Payers must send Form 1099-DIV to recipients by January 31 of the year after the dividends were paid, so a form covering 2026 distributions has to reach you by January 31, 2027. The 1099-DIV deadline for filing with the IRS is later: February 28 on paper, or March 31 if the payer files electronically. Both dates shift to the next business day when they land on a weekend or legal holiday, and missing either one triggers per-return penalties that grow the longer the form is overdue.
When a 1099-DIV Has to Be Issued at All
Not every dividend payment triggers a form. A payer must issue a 1099-DIV only when distributions to a single recipient cross specific thresholds during the calendar year, or when certain withholding situations apply regardless of amount.
- $10 or more in ordinary dividends, capital gain distributions, exempt-interest dividends, Section 199A dividends, or investment expenses.
- $600 or more in liquidation payments reported in Boxes 9 and 10.
- Any amount if federal income tax was withheld under the backup withholding rules.
- Any amount of foreign tax paid on dividends, because the recipient needs that figure to claim a foreign tax credit.
These thresholds govern the payer’s filing obligation, not yours as the recipient. If you received dividends below $10 and no form ever arrives, you still owe tax on the income.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-DIV
Deadline for Sending Forms to Recipients
January 31 is the standard furnishing deadline. When it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 509 – Tax Calendars
Payers can mail the form or deliver it electronically. Electronic delivery requires the recipient’s affirmative consent first.
Consolidated Brokerage Statements Push the Date to February 15
If you hold investments through a brokerage, you probably receive a single consolidated statement instead of separate 1099 forms. That package often bundles a 1099-B, a 1099-INT, and a 1099-DIV together. When the statement includes any form that carries a February 15 deadline, such as a 1099-B or 1099-S, the whole consolidated package inherits that later due date. Most brokerage clients should expect their dividend information by mid-February rather than January 31.3Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)
Brokerages sometimes need extra time beyond February 15 to reclassify dividends or adjust cost-basis figures, and the IRS allows them to request an extension for a limited number of affected accounts. That is why the expected delivery date on your brokerage’s website may slip in late January or early February while final data comes in from fund companies.
Electronic Delivery Rules
Before a payer can send your 1099-DIV electronically, they have to tell you a paper copy is available if you decline, how to withdraw consent later, how to request a paper copy after consenting, what hardware and software you will need, and when the electronic version will no longer be available. If the payer later changes the technology platform, they must notify you and get fresh consent.4Internal Revenue Service. Requirements for Furnishing Information Returns Electronically
Deadline for Filing with the IRS
Furnishing the form to you and filing it with the IRS are two separate obligations with two separate dates:
- Paper filing: February 28 of the following year.
- Electronic filing: March 31 of the following year.
Both dates follow the same weekend-and-holiday shift.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions
The paper option is gone for most payers. Any filer submitting 10 or more information returns of any type during the calendar year must file electronically. The count aggregates across form types, so five 1099-DIVs plus three 1099-INTs plus two W-2s adds up to 10 returns that all have to go in electronically.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 801, Who Must File Information Returns Electronically
Requesting an Extension
A payer who cannot meet the IRS filing deadline can request an automatic 30-day extension by submitting Form 8809 on or before the original due date. No justification is required for the initial extension. It covers only the IRS filing deadline. It does not push back the January 31 or February 15 date for getting the form to the recipient.7Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
Penalties for Missing Either Deadline
The IRS charges separate penalties for late filing with the agency and late furnishing to recipients. The amounts are identical on each side, so a payer who misses both deadlines for the same return faces double exposure. For returns due in 2026:3Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)
- Filed within 30 days of the deadline: $60 per return, capped at $683,000 per year ($239,000 for small businesses).
- Filed more than 30 days late but by August 1: $130 per return, capped at $2,049,000 per year ($683,000 for small businesses).
- Filed after August 1 or never filed: $340 per return, capped at $4,098,500 per year ($1,366,000 for small businesses).
- Intentional disregard: $680 per return or 10% of the total amount that should have been reported, whichever is greater, with no annual cap.
A small business for these purposes means average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less over the three most recent tax years. The penalty figures are indexed for inflation and tend to rise each year.
Reasonable Cause Relief
The IRS can waive or reduce penalties if the payer shows reasonable cause. Relief is decided case by case. Two things generally have to be present: acting responsibly before and after the failure (requesting extensions when possible, taking steps to prevent the problem, and correcting it quickly once found), and significant mitigating factors such as being a first-time filer of that form type, a strong compliance history, or circumstances outside the payer’s control like a system outage or the actions of a third-party agent.8Internal Revenue Service. Penalty Relief for Reasonable Cause
“We didn’t realize we had to file” almost never works. What does work is documented evidence that reasonable systems were in place, something went wrong despite them, and the payer moved quickly to fix it.
If Your 1099-DIV Doesn’t Arrive
If February passes without your form, contact the payer directly. In most cases the form went to an outdated address or is waiting in an online portal you have not checked.
Do not delay filing your return over a missing form. The IRS expects you to report all taxable income whether or not the paperwork arrived. You can use account statements, transaction histories, and year-end summaries to estimate the dividend amounts, report those figures, and file on time.9Internal Revenue Service. How to File When Taxpayers Have Incorrect or Missing Documents
If a 1099-DIV shows up later with different numbers, or if you receive a corrected form after filing, compare it to what you reported. A small rounding difference probably will not matter. A material change in dividend classification or amount means filing an amended return on Form 1040-X.