Certain Government Payments

2018

Instructions for Form 1099-G

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Certain Government Payments
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to
Form 1099-G and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/
Form1099G.

What’s New
On-line pdf fillable Copies 1, B, 2, and C. To ease
statement furnishing requirements, Copies 1, B, 2, and C
have been made fillable on-line in a pdf format available at
www.IRS.gov/Form1099G. You can complete these
copies on-line for furnishing statements to recipients and
for retaining in your own files.

Reminder

In addition to these specific instructions, you should also
use the 2018 General Instructions for Certain Information
Returns. Those general instructions include information
about the following topics.
Who must file (nominee/middleman).
When and where to file.
Electronic reporting requirements.
Corrected and void returns.
Statements to recipients.
Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs).
Backup withholding.
Penalties.
Other general topics.
You can get the general instructions from General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns at
www.irs.gov/uac/About-Form1099 or go to www.irs.gov/
Form1099G.

Specific Instructions

File Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments, if, as a
unit of a federal, state, or local government, you made
payments of unemployment compensation; state or local
income tax refunds, credits, or offsets; reemployment
trade adjustment assistance (RTAA) payments; taxable
grants; or agricultural payments. You must also file this
form if you received payments on a Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC) loan. The officer or employee of the
government unit having control of the payments, received
or made, (or the designated officer or employee) must file
Form 1099-G.
Certain amounts that are not reportable on Form
1099-G, such as compensation for services, prizes, and
certain incentives, may be reportable on Form
1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income. See the Instructions
for Form 1099-MISC for more information.
Aug 15, 2017

Statements to Recipients

If you are required to file Form 1099-G, you must furnish
the same information to the recipient. Furnish a copy of
Form 1099-G or an acceptable substitute statement to
each recipient, except as explained later under Box 2.
State or Local Income Tax Refunds, Credits, or Offsets.
Also, see part M in the 2018 General Instructions for
Certain Information Returns.

Truncating recipient’s TIN on payee statements.
Pursuant to Treasury Regulations section 301.6109-4, all
filers of this form may truncate a recipient’s TIN (social
security number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification
number (ITIN), adoption taxpayer identification number
(ATIN), or employer identification number (EIN)) on payee
statements. Truncation is not allowed on any documents
the filer files with the IRS. A payer's TIN may not be
truncated on any form. See part J in the 2018 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Account Number

The account number is required if you have multiple
accounts for a recipient for whom you are filing more than
one Form 1099-G. Additionally, the IRS encourages you
to designate an account number for all Forms 1099-G that
you file. See part L in the 2018 General Instructions for
Certain Information Returns.

Box 1. Unemployment Compensation

Enter payments of $10 or more in unemployment
compensation including Railroad Retirement Board
payments for unemployment. If you make payments from
a contributory program that has been deemed to be in the
nature of unemployment compensation, such as
California's Family Temporary Disability Insurance
payments or governmental paid family leave program
payments, file a separate Form 1099-G for payments from
each contributory program. Enter the total amount before
any income tax was withheld. If you withhold federal
income tax at the request of the recipient, enter it in box 4.

Box 2. State or Local Income Tax Refunds,
Credits, or Offsets

Enter refunds, credits, or offsets of state or local income
tax of $10 or more you made to recipients. These include
most state tax credits and incentive payments that are
paid under an existing state tax law and administered by
the state taxing agency. Film maker incentive credits,
home improvement credits paid in low income areas, and
solar panel installation credits are some types of state
programs which are generally reportable in box 2 if paid
by the state taxing agency.
Do not enter in box 2 payments that are not state
income tax refunds, credits, or offsets. This may include
payments made under state grant, incentive, subsidy, or

Cat. No. 27979M

Box 6. Taxable Grants

other individual assistance programs. Taxable grants are
reported in box 6; see the instructions below. If recipients
deducted the tax paid to a state or local government on
their federal income tax returns, any refunds, credits, or
offsets may be taxable to them. You are not required to
furnish a copy of Form 1099-G or a substitute statement to
the recipient if you can determine that the recipient did not
claim itemized deductions on the recipient's federal
income tax return for the tax year giving rise to the refund,
credit, or offset. However, you must file Form 1099-G with
the IRS in all cases.

