Dealership Tax Forms and Year-End Reporting
Three questions decide what you order: who gets what form, whether you are allowed to file on paper, and when each deadline falls. Work through them in that order.
1. Who Gets Which Form
Employees get a W-2. Anyone on your payroll: salespeople, advisors, technicians, office staff.
Non-employees get a 1099. Contractors, vendors, landlords and other payees who are not on payroll.
Getting this wrong is worse than a paperwork error, because worker classification carries its own consequences. If you are unsure whether a detailer, porter or mobile technician is an employee or a contractor, settle it with your accountant before filing rather than after.
Within the 1099s, payments for services go on the 1099-NEC, which covers most dealership contractors. The 1099-MISC covers rent, attorney gross proceeds, and prizes and awards, which catches out dealerships running promotional giveaways.
2. Check Whether You Can Still File on Paper
This is the question most dealerships do not think to ask. If you file 10 or more information returns in total, electronic filing is mandatory.
The threshold aggregates across form types. Your W-2s and your 1099s count together, so eight employees and three contractors puts you at eleven returns and over the line, even though neither number looks large on its own.
A waiver can be requested on IRS Form 8508. Confirm your position with your accountant, since the obligation is yours to determine.
You will still need kits. Employees and recipients must be furnished their copies, and unless they have consented to electronic delivery those go out on paper. What changes is that the Copy A and transmittal portions are not what you send to the agency.
3. Know Which Deadline Applies
They are not all the same, and assuming they are is a common and expensive mistake.
- W-2: 31 January to employees and to the Social Security Administration. Note that W-2s go to the SSA, not the IRS.
- 1099-NEC: 31 January to recipients and to the IRS, whether you file on paper or electronically. There is no later date for e-filing.
- 1099-MISC: 31 January to recipients, but to the IRS by 28 February on paper or 31 March electronically.
The trap is applying the March date to your NECs. Treat NEC as a January job. Where a deadline falls on a weekend, it moves to the next business day.
Choosing a W-2 Kit
All kits cover 25 employees with premium laser paper and double window envelopes. Choose by how many copies your state and locality require: 4-part for federal, 6-part adding state and local, 8-part adding city copies.
One thing worth checking before you order the 4-part: it does not include W-3 transmittal forms, while the 6-part and 8-part do. If you are paper filing, W-3 forms bought separately cost more than the gap between the 4-part and 6-part kits. Unless you specifically need only four copies and already hold W-3 stock, the 6-part works out cheaper and more complete.
Choosing a 1099 Kit
The NEC kit covers up to 30 recipients and the MISC kit up to 20, so work from your actual counts per form type rather than buying one of each.
Form 1096 accompanies paper 1099 filings, and you need a separate one for each form type. If you file both NEC and MISC on paper, that is two 1096s.
Order in Autumn, Not January
Tax forms sell fastest in the weeks you most need them. Ordering in October or November costs nothing extra and removes the risk entirely.
Two counting rules that save trouble. For W-2s, count everyone you employed at any point during the year, not your current headcount, because leavers still need forms. For 1099s, collect W-9s from contractors before their first payment rather than chasing details in late January. Then add margin for misfeeds, because a jammed sheet is a form you cannot use.
If you are reading this close to a deadline, call us rather than ordering online and hoping. We will tell you honestly what can reach you in time.
Browse Tax Forms
W-2 kits and W-3 transmittal, 1099 kits and 1096 transmittal, or shop all tax forms.
Related Supplies
For the payroll records behind the numbers, see work and employee time cards and employment forms and supplies, including labour law posters. For the ledger side, see car dealership accounting forms and journal voucher forms for year-end adjustments.
See also custom printed envelopes and checks and all auto dealer office supplies.
