Late 1099-DIV received in March - can I report company to IRS for missing January 31 deadline?

Yep, you're right about the January 31 deadline for 1099-DIV forms. Companies are required to send these to recipients by that date, and they should also file them with the IRS by then. You have a couple of options here. First, you'll need to file an amended return (Form 1040-X) to include this income, especially if the amount is significant. The IRS will eventually match the 1099 information with your return and may send you a notice if you don't amend. As for reporting the company, you can contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to report the late 1099. You can also file Form 3949-A (Information Referral) if you believe they're consistently not complying with tax laws. However, for a one-time late form, a phone call is probably sufficient. That said, while the deadline is January 31, the penalties for companies sending these forms late are relatively small unless it's a pattern of behavior, so the IRS may not take significant action for a single late form.

I went through something similar last year - it was a nightmare! After trying to contact the IRS multiple times about a late 1099 situation and spending hours on hold, I started using this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped analyze my tax documents and determine exactly how to handle the late form. Their system was able to look at my situation and help me figure out if I needed to file an amended return or if the amount was small enough to ignore (there are thresholds). It also helped me draft an explanation letter to include with my amendment explaining why it wasn't filed correctly the first time around. The tool even helped me determine if I qualified for penalty abatement based on the company's error. Seriously made the whole process way less stressful!

Just wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai that someone recommended earlier. It was actually super helpful for my situation! I uploaded my original return and the late 1099-DIV, and it showed me exactly how much tax I would owe if I amended. The best part was that it determined the amount on my 1099-DIV was small enough that it wouldn't significantly impact my tax liability (under $500 of income), and it provided documentation explaining why an amendment might not be necessary in my specific case according to IRS guidelines about "de minimis" amounts. It also generated a letter I could keep for my records explaining the situation in case the IRS ever questioned it. Definitely took a load off my mind!

If you're still trying to reach the IRS about this issue, good luck with that! I spent 3+ weeks trying to get through to a human at the IRS about a similar late form situation. After wasting hours on hold and getting disconnected multiple times, I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - but basically they navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when they get a human on the line. The agent I spoke with confirmed that while companies can be penalized for late 1099s, I still needed to report the income and file an amendment. The IRS person also explained how to request penalty abatement based on receiving the forms late, which saved me about $120 in penalties!

I need to eat my words from my previous comment. I was so skeptical about Claimyr that I decided to try it myself just to prove it wouldn't work. Well, I was completely wrong. After trying for almost a week to get through to the IRS myself (kept getting the "call volume too high, try again later" message), Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about 45 minutes. I didn't have to listen to a single minute of hold music - they just called me when they had an agent on the line. The IRS agent told me that yes, companies can be penalized for late 1099s, but it usually has to be a pattern of behavior or deliberate non-compliance. For a one-time late form, they might just get a warning. She also walked me through exactly how to file my amendment and what documentation to include to explain the situation. Even if nothing happens to the company that sent you the late form, at least you'll have your own taxes sorted correctly.

This happened to me last year. I ended up having to file an amended return, but I also sent a complaint to the IRS through Form 3949-A. I never heard anything back about the complaint, but it felt good to at least report it. One thing to consider - if the amount on the 1099-DIV is small (under $50-100), you might not need to amend. The IRS has a threshold for amendments, though they don't publish the exact amount. I've heard CPAs say that small amounts sometimes aren't worth the hassle.

Has anyone ever had any luck getting a company to pay for the cost of filing an amended return? It seems unfair that their mistake becomes our problem and expense!