IRS update: How is the 1099 platform coming along?

There’s new information available for your finance team about the forthcoming 1099 platform for preparing and filing returns.

The Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) recently released a new report on how the Service can improve its practices. And in one section, the ETAAC focused on IRS’s 1099 platform, slated to launch in 2023.

Overarching outlook

Last year, the ETAAC advised IRS to get input from key stakeholders on the 1099 platform, which the Service did. In fact, this year’s report commends IRS, saying it “has worked collaboratively with stakeholders.” This collaboration will still be vital going forward, especially “when adding features and developing the back-end administrative and compliance tools” that your finance team will use.

With these and all aspects of the 1099 platform, IRS should have a future-focused mindset, the ETAAC says. The Service must keep future modernization needs in mind when it comes to the platforms design, security components, etc. In other words, it should continue to adapt with the times and keep things easy and efficient for your team.

1099 platform accomplishments

In the report, the ETTAC also included an infographic of key developments for the platform to ensure its ready for your team by January 2023. Here’s a look for Finance on where things stand.

Firstly, the completed tasks include:

• Team formation: formed a team with representatives of impacted organizations at IRS
• Counsel input: talked with IRS Chief Counsel about the 1099 platform
• SSA system research: watched a demonstration of SSA’s service and had a follow-up meeting
• Other agency system research: researched similar systems used in the U.S. and Canada
• External outreach: gathered input from external industry and practitioner groups, and
• System capabilities: validated and prioritized high-level business reqs.

Secondly, the in-progress tasks are:

• User interface development: partnering with IT to define priorities and system reqs, and provide feedback on wireframes, and
• Customer research: working with IT and Online Services to conduct customer research and usability testing.

Generally, this is all good news for your finance team. The ETAAC is pleased with IRS’s progress on the 1099 platform and wants to keep the momentum going.

We’ll keep you posted on further updates as we get closer to the 1099 platform’s 2023 rollout.