Need help printing to your 1099s or W-2s? Once you have your IRS-provided forms, all you have to do is line up your numbers with the boxes. Back during the age of the typewriter, that was easy. With a printer it’s a different story. You can end up pulling your hair out trying to line them up right – unless you have a template. You’d think such templates would be all over the Web. Surprisingly they aren’t.
So we created the 1099-NEC, -MISC, -INT, -DIV, and the W-2 templates for Word. Simply key in (or copy and paste) the numbers into the appropriate boxes, and you’re about ready to print.
See below for a screenshot.
The IRS carbon-paper packets of 1099 or W-2 forms each contain multiple sheets. Tear off the perforated edge, insert the sheets into your printer, and print. (The IRS in most cases requires you to use their carbon-paper forms and will not accept self-printed forms. You can order them free by clicking here or calling 1-800-TAX-FORM. They may be available free of charge at your local library, and for a fee at Staples and Office Depot.)
To order one or more templates, click the link(s) at right. Upon checkout you’ll be taken to a download page. You’ll receive an e-mail with the download links as well. Included will be a 1096 or W-3 template at no extra charge.
NOTE THAT THESE ARE NOT THE ACTUAL IRS FORMS; THEY ARE ONLY THE TEMPLATES TO HELP YOU PRINT ONTO THE FORMS.
You can perform a DATA MERGE with the template. If you have several recipients and don’t want to copy and paste for each one, you can merge the data from your spreadsheet using Word’s Mail Merge toolbar, and thus create a document containing multiple unique pages.
The templates are for the 2022 forms, and they may work for previous-year forms as well.
NOTE: We have not tested the templates with Word/Office 365; based on users’ experience, they are not compatible with that version of Word. Regarding other versions of Word, while the templates have worked fine for the vast majority of past customers, a few have experienced alignment and/or layout problems due to the characteristics of their printer, their operating system, version of Word – particularly older versions – or other factors. Therefore before printing to the actual tax forms, it is IMPORTANT TO PRINT A TEST PAGE by printing to a blank sheet and overlaying it onto the form in order to ensure proper alignment. If you do experience problems, contact us.
If issues arise, please request our alternative template.
Below is a partial screenshot of what you’ll receive. It’s a one-page Microsoft Word document with gridlines overlaid on a background picture of the tax form. The background or gridlines do not print – only your data does.