You may remember me from past posts on getting a 1099-MISC in year N but not receiving the check until year N+1, etc.
This year we managed to have a new, non-hypothetical twist.
Back in the fall my wife's publisher sent out "Hey, we can direct deposit royalties now!" letters and a signup form. So she signed up.
Fast forward to December 26 -- the royalty statement arrives and, as expected, there's no check attached this time. She logs into her bank account but sees that there's no deposit either.
Emails go unanswered and even the main number is answered by a message. Best guess is the whole place is shut down between Christmas and New Year's.
On Jan 3 an email comes back saying "oh yeah, we got the failure notice. You should see your money tomorrow." This time they get it right and the money does indeed arrive on Jan 4.
As always, we're expecting the 1099-MISC to report that amount for tax year 2011.
And the annual question -- 2011 constructive receipt or not?