I work for a number of Attorneys as an independent investigator. I receive a number of 1099's and the balance of the income (smaller amounts) I file under "misc." A CPA prepares my taxes and I have filed for 2008.

About 3 years ago one of the Attorneys who had not sent me a 1099 sent me the form in April, long after my husband and I had filed. I had to provide proof to both IRS and NY that I had claimed the income as "misc," and we ended up filing amended returns (obviously not changing the tax picture in any way) to end the matter, a cost which came out of our pockets. My husband was very ill and the process took a lot of time and energy which we did not have.

Yesterday I received a 1099 from the SAME Attorney, mailed March 2nd. His wife, who is neither a bookkeeper nor an Accountant, somehow doubled what I was actually paid so the 1099 is in an incorrect amount. The Attorney admits it is incorrect and is sending an amended 1099 to me and to IRS and, presumably, NY. However, here I go again with the added "double income" complication.

Does anyone know a quick way to sort of get ahead of this before IRS starts to contact me - again? I am pretty angry, of course, that this has happened 2 out of 4 years but that is a side issue. As far as I'm concerned I simply will no longer work for him because it's not worth the aggravation.

But what do I do concerning my taxes?

Since no one answered, I am answering late.

You need to wait for the corrected Form 1099 before you file, because amending the return is a lot harder than waiting and filing properly to begin with.