IRS Reporting Regulations (Form 1099-K) Frequently Asked Questions

Section 6050W of the 2008 Housing Assistance Act requires that all merchant acquiring entities report the gross amount of each merchant's payment card transactions on Form 1099-K to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

IRS regulations require that U.S. third-party settlement organizations and payment processors file Form 1099-K to report unadjusted annual gross sales information for merchants/sellers that meet both of the following thresholds in a calendar year: More than $20,000 in gross sales, and more than 200 transactions.

As required by IRS regulations, the $20,000 is calculated based on unadjusted gross sales (unadjusted for fees or refunds). The amount the buyer paid for an order is the gross sales amount for the order, even if a rebate applies or the order is later refunded. When you make a sale, the order total becomes a permanent part of your unadjusted gross sales for the year. Please seek advice from a tax professional to understand the appropriate adjustments when preparing your tax return.

Merchant acquiring entities – These are institutions responsible for settling payment card payments to its participating payees. Third-party settlement organizations – These are arrangements where participating payees have agreed to accept payment by having a third-party settlement organization transfer funds through its third-party network to the account of the participating payee. Electronic check transactions, American Express, Discover, etc.

The IRS has emphasized that individual cardholders are not impacted by this requirement, and none of the cardholder’s personal information will be shared with the IRS.

To ensure compliance with this law, Payment Management works with processing networks that participate in the IRS’ Name and Tax Identification Number (TIN) Matching program. The processing network will send important Tax Identification Information that they have on file to the IRS to obtain a “match." As long as the IRS confirms that the information the processing network has on file matches what the IRS has on file, you don’t need to take any further action. The processing network will notify you if their information for you does not match the IRS records.

If the information the processing network has on file does not match the IRS, please submit a signed W9 to us as soon as possible at fax number 609-924-6732 or email to support@paymentmgmt.com. Please be sure to reference your Merchant ID # and a contact number you can be reached at if we should have any questions.

Failure to update your records could result in the IRS imposing a 28% federal backup withholding on your settlement payments, as well as a $50 fine. More information regarding Section 6050W of the Housing Assistance Act can be found at www.IRS.gov.(http://www.IRS.gov)