To void a 1099, check the “VOID” box at the top of the form before you send it to the IRS, then discard that copy and prepare a clean replacement. The VOID box only works on forms that have not yet been submitted. Once the IRS has received a 1099, you cannot void it; you have to file a corrected return instead, and the exact procedure depends on what was wrong with the original.
What the VOID Box Actually Does
Every paper Form 1099 has two checkboxes at the top: VOID and CORRECTED. They look similar and sit next to each other, but they do opposite things.
The VOID box is a pre-submission cancellation. If you filled out a form, caught a mistake, and have not yet mailed it or uploaded it, marking VOID tells anyone handling the paperwork that this copy is dead. A voided form never reaches the IRS, so there is no filing in IRS records to undo. You throw it away and start over.
The CORRECTED box is for forms the IRS already has. Checking it signals that the new form supersedes a previously submitted return. If your 1099 is already in the IRS’s hands, the VOID box does nothing for you. Marking VOID on a form you already submitted will not remove it from IRS records, will not stop a matching notice to the recipient, and will not undo any penalty exposure. The only way to fix an already-filed 1099 is a corrected return.
Voiding a 1099 Before Submission
The process is simple. On the form you want to kill, check the VOID box at the top. Set that copy aside or shred it. Prepare a fresh 1099 with the correct information and leave both the VOID and CORRECTED boxes unchecked, because this new form is an original filing, not a correction.
If you are filing on paper, do not send the voided copy to the IRS with your Form 1096 transmittal. Only the clean replacement goes in. If you are using software or an electronic filer, delete the bad entry and re-enter the correct one before you transmit the batch.
If the 1099 Was Already Filed, You Correct Instead
Once a 1099 has been accepted by the IRS, voiding is off the table. You file a corrected return, and the IRS recognizes two kinds depending on what went wrong.
Type 1: Dollar-Amount Errors, Codes, or Checkboxes
A Type 1 correction covers wrong dollar amounts, incorrect codes, or a wrong checkbox selection, as long as the recipient’s name, TIN, and the form type are all correct. It takes a single replacement form.
Prepare a new copy of the same form (for example, 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC). Check the CORRECTED box. Copy over the payer and recipient information exactly as it appeared on the original, then enter the correct dollar amounts. Only the right figures go on this form; the corrected return fully replaces the original in IRS records.
Type 1 is also how you “cancel” a 1099 that should never have been filed in the first place. Prepare a corrected form with the original recipient information and put zero in every dollar-amount box. That single zeroed-out form tells the IRS to disregard the original filing. This is the closest thing to voiding an already-submitted return.
Type 2: Wrong Name, TIN, or Form Type
A Type 2 correction applies when the payee’s name is wrong, the payee’s TIN is wrong, or you filed the wrong type of 1099 entirely (say, a 1099-DIV when it should have been a 1099-INT). This takes two forms because the IRS has to cancel the original record and build a new one under different identifying information.
The first form cancels the bad filing. Prepare a new 1099 with the CORRECTED box checked. Enter the payer, recipient, and account information exactly as they appeared on the incorrect original, and put zero in every dollar-amount box.
The second form is the real one. Prepare another new 1099 with the correct recipient name, TIN, and dollar amounts. Do not check the CORRECTED box on this form. The IRS treats it as a brand-new original return. If the error was the form type, this second form should be whichever 1099 variant was actually appropriate.
A common mistake: checking CORRECTED on both forms. Only the cancellation form gets that box. The replacement is filed as an original.
How to Submit the Correction
On Paper
Paper corrections go to the IRS with a Form 1096 transmittal. You can group originals and corrections of the same form type on one 1096. For Type 2 corrections, write one of these phrases in the bottom margin of the 1096: “Filed To Correct TIN,” “Filed To Correct Name,” or “Filed To Correct Return.” Do not include a copy of the original incorrect return. The correct mailing address depends on your principal business location and is listed in the Form 1096 instructions.
Electronically
If you file ten or more information returns of any type during a calendar year, the IRS requires electronic filing. That threshold counts every information return across all form types, including W-2s.
The Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) is a free IRS portal that handles both originals and corrections. You can key data in manually or upload a CSV file, up to 100 returns per batch through the portal. Higher volumes can use the Application-to-Application channel, which accepts files up to 100 MB. IRIS requires its own five-digit Transmitter Control Code, separate from any FIRE system TCC you already have. One rule to watch: the vendor or account that filed the original return is the one that has to submit the correction. If you switched e-filing services, the new vendor will need the original submission ID from whoever filed the first return.
The older Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system still works, but the IRS has announced that tax year 2026 (filing season 2027) is the targeted retirement date. IRIS will be the only electronic intake system after that. If you are still on FIRE, the IRS encourages applying for an IRIS TCC and transitioning now.
Deadlines and Penalties for Waiting
There is no separate deadline for corrected returns. The IRS says to file them “as soon as possible” after you discover the error. The sooner you file, the smaller the penalty and the lower the chance the recipient gets a matching notice.
Penalties under IRC 6721 scale with how long you wait. For returns required to be filed in 2026, the tiers are:
- Corrected within 30 days of the due date: $60 per form, up to a calendar-year maximum of $683,000 ($239,000 for small businesses with average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less).
- Corrected after 30 days but on or before August 1: $130 per form, up to $2,049,000 ($683,000 for small businesses).
- Corrected after August 1 or not corrected at all: $340 per form, up to $4,098,500 ($1,366,000 for small businesses).
- Intentional disregard: $680 per form or 10% of the amount that should have been reported, whichever is greater, with no annual cap.
These figures come from Rev. Proc. 2024-40, which adjusts the base amounts for inflation each year.
Not every dollar error triggers a penalty. If the difference between the reported and correct amount is $100 or less, the error qualifies as de minimis and no penalty applies. For tax withheld, the threshold is $25 or less. The recipient can elect out of this safe harbor by asking for a corrected form, but absent that request, small miscalculations will not cost you.
If you do get hit with a penalty, you can request a reasonable cause waiver by showing the error was not due to willful neglect. The IRS looks at whether you acted as a reasonably prudent business would: taking steps to file correctly, correcting promptly (generally within 30 days of discovery), and having a history of compliance. Being a first-time filer of the form type, relying on erroneous written IRS guidance, or losing records to events beyond your control all help. Simple carelessness does not.
Send the Corrected Copy to the Recipient and Keep Records
Filing with the IRS is half the job. The recipient also needs the corrected Copy B so they can file their own return accurately. When you issue a correction after the normal February recipient-copy deadline, the IRS instructs you to furnish the corrected copy as part of the correction process. Do not delay.
Keep every version of the paperwork: the original form, any corrected forms, and the Form 1096 transmittals. The standard IRS retention period is at least three years from the filing date, and employment tax records should be kept for four years. If income was underreported by more than 25% of gross income, the IRS can look back six years, so hold records longer when the correction involved significant dollar amounts.
Finally, check your state. Many states have their own information return requirements that mirror the federal process, and if you filed the original 1099 with a state agency, a separate state-level correction may also be required.