If you are like most Americans, you work for an employer that pays you a regular wage or salary.  When it comes around to tax time, they report your earnings to the IRS and give you a copy of the W-2.  That makes the bureaucratic nightmare that is tax time a lot easier for a lot of people.

However, if you are self-employed, have investments that earn interest or dividends, received money from the government or had other income that wasn't your normal wage or salary, you are going to need to get acquainted with the IRS 1099 form.

Calling it a "form" is actually something of a misnomer.  The 1099 is more of a series of documents, because there are a lot of different kinds:

1. Form 1099-DIV.  You will receive this form from the firm that manages your investments if you received any dividends or distributions from stocks or mutual funds.  Remember – this isn't capital gains, like you pay on the stocks you sell.  This is taxes on money you've received from the company in which you own stock.  This can be quite an involved and complicated process, so don't hesitate to get professional help filing your taxes if you're unsure about anything.
2. Form 1099-INT.  Many Americans have savings accounts that pay them interest over time.  The interest payments get taxed by Uncle Sam, so you may see one of these forms show up in the mail from your bank.
3. Form 1099-G.  It's been a tough economy for a while, and a lot of folks are receiving unemployment benefits from the state.  When you receive a state income tax refund or government benefits, you will likely receive a 1099-G form from the state.  Remember that you only have to claim that tax refund if you claimed a deduction for it last year, however!
4. Form 1099-MISC.  If you are an independent contractor like a home builder or a freelance writer or designer, you will receive a Form 1099-MISC from every client that paid you $600 or more in the last year. 
5. Form 1099-R.  If you withdraw money from some kinds of retirement accounts, you have to pay taxes on it.  If this was the case for you this year, you will get a 1099-R that covers the amount you withdrew, as well as any other payments you got from various kinds of pension plans or other retirement instruments. 
6. Form 1099-C.  If a creditor cancels part of your debt to them, the IRS will treat that as income, and you will have to pay taxes on it.  If you have had any debt cancelled this year, you may receive a form 1099-C.

 

There are plenty of other 1099 forms, but these are the most common.  Don't forget that there have been a few revisions to tax law for 2013, so you'll want to get acquainted with those (especially if you had a foreclosure this year.)  You can check out more here. 

By law, you are required to receive all of your 1099 forms by January 31st so that you have plenty of time to pay Uncle Sam before the April 15th deadline.  You can make the entire process easy by using 1099 software like the kind you will find at 1099 Fire.