How to Order IRS Form 1096: Vendors, Deadlines, and Mailing

To get official paper copies of IRS Form 1096, order them directly from the IRS through its online ordering page for paper information returns, or buy genuine Copy A forms from an approved third-party vendor such as an office supply retailer or tax software provider. The version of Form 1096 posted as a PDF on IRS.gov is for reference only. The real form is printed on special scannable paper in red ink that IRS processing equipment can read, and a copy printed from your own printer will not scan.¹

Why You Can’t Print Form 1096 Yourself

The IRS warns directly on the downloadable PDF that filing a printed copy may trigger a penalty. The same restriction applies to Copy A of every information return Form 1096 transmits — the 1099 series, 1098 series, 5498, and W-2G. Anything that can’t be machine-scanned counts as an incorrect filing, and incorrect filings carry the same per-return penalties as late ones.¹

So the first step is getting your hands on the real thing.

Ordering Directly From the IRS

The IRS runs a free online ordering page for paper information returns and employer returns. You pick the forms you need, enter a shipping address, and the IRS mails them to you at no charge.²

Give yourself time. The IRS estimates delivery within 15 business days, and that window stretches during the January rush when every small filer in the country wants the same forms. If the current tax year’s forms aren’t yet available when you place your order, the IRS may hold the entire order until they are, which can push your delivery well past three weeks.²

Order Form 1096 together with the Copy A information returns you plan to send. Each Form 1096 can only cover one type of return, so if you’re filing both 1099-NEC and 1099-DIV, request at least two 1096 cover sheets.

Buying From an Approved Vendor

If you can’t wait for an IRS shipment, office supply retailers and tax software providers sell the official forms. Confirm before you buy that the pack contains genuine Copy A forms designed for IRS submission. Preprinted packets usually bundle the red-ink Copy A, the payer and recipient copies, and a matching Form 1096. A pack that only includes copies labeled for payer or recipient use won’t help you — those aren’t scannable Copy A versions, and submitting them is treated the same as submitting a printout from the website.

Check Whether You Need Paper at All

Before placing an order, confirm you’re actually allowed to file on paper. For returns filed on or after January 1, 2024, anyone submitting 10 or more information returns during the year must file electronically. The threshold aggregates every information return type together: four Forms 1098 and six Forms 1099-A add up to 10, and all of them have to go through electronic channels.³ Electronic filers don’t use Form 1096 at all; the transmittal data is built into the e-file submission.

If you file 10 or more returns on paper without an approved waiver, the penalty runs up to $340 per return for the returns above the threshold.³ You can request a hardship waiver on Form 8508 at least 45 days before the returns are due, and first-time waiver requests are automatically granted.⁴

If you’re under 10 returns, paper filing with Form 1096 is still fine.

Using the Forms Once They Arrive

Form 1096 is short. Enter your business name, address, and contact information, then either your Employer Identification Number or your Social Security Number — not both. Sole proprietors and nominees without an EIN use their SSN; everyone else uses the EIN.³

Three summary boxes capture the batch: the total number of returns attached, the total dollar amount reported across those returns, and total federal income tax withheld in Box 4 (often zero for forms like 1099-NEC). Check the box identifying which type of return is in the batch. If you’re sending more than one type, prepare a separate Form 1096 for each — mixing types under one cover sheet is one of the most common filing errors the IRS catches.⁵

Someone authorized must sign. For a corporation that’s an officer; for a partnership, a partner; for a sole proprietorship, the owner; for an estate or trust, the fiduciary. An authorized representative can sign on behalf of any of these.⁶

Mailing the Batch

Place Form 1096 on top of the stack of Copy A returns it covers. Don’t staple, tape, or paper-clip anything together. The IRS scans the pages, and bindings jam the equipment.⁵

Where you mail the envelope depends on your principal business location:⁷

Austin, TX processing center (P.O. Box 149213, Austin, TX 78714): 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 filers located outside the United States.
Kansas City, MO processing center (P.O. Box 219256, Kansas City, MO 64121-9256): 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 processing center (Ogden, UT 84201): California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia.

Certified mail through USPS gives you proof of timely filing. So does an IRS-designated private delivery service, but only specific service levels from DHL Express, FedEx, and UPS qualify. Standard ground shipping doesn’t count.⁸

Deadlines to Order Against

Set your order timing against the filing deadline for whatever information returns you’re sending. Form 1096 is due on the same date as the returns it transmits:⁹

Form 1099-NEC (nonemployee compensation): January 31, whether paper or electronic. For 2026 the deadline shifts to February 2 because January 31 falls on a Saturday.
Most other information returns (1099-MISC, 1098, and similar): February 28 for paper filers, March 31 for electronic.
Form 5498 (IRA contributions): June 1, 2026, because May 31 falls on a Sunday.

Working backward from a January 31 deadline, a 15-business-day shipping window means ordering in the first week of January at the latest, and earlier is safer. Missing the deadline triggers per-return penalties immediately, starting at $60 per return within 30 days and climbing to $340 after August 1.¹⁰ The cost of a late order is the same as the cost of a late filing.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. Order Paper Information Returns and Employer Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Application for a Waiver from Electronic Filing of Information Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. 2025 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
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Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Form 1096
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Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties