When you mail paper 1099-MISC forms to the IRS, Form 1096 is the cover sheet that goes on top of the stack. It tells the IRS how many 1099-MISC forms are in the envelope and the total dollar amount reported across them. One 1096 covers one type of return, so your 1099-MISC forms travel under their own 1096 and nothing else rides along.
You only need Form 1096 if you’re filing on paper, and paper filing is now limited to filers submitting fewer than 10 information returns for the year in total. That count is aggregated across almost all return types, so six 1099-MISC forms plus four 1099-NEC forms hits 10 and forces electronic filing.1Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 801, Who Must File Information Returns Electronically If you e-file, there is no 1096 at all. The form also never goes to your payment recipients — it accompanies Copy A to the IRS only.
Get the Official Red-Ink Form First
Don’t print Form 1096 off the IRS website. The IRS scans paper returns using equipment calibrated for the official red-ink Copy A, and a black-and-white version downloaded from irs.gov won’t scan. Submitting a home-printed 1096 can result in penalties because the IRS treats an unscannable return as not filed.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
Order official forms free through the IRS online ordering system, which caps each order at 10 information returns.3Internal Revenue Service. Order Paper Information Returns and Employer Returns Order early. Demand runs high at the start of filing season, and the IRS may hold your whole order until every item is in stock. Some IRS offices, libraries, post offices, and tax supply vendors also stock the scannable version.
Filling Out Form 1096 for a 1099-MISC Stack
The form is a single page. There’s a filer identification section at the top and six numbered boxes below it.
Your Name, Address, and Tax ID
Enter your legal name and address exactly as they appear on the 1099-MISC forms you’re transmitting. Mismatches between the 1096 and the attached returns — especially in the taxpayer identification number — stall processing.
Put your tax ID in either Box 1 or Box 2, never both. Businesses with an EIN use Box 1. Individuals not operating a trade or business use Box 2 for their Social Security number, and sole proprietors without an EIN also use Box 2.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
Fill in a contact person, email, phone, and fax so the IRS can reach someone if a question comes up.
Check the 1099-MISC Box in Box 6
Box 6 is a row of checkboxes listing every return type Form 1096 can transmit. Check the “1099-MISC” box and leave the rest blank.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns Only one box may be marked per 1096. If you also have 1099-NEC forms to send, prepare a completely separate 1096 for that stack. Marking two boxes on one form invalidates the submission.
Box 3: The Number of Forms
Enter the count of completed Copy A 1099-MISC forms in the envelope. Don’t count voided forms, blank forms, or the 1096 itself. Sending 37 forms? Enter 37.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
Box 4: Federal Tax Withheld
If you did backup withholding on any payments reported on the attached 1099-MISC forms, enter the total withheld here. Most filers enter zero.
Box 5: The Dollar Total
Add up the reportable amounts from every 1099-MISC in the stack and enter the sum in dollars and cents with a decimal point. No dollar signs, no commas.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns This is where most errors happen. Recheck the arithmetic before you seal the envelope, because a mismatch between the count in Box 3 and the total in Box 5 will send your package into review.
Where to Mail It
Put the 1096 on top of the Copy A 1099-MISC forms and mail the package to the IRS processing center for your state. There are two:
- Austin, TX 78714-9213 (P.O. Box 149213): serves filers in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Connecticut, among others, plus filers outside the United States.
- Kansas City, MO 64121-9256 (P.O. Box 219256): serves filers in 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, and Wyoming, among others.
The complete state-by-state assignment is in the Form 1096 instructions.2Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 – Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns Sending to the wrong center delays processing.
The Deadline and How to Extend It
Paper Form 1099-MISC with its Form 1096 is due February 28.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 – General Instructions for Certain Information Returns If February 28 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. The submission is timely if it’s properly addressed, postmarked, and mailed by the due date.
Need more time? File Form 8809 before February 28 for an automatic 30-day extension. You can submit it electronically through FIRE or on paper.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
One boundary to note: Form 1099-NEC has a January 31 deadline and no automatic extension, so if you’re also filing 1099-NEC forms, that stack goes out earlier under its own 1096.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 – General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
After you send Copy A to the IRS, deliver Copy B to each recipient and keep Copy C. The IRS expects you to retain copies of information returns and related records for at least four years.
Correcting a 1099-MISC You Already Sent
If you find an error on a 1099-MISC that’s already gone to the IRS, file a corrected version and transmit it under a new Form 1096. Check the CORRECTED box at the top of the new 1099-MISC. Enter the count of corrected forms in Box 3 of the 1096 and their dollar total in Box 5.
How you correct depends on the type of error. For wrong dollar amounts or wrong reporting codes (a Type 1 correction), prepare a single new 1099-MISC with the right figures, mark it CORRECTED, and send it under a fresh 1096.
For a wrong recipient name or wrong taxpayer identification number (a Type 2 correction), you need two forms. File a first 1099-MISC that zeros out the erroneous original, then file a second 1099-MISC with the correct recipient information. Both go under a single Form 1096. The IRS needs to remove the bad record before it can add the right one.
What Late or Wrong Filings Cost
Penalties apply per 1099-MISC form, not per 1096. For returns due in 2026, the per-form amounts are:6Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
- Filed within 30 days of the deadline: $60
- More than 30 days late through August 1: $130
- Filed after August 1, or not filed at all: $340
- Intentional disregard: $680, with no annual maximum
Annual caps apply to the first three tiers, and lower caps apply to small businesses averaging $5 million or less in gross receipts.6Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties A home-printed, non-scannable form counts as not filed, so the penalty clock keeps running until an official version reaches the IRS. Filing early enough to catch mistakes is the cheapest protection.