It’s ALMOST Tax Season
Every year, we get questions about tax forms from clients. By far the most common one is, “When will I get them?” The answer is: “not yet!”
And, in fact, the IRS won’t even start accepting tax returns until January 26th, and you do not get any extra refunds for trying to file early!
At Meridian, our clients’ custodian (aka holder of money) is Charles Schwab. Each year, they put out a helpful schedule of when tax forms are released. Most other custodians have a very similar schedule, but check with yours for the specific dates. Schwab’s is below:
Tax Form Production Schedule
| Available Online By | Mailing Begins | Tax Software Exportable | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 30 | January 30 | February 13 | |
| 2nd Production Run | February 13 | February 13 | February 13 |
| 3rd Production Run | February 27 | February 27 | February 27 |
Note: According to cost basis legislation, Schwab has until February 15 to send the initial Form 1099 Composite. Schwab, like most firms in our industry, files for an additional 30-day extension (until March 15). Schwab aims to release the Form 1099 Composite to all clients by February 15, but may miss the exact deadline to avoid the need to produce corrected 1099 forms
The fastest way to get your forms is online, and how you receive them will depend on your delivery settings. If you receive the forms electronically, Schwab sends out an email letting you know they are available (but you need to log-in to get them).
Lastly, sometimes there are corrections that need to be sent out. Usually, this is because a fund or other holding had an error in their reporting vs. it being the custodian’s fault. It is frustrating to wait for tax forms, but you do have to remember that it does take time to gather the data if you have an investment account with 30+ different holdings.
So, happy ALMOST tax season!