Free tool
Do I need to file a 1099?
Answer a few questions about one payee and get a straight answer: which form, which box, the threshold that applies and when it's due. Updated for the 2026 threshold change.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent to us or stored.
Short answer
You need to file Form 1099-NEC for a payee when, in the course of your business, you paid an individual, sole proprietor, partnership or LLC (not a corporation) at least $2,000 for services in 2026, or $600 in 2025, by check, cash or bank transfer. Rent, prizes and medical payments go on Form 1099-MISC at the same threshold; royalties are reported from $10 and gross proceeds paid to attorneys from $600.
- 2026 payments: $2,000 threshold (P.L. 119-21), may be indexed for inflation from 2027
- 2025 payments: $600 threshold
- Card and payment-app payments: reported on 1099-K, not by you
- Legal and medical payments: reportable even to corporations
- Due: 1099-NEC by January 31, to the IRS and the payee
Last reviewed against the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026).
Which form for which payment: quick reference
| Payment | Form | Report when the year's total reaches | Report even to corporations? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees for services by a contractor or freelancer | 1099-NEC, box 1a (box 1 on the 2025 form) | $600 (2025) · $2,000 (2026+) | No |
| Fees for legal services | 1099-NEC | $600 (2025) · $2,000 (2026+) | Yes |
| Gross proceeds paid to an attorney (e.g. a settlement) | 1099-MISC, box 10 | $600 (unchanged for 2026) | Yes |
| Rent for office space, equipment or land | 1099-MISC, box 1 | $600 (2025) · $2,000 (2026+) | No |
| Royalties | 1099-MISC, box 2 | $10 | No |
| Prizes and awards (not for services) | 1099-MISC, box 3 | $600 (2025) · $2,000 (2026+) | No |
| Medical and health care payments | 1099-MISC, box 6 | $600 (2025) · $2,000 (2026+) | Yes |
| Merchandise, inventory, freight, storage, phone | None | — | — |
| Anything paid by credit card or a payment app | None (reported on 1099-K by the processor) | — | — |
| Wages to employees | W-2 | Any withholding, or $2,000 (2026+) | — |
The year in the threshold column is the year you paid, not the year you file. Payments made in 2025 are reported in early 2026 using the $600 threshold; payments made in 2026 are reported in early 2027 using $2,000. Gross proceeds paid to attorneys are reported under a different section of the tax code (section 6045(f)), so they stay at $600, as the December 2026 Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC confirm.
New on the 2026 forms: nonemployee compensation is in box 1a of Form 1099-NEC (it was box 1), and both forms have new boxes for cash tips, tipped occupation codes and overtime compensation.
The five questions, in plain English
1. Was it a business payment?
1099s are a business obligation. If you hired a painter for your own house, there's nothing to file. If your company, your rental property or your nonprofit hired the painter, there may be.
2. Who did you pay?
This is where most mistakes happen, and the payee's Form W-9 answers it. Line 3 shows their federal tax classification. Individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships and most LLCs get 1099s. Corporations generally don't, except for legal and medical payments. Employees get a W-2 instead, and foreign payees give you a W-8 rather than a W-9.
3. What was it for?
Pay for work (services, labor, professional fees) goes on Form 1099-NEC. Most other reportable payments, such as rent, royalties, prizes and medical payments, go on Form 1099-MISC. Payments for goods aren't reported at all.
4. How did you pay?
Only count payments by check, cash, direct deposit, ACH, wire or similar. If you paid by credit card, debit card or through a payment app like PayPal or Venmo for goods and services, the card company or app reports those payments on Form 1099-K. Including them on your 1099 would report the same money twice.
5. How much in total?
Add up everything you paid that payee for the year, then compare it with the threshold. Ten $250 invoices paid in 2026 add up to $2,500, which needs a 1099-NEC even though no single invoice came close.
Before you file: get the W-9 first
Ask every new vendor for a Form W-9 before the first payment. It gives you their legal name, TIN and tax classification, which is everything this tool asks about, and it protects you if the TIN turns out to be wrong. If a payee won't give you a TIN, you're required to start backup withholding at 24%.
Then check the TINs with our free TIN format checker, and if a name and TIN don't match, our name control generator helps you find out why.
Related guides
- Not sure they're a contractor? Try the contractor or employee checker.
- Paid by card or app? See the 1099-K guide.
- Special cases: attorneys, rent and landlords, medical payments, nonprofits.
- No TIN from a payee? Read about backup withholding.
- Exact dates for your year: the due date calculator.
Sources
- Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026)
- Publication 1099, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
- Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
- Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?
- Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status
- Understanding your Form 1099-K
Questions
1099 filing questions
Do I need to send a 1099 to a contractor?
Yes, if you paid them for services in the course of your business, they aren't a corporation, you paid by check, cash or bank transfer, and the year's total reached the threshold: $600 for payments made in 2025, $2,000 for payments made in 2026 and later. That form is the 1099-NEC.
What is the 1099 threshold for 2026?
For payments made in 2026, the threshold for Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC (services, rent, prizes, medical payments and other income) is $2,000, up from $600. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) made the change, and the IRS says it may be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027. Two amounts didn't change: royalties are still reported at $10 or more, and gross proceeds paid to an attorney (1099-MISC box 10) at $600 or more.
What's new on the 2026 Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC?
Nonemployee compensation moved to box 1a of Form 1099-NEC, and both forms gained boxes for cash tips, Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes and overtime compensation (1099-NEC boxes 1b to 1d; 1099-MISC boxes 13a, 13b and 14), required by P.L. 119-21.
Do I send a 1099 to an LLC?
It depends on how the LLC is taxed, which its W-9 tells you. A single-member LLC that's disregarded is treated as its owner, so if the owner is a person, yes. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership, yes. An LLC that elected to be taxed as a C or S corporation, generally no, except for legal and medical payments.
Do I send a 1099 if I paid by credit card, PayPal or Venmo?
No, not for those payments. Payments by card or through a payment app's goods-and-services option are reported by the card company or app on Form 1099-K. Leave them out of the total on your 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC so the income isn't reported twice.
Do attorneys get a 1099 even if they're a corporation?
Yes. Legal fees go on 1099-NEC, and gross proceeds paid to an attorney, such as a settlement paid through a law firm, go on 1099-MISC box 10, whether or not the firm is incorporated.
What if I'm not sure someone is a contractor rather than an employee?
The IRS looks at who controls how the work is done, who controls the business side (payment, expenses, tools), and the relationship (benefits, permanence, contracts). If you control the how, not just the result, they're likely an employee and get a W-2. You can ask the IRS for a decision on Form SS-8.
Is anything I enter sent to EFileForMe?
No. The questions are answered by a script running in your browser. Nothing you choose or type is sent anywhere or saved.
Need to file? It takes about 30 minutes.
Enter your payees or import a spreadsheet, and EFileForMe e-files your 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms with the IRS from $2.89 per form. It can also print and mail the recipient copies.