Businesses are subject to a number of reporting requirements, including the following:

Form W-2: A business must complete and file Forms W-2, Wage, and Tax Statement, showing the wages paid and taxes withheld for the year for each employee. A copy of the W-2 must be given to each current and former employee who received taxable wages or salaries during the year by no later than January 31 of the following year.

Form W-9: A taxpayer uses this form to provide his correct taxpayer identification number (TIN) to any individual or entity who is required to file an information return with the IRS.

Form 1099-MISC: A business must report nonemployee compensation paid during the year to certain independent contractors that provided services by providing a Form 1099-MISC by January 31 of the following year. Examples of amounts paid that businesses are required to report on Form 1099-MISC include commissions fees, attorney fees and other compensation paid to a single individual taxpayer when the total amount is $600 or more during the year.

Form 1099-INT: A business that is not in a line of business that pays interest as part of its regular activities (such as a bank) must generally report interest paid to any single individual taxpayer when the total is $600 or more for the year. For banks and similar institutions, the reporting requirement threshold is $10 or more per year.

Form W-4: When a business hires an employee, it must have the employee complete a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

Form W-4 tells the employer the employee’s marital status, the number of withholding allowances the employee is claiming, and any additional amount to use when deducting federal income tax from the employee’s pay. If an employee fails to complete a Form W-4, the employer must withhold federal income taxes from his wages as if he were single and claiming no withholding allowance.

Form 8300: When a business receives a cash payment of more than $10,000 from one transaction (or two or more related transactions), it must file Form 8300, Report of Cash Payment Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business within 15 days after they receive the cash. This type of transaction is also called a “designated reporting transaction”.

A business must also provide a written statement to each person or customer named on any Form 8300 that is filed. The statement must be provided to the customer no later than January 31 of the following year.