greatstart - 2:41 am on Feb 8, 2007 (gmt 0)

The self-employed version of the W-2 form is the 1099. Any individual or company that pays you $600 or more in the previous year is required by law to report that payment, known in the tax world as miscellaneous income, via a 1099-MISC form. The form is to be sent to you and the Internal Revenue Service by Jan. 31.

Instead of sending us one copy of the 1099 form and the other copy to the IRS, I think they sent out both copies by mistake to us. If this is really the case, then the IRS doesn't have any record of it. I believe it's best to call the IRS BEFORE you file this year. Otherwise, it could be a very costly error!