later.8Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP2100 or CP2100A Notice

Update Your Software to the Current Tax Year

Confirm your 1099 software or accounting module is updated to the current year’s form layout. The IRS occasionally shifts box positions or adds fields, and last year’s template can misalign against this year’s paper. The software needs to place your business name, EIN, the recipient’s name and TIN, and the payment totals in the correct boxes for the specific form type you’re filing, whether that’s 1099-NEC for nonemployee compensation, 1099-MISC for rent and other miscellaneous payments, 1099-INT for interest, or 1099-DIV for dividends.9Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)

The Printing Sequence

Once data is verified and software is current, the mechanics are straightforward but unforgiving.

Use a laser printer. Laser toner bonds to the page instantly. Inkjet ink can smear or blur, and a smudged form won’t scan. Check your printer manual for whether forms load face-up or face-down, since it varies by model.

Run one alignment test before you touch the red-ink stock. Print onto a blank sheet of plain white paper, then overlay the test print on an actual red-ink form and hold both up to a light. Every field should sit squarely inside its box. If anything is off, adjust your software’s print offset in fractions of an inch and test again. The IRS scanner has very little tolerance for drift.

When alignment checks out, print your Copy A forms on the red-ink stock. Set them aside briefly to let the toner set fully. Then load plain white paper and print copies B, C, and 1.

For larger runs, spot-check periodically. Paper feed issues can cause gradual alignment drift you won’t notice until you’ve wasted a stack of red-ink forms. If you’re printing more than a few dozen, checking every tenth form is a reasonable precaution.

Add Form 1096 as Your Cover Sheet

Every paper submission of 1099s must include Form 1096, the Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, which totals the number of forms and the aggregate dollar amounts you’re filing. You need a separate Form 1096 for each type of 1099. If you’re filing both 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC on paper, prepare two 1096s.4Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns Like Copy A, Form 1096 must be filed on the official red-ink scannable version. Do not print a copy from the IRS website and submit that.

Deadlines and Where to Mail

Form 1099-NEC has one deadline for everything: January 31 of the year after the payments were made. Copy B must be in the recipient’s hands by January 31, and Copy A must be filed with the IRS by January 31, whether on paper or electronically.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025) – Section: Filing Dates

Forms 1099-MISC, 1099-INT, and 1099-DIV allow more time on the IRS side. Recipient copies are still due January 31, but paper Copy A is due February 28, or March 31 for e-filers.11Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025) – Section: Guide to Information Returns

Where you mail paper returns depends on your business location. The IRS routes returns to three centers:12Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 1096

  • Austin, TX 78714 (P.O. Box 149213) for Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Virginia.
  • Kansas City, MO 64121-9256 (P.O. Box 219256) for Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
  • Ogden, UT 84201 for California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia.

Mail everything in a flat mailer. Do not fold the forms. Send Copy 1 separately to the appropriate state tax department, checking that state’s own deadlines and transmittal rules.

If You Catch an Error on a Printed Form

An error caught before mailing is the easy case. Mark an “X” in the VOID box on the flawed form, then print a fresh replacement without checking the CORRECTED box.13Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns – Section: Void Returns If your forms print two or three to a page, submit the entire page even if only one form on it is valid.

If the form has already gone to the IRS, file a new form with the CORRECTED box checked. Include all original information on the corrected form, not just the field you’re fixing. Send the corrected Copy A to the IRS and a corrected Copy B to the recipient.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 154, Form W-2 and Form 1099-R (What to Do if Incorrect or Not Received)

What Getting It Wrong Costs

Penalties run per form and escalate the longer you wait. For returns due in 2026, the schedule applies both to failing to file Copy A with the IRS and to failing to furnish correct payee statements:1Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties

  • Up to 30 days late: $60 per form.
  • 31 days late through August 1: $130 per form.
  • After August 1 or never filed: $340 per form.
  • Intentional disregard: $680 per form with no annual cap.

Annual maximum caps limit total exposure for all tiers except intentional disregard. Larger businesses (more than $5 million in average annual gross receipts) face caps of $683,000, $2,049,000, and $4,098,500 across the three tiers. Smaller businesses get reduced caps of $239,000, $683,000, and $1,366,000.15Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.7 Information Return Penalties The payee-statement penalties run separately from the IRS-filing penalties, so a form filed on time with the IRS but never delivered to the recipient still generates a full tier of charges.