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If you received interest or dividend income, sold stock or worked as an independent contractor in 2005, you should receive some version of the IRS Form 1099 to help you in completing your tax return.

1099 forms are distributed to recipients by the end of January, just like W-2 statements. If you don`t receive an expected Form 1099 by the first week of February, contact the issuer. Perhaps the payer has an incomplete address for you. Alert the issuer of any changes and ask for a reissued statement.

Even if the issuer tells you it is in the mail, ask them to send a duplicate. If mid-February comes and goes without the arrival of either the original or duplicate statement, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 for help.

But you don`t have to sit and wait for the statement to file your return. You don`t have to send in the 1099 form with your return, they are only issued so you know how much to report. The issuer is responsible for sending copies to the IRS so they know what to look for on your tax returns. As long as you have the information, you can put it on the tax form without the statement.

The easiest way to get the correct data is to call the employer, bank or investment company and ask for you income information over the phone. In some cases, the amounts that would be on a 1099 are readily available from the paperwork you already have.

For example, your bank may include a summary of the interest paid during the year on your December or January statement. Many financial companies will give you the interest figure over customer service phone lines or Web sites. Most investment firms will include your Form 1099 cumulative amounts as part of your quarterly dividend statements.

If your 1099 does finally show up, don`t simply throw it away because you already have the information on your return. Check the form to make sure that all the numbers match up. If there is a discrepancy, you should call the issuer to reconcile the differences.

If the 1099 data is correct and what you filed isn`t, you will have to file an amended return. If you don`t, expect a letter or call from the IRS, because the agency will look at the 1099 as a way to review your return for accuracy.

Here is a list of various 1099 forms. Interest statements from different institutions may look different. The IRS isn`t concerned with the format of the 1099, just the income and tax information.

1099-B: Proceeds from broker and barter exchange transactions

1099-C: Amount of canceled debt

1099-G: Certain government and qualified state tuition program payments (including refunds of state income taxes)

1099-INT: Interest income

1099-LTC: Long-term care and accelerated death benefits

1099-MISC: Miscellaneous income

1099-OID: Original issue discount payments

1099-Q: Payments from qualified education programs (Section 529 and 530 plans and Coverdell account distributions)

1099-R: Distributions from pensions, annuities, retirement or profit-sharing plans, IRAs, insurance contracts, etc. This is an exception to the non-filing rule. You will need to send in a 1099-R with your return if the statement shows income tax was withheld.

1099-S: Real estate transaction proceeds

SSA-1099: Social Security benefits statement

RRB-1099: Railroad Retirement Board payments

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