W-2s and 1099s are due Monday 1 February 2027: the restaurant owner's January filing calendar

File 32 W-2s and 6 contractor 1099s and hand out the copies 37 days late, and the penalties come to $9,880 at the rates for forms due in 2027. Payroll dates are the easy part of January; the forms that follow are where restaurants get fined.

Because 31 January 2027 is a Sunday, the 2026 Forms W-2 (to staff and to the Social Security Administration), Forms 1099-NEC (to contractors and the IRS), Form 941 for the fourth quarter and Form 940 are all due Monday 1 February 2027. The 1099-NEC threshold is now $2,000, up from $600, for payments made after 2025. Form 8027 follows on 1 March. Last checked: 5 November 2026.

When are W-2s and 1099s due for 2026?

Here is the whole January to March calendar for a restaurant with employees. The dates come from the IRS employment tax due dates page (last reviewed 21 April 2026), the 2026 W-2 instructions, the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions (December 2026 revision), Publication 505 and the Form 8027 instructions. Where a due date falls on a weekend, the next business day applies.

Two notes on that calendar:

• The 10 February date is settled for Form 941, which lets timely depositors file later; for Form 940 it is our reading of the 2025 instructions. The Form 940 and 941 guide below shows the wording.
• The estimated tax payment can be skipped if you file your 2026 Form 1040 and pay the balance by 31 January 2027, according to Publication 505. Few restaurant owners have their numbers ready that early.

Forms 940 and 941 have their own guide: Form 940, Form 941 and FUTA. Form 8027 is in our tip reporting guide. If you are still weighing a December equipment purchase, our Section 179 guide covers the 31 December placed-in-service rule.

What changed on the forms for 2026?

Four things, and the first two catch restaurants:

1. New W-2 codes for tips and overtime. Box 12 code TP holds tips, box 14b holds tipped occupation codes, and box 12 code TT holds qualified overtime. See no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
2. The $2,000 threshold. The 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC boxes now start at $2,000 for payments made after 2025, "and may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027". Some top-ranking pages still say $600.
3. Higher penalties. For returns due after 31 December 2026, a late or wrong W-2 costs $60, $130 or $340 per form (below).
4. Electronic filing. If you file 10 or more information returns in total, counting W-2s and 1099s together, you must file them all electronically. 1099s go through the IRS's online system, IRIS; W-2s go to the SSA.

Who needs a 1099-NEC from a restaurant?

A person or partnership you paid $2,000 or more in 2026 for services, who is not your employee and not a corporation. Ask for a Form W-9 before the first payment, not in January. If someone will not give you a taxpayer ID, you must withhold 24% of later payments as backup withholding, according to IRS Publication 15.

The "freelance" line cook or server who works your shifts, on your schedule, under your manager, is the risk. Calling someone a contractor does not make them one, and the IRS looks at control and the relationship as a whole. If they work like staff, put them on payroll.

What does a late W-2 cost?

Per form, and twice: once for filing late with the SSA and again for giving the employee their copy late. From the 2026 W-2 instructions, for returns due after 31 December 2026:

A "small business" here has average gross receipts of $5 million or less over the last three years.

Worked example. A restaurant with 32 W-2s and 6 contractors files everything and hands out copies on 10 March 2027, 37 days late.

• W-2s: 32 forms × $130 for filing, plus 32 × $130 for furnishing late: $8,320.
• 1099-NECs: the same information return penalty schedule applies, so 6 × $130 twice: $1,560.
• Total: $9,880.

Filed by 3 March, inside 30 days, the same forms would cost 38 × $60 × 2, which is $4,560. On time, nothing. The IRS can waive penalties for reasonable cause, but a missed January is rarely that.

January filing checklist

Copy this and work through it in the first two weeks of January.

JANUARY 2027 FILING CHECKLIST: [RESTAURANT NAME]

By Fri 8 January
[ ] Final 2026 payroll run and December tips captured.
[ ] Every employee's name, SSN and address checked against
    their W-4 (no nicknames, no old addresses).
[ ] Tipped staff: code TP totals and box 14b occupation codes
    agreed with your payroll provider.
[ ] Non-exempt staff: code TT overtime figures checked by workweek.

By Mon 11 January
[ ] December tip reports received from every tipped employee.

By Fri 15 January
[ ] December deposit made (monthly depositors).
[ ] Fourth-quarter estimated tax paid, if you pay it.

By Fri 22 January
[ ] List of everyone paid $2,000+ for services in 2026, from
    your bank and accounting records, not memory.
[ ] W-9 on file for each one; corporations removed (except
    lawyers).
[ ] Landlord rent checked for a 1099-MISC.
[ ] Count W-2s + 1099s: 10 or more means file electronically.

By Mon 1 February
[ ] W-2s to staff (paper or electronic with their consent).
[ ] W-2s and W-3 filed with the SSA.
[ ] 1099-NECs to contractors and filed with the IRS.
[ ] Forms 941 and 940 filed (or by 10 February if every
    deposit was on time).

By Mon 1 March (paper) / Wed 31 March (electronic)
[ ] Form 8027, if you are a large tipped establishment.
[ ] 1099-MISC to the IRS.
[ ] ACA forms, if you have 50+ full-time equivalents.

State deadlines for wage reports and state copies differ, so add your state's dates to the list. This guide is general information, so check with your accountant for your situation.

Can TablePort handle this for you?

TablePort does not prepare W-2s or 1099s. It gives your payroll provider and accountant the hours and totals those forms are built from.

1. Staff clock in on the till with a PIN, and clock-ins are matched to the schedule. Approve each week's timesheets and export the hours as a CSV or in a format ready for Xero.
2. At close, cash, voids, comps and tips reconcile on one screen, and the daily report shows tips per staff member, so the totals behind code TP start from a checked number.
3. Use the accounting exports, or the Xero and QuickBooks sync, to give your accountant daily sales, tips and tax for the year.

One honest limit: your payroll provider files W-2s and your accountant files 1099s; TablePort keeps the records they start from. See the staff rota page.