Enter any amount of a taxable grant administered by a
federal, state, or local program to provide subsidized
energy financing or grants for projects designed to
conserve or produce energy, but only with respect to
energy property or a dwelling unit located in the United
States. Also, enter any amount of a taxable grant
administered by an Indian tribal government.
Report amounts of other taxable grants of $600 or
more. State and local grants are ordinarily taxable for
federal income purposes unless it can be determined that
they are excludable. A federal grant is ordinarily taxable
unless stated otherwise in the legislation authorizing the
grant. Do not report scholarship or fellowship grants. See
Scholarships in the Instructions for Form 1099-MISC.

A tax on dividends, a tax on net gains from the sale or
exchange of a capital asset, and a tax on the net taxable
income of an unincorporated business are taxes on gain
or profit rather than on gross receipts. Therefore, they are
income taxes, and any refund, credit, or offset of $10 or
more of these taxes is reportable on Form 1099-G. In the
case of the dividends tax and the capital gains tax, if you
determine that the recipient did not itemize deductions, as
explained above, you are not required to furnish a Form
1099-G or substitute statement to the recipient. However,
in the case of the tax on unincorporated businesses, you
must furnish a Form 1099-G or substitute statement to the
recipient in all cases, as this is a tax that applies
exclusively to income from a trade or business. See Box
8. Trade or Business Income (Checkbox), later, and Rev.
Rul. 86-140, 1986-2 C.B. 195.

Box 7. Agriculture Payments

Enter USDA agricultural subsidy payments made during
the year. If you are a nominee that received subsidy
payments for another person, file Form 1099-G to report
the actual owner of the payments and report the amount
of the payments in box 7.

Box 8. Trade or Business Income (Checkbox)

If the amount in box 2 is a refund, credit, or offset
attributable to an income tax that applies exclusively to
income from a trade or business and is not a tax of
general application, enter an “X” in this box.

If you pay interest of $600 or more on the refund, you
must file Form 1099-INT, Interest Income, and furnish a
statement to the recipient. For interest payments of less
than $600, you may choose to enter the amount with an
appropriate designation such as “Interest Income” in the
blank box on Copy B of the Form 1099-G.

Box 9. Market Gain

Report market gain associated with the repayment of a
CCC loan whether repaid using cash or CCC certificates.

Boxes 10a Through 11. State Information

These boxes may be used by filers who participate in the
Combined Federal/State Filing Program and/or who are
required to file paper copies of this form with a state tax
department. See Pub. 1220 for more information
regarding the Combined Federal/State Filing Program.
They are provided for your convenience only and need
not be completed for the IRS. Use the state information
boxes to report payments for up to two states. Keep the
information for each state separated by the dash line. If
you withheld state income tax on this payment, you may
enter it in box 11. In box 10a, enter the abbreviated name
of the state. In box 10b, enter the filer's state identification
number. The state number is the filer's identification
number assigned by the individual state. In box 11, enter
the amount of any state income tax withheld.

Box 3. Box 2 Amount Is For Tax Year

No entry is required in box 3 if the refund, credit, or offset
is for the 2017 tax year. If it is for any other tax year, enter
the year for which the refund, credit, or offset was made.
Also, if the refunds, credits, or offsets are for more than 1
tax year, report the amount for each year on a separate
Form 1099-G. Use the format “YYYY” to make the entry in
this box. For example, enter “2016”, not “ '16.”

Box 4. Federal Income Tax Withheld
Backup withholding. Enter backup withholding at a
28% rate on payments required to be reported in box 6 or
7 if a recipient does not furnish its TIN to you or if you are
notified to backup withhold on a Notice CP2100. For
example, if a recipient does not furnish its TIN to you, you
must backup withhold.

If a state tax department requires that you send them a
paper copy of this form, use Copy 1 to provide information
to the state tax department. Give Copy 2 to the recipient
for use in filing the recipient's state income tax return.

Voluntary withholding. Enter any voluntary federal
withholding on unemployment compensation, CCC loans,
and certain crop disaster payments. If you withhold state
income tax, see Boxes 10a Through Box 11. State
Information, later. However, you are not required to report
state withholding to the IRS.

Box 5. RTAA Payments

Enter RTAA payments of $600 or more that you paid to
eligible individuals under the Reemployment Trade
Adjustment Assistance program.
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Instructions for Form 1099-G (2018)