No More 1099g From Nys

[BOB W]

NYS - 1099Gs
We have just been informed that NYS will not be mailing out 1099Gs to taxpayers this year. Instead, the information will be available via their Internet site. This is a major change and one that will directly impact many of our customers.

I have included NYS' statement as well as an an initial response from Communications.

As soon as we hear anything on this topic we will immediately share it with you.

http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pit/

Need to know the amount of your 2008 New York State tax refund? We are no longer mailing Form 1099-G, Statement for recipients of State Income Tax Refunds. Get your 1099-G information online starting in mid-January.


Ross S. Kass CPA
Tax Liaison Chair
(631) 271-8000 x211

[DonPriebe]

Maybe yes, maybe no

We have just been informed that NYS will not be mailing out 1099Gs to taxpayers this year. Instead, the information will be available via their Internet site. This is a major change and one that will directly impact many of our customers.

This information was in a presentation made earlier this year by the NY representative to our tax preparers' group. However the NY web page on the 1099-G, which was updated on December 17, 2009, still indicates that they WILL be sending out the 1099-Gs. http://tax.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/tax....hp?p_faqid=328

By the way, there is nothing in the Federal instructions for the 1099-G that would allow NY to not send out the forms to the taxpayers, except for the clause permitting them to omit furnishing the form to taxpayers who did not itemize on the federal return for the previous year.

Out of state preparers may not appreciate the problem caused by the lack of 1099-G information. The NY 1099-G does NOT reflect the refund on the previous year's tax return. Instead, it only reflects only that portion of the refund due to over withholding or actual over payments. It does not reflect any portion of the refund due to refundable credits, of which NY has many (EIC, child tax credit, child care tax credit, non-custodial EIC, etc.) It also properly accounts for the adjustment to the refund caused by state sales tax liability which is reported on the income tax forms.

[Nashville]

Cyber Dodging

Many orgs and institutions are placing the onus on recipients to inquire from websites instead of incurring the printing and postal expense themselves. There will be no stopping this trend unless legislation is enacted to stop it.

States and large institutions are the worst at following IRS instructions, and for the most part they are sacrosanct from enforcement. Can you imagine the IRS going after the State of New York? Get real. For example, all W-2s are supposed to be issued by January 31, but most of my clients in the Army National Guard don't get theirs until the end of February.

However, if these 1099-Gs are not sent out, there WILL be underpayment of taxes. Many taxpayers are not going to go to the trouble to sort through a web page for the golden privelege of paying more taxes -- they instead will figure if they don't get a 1099-G, then they won't owe anything. And yes, the amounts reported are not actual refunds but instead include such things as offsets, amounts retained for future estimated payments, withholdings for child support, etc.

My estimation is that New York will re-think their position about the 1099-Gs, if they haven't already. Although they do not worry about IRS coming to get them, they still are very highly interdependent upon the IRS as far as detecting unreported income and audit changes. The cyber-bailout may eventually come, but it will have to be under different circumstances.

[Mike Mac]

MN 1099-G's

MN stopped sending out 1099-G's probably around 3 years ago. They have an area on their website where you can punch in the client's SSN to get the figure. The amount shown in the amount of the refund less any MN refundable credits so it is generally the amount that must be claimed back if the client itemized the prior year.

My first impression when they stopped sending them was similar to Bob W's first thoughts. In reality, I have that information already from my former clients and I ask new clients to bring in their prior year returns. In many cases clients would never bring along the state issued 1099-G anyhow. Very seldom do I have to look up the refund but when I do it is easy and efficient process in MN.

Mike