What is a 1099 Form?
The IRS 1099 Forms are a group of tax forms that document payments made by an individual or a business that typically isn’t your employer. Many small businesses need to send 1099s when they make certain payments. Copies of these forms get sent to the payee and to the IRS. The form reports payments made during the tax year. In some instances, a copy is also sent to your state taxing authority. The payer is responsible for filling out the appropriate 1099 tax form and sending it to you. The IRS requires payers to provide most 1099 forms by January 31. In certain instances, the date is February 15.
What is a 1099 Form used for?
A 1099 Form documents payments from someone that typically isn’t your employer. This can be an individual, business, or entity, such as the government. There are different 1099 forms that report various types of income and how they were earned. These payments might be for interest, dividends, non-employee compensation, retirement plan distributions.
If you receive a 1099 form, it’s your responsibility to report the income earned on your tax return.
Who receives a 1099 Form?
Some common examples when you might receive a 1099 for 2024 in 2025 include:
- You should receive a Form 1099-NEC if you earned $600 or more in non-employee compensation from a person or business who isn’t typically your employer.
- You should receive Form 1099-MISC if you earned $600 or more in rent or royalty payments.
- You should receive Form 1099-G if you received a state or local tax refund during the previous year.
Likewise, if you paid a freelancer, independent contractor or other non-employee $600 or more during a year prior to 2026 related to your trade or business, you likely should send them a Form 1099-NEC.
Beginning with the 2026 tax year, the threshold for forms 1099-K, 1099-MISC, and 1099-NEC increase to $2,000 and are increased each year thereafter based on inflation.
Who sends 1099 forms?
Several types of 1099 forms exist to document payments made between individuals or businesses and another party. You can receive various 1099 forms for different reasons.
One of the most popular 1099 forms is the 1099-NEC for Non-employee Compensation payments. If you’re an independent contractor or freelancer, you may receive a Form 1099-NEC documenting payments made to you throughout the year from a particular payer.
Payers who make Non-employee Compensation payments below the threshold for the year are typically not required to file the 1099-NEC unless the payer withholds any amount of tax from the payments. However, they may do so if they wish. If you received less than the threshold amount from a payer, you are still required to report the income on your tax return.
When are 1099s issued?
There are different due dates for different types of 1099 forms. For example, Form 1099-NEC is due by January 31st. If January 31st isn’t a business day, then the due date moves to the next business day.
If you’re the one sending 1099 forms:
- Most 1099 forms are due to the recipient by January 31.
- If you’re mailing a paper form to the IRS, you typically have to send the 1099 by February 28 (postmarked by that date).
- If you’re using tax software like TurboTax to send the forms to the IRS, we’ll import the information for the form for you.
- Forms 1099-NEC are due to recipients and to the IRS by January 31 regardless of whether they are electronically or paper filed.
Payers are required to send you these forms early in the tax season. This gives you time to prepare your tax return. It also allows the IRS to have evidence of certain income you received during the tax year.
Despite the early due dates for sending these forms as a payer, you won’t need to file your own income tax return until the tax filing deadline. The early due dates allow the IRS to verify income that individuals report on their tax returns. This helps the IRS detect refund fraud more easily. Source