Do Accountants Get a 1099? Rules, Deadlines, and Penalties

Yes, in most cases accountants get a 1099. If your business paid an outside accountant $600 or more during the calendar year for services, and that accountant operates as a sole proprietor, partnership, or single-member LLC, you generally need to file Form 1099-NEC reporting those payments to the IRS. Payments to accounting firms organized as C-Corporations or S-Corporations are exempt, and payments made by credit card or through a third-party app don’t count toward the threshold at all.

When the $600 Rule Triggers a 1099-NEC

The filing obligation kicks in when you pay a non-employee accountant $600 or more during a single tax year for services performed in the course of your trade or business.¹ The $600 is a cumulative annual figure, not a per-invoice amount. Pay a CPA $300 in the spring and $400 in the fall, and the combined $700 crosses the line.

Two situations that fall outside the rule. If total payments stayed under $600 for the year, no filing is required. And if you hired the accountant for personal work rather than for your business, no 1099-NEC is required regardless of the amount.¹ A company paying $800 for corporate tax preparation files the form; an individual paying $800 for their personal return does not.

The Corporation Exemption

Even if you paid an accountant well above the threshold, the entity type can wipe out your filing obligation. Payments to C-Corporations and S-Corporations, including LLCs that have elected to be taxed as either, are generally exempt from 1099-NEC reporting.² Many established accounting firms operate as corporations. If yours does, you have nothing to file.

You do need to file when the accountant is a sole proprietor, a partnership, or a single-member LLC taxed as a disregarded entity. That last one catches people off guard. An “LLC” on the business card does not mean corporation for tax purposes. Unless the LLC has elected corporate treatment, it’s still treated as a sole proprietor and gets a 1099-NEC.²

Worth flagging: the corporate exemption does not extend to attorneys. Payments to law firms must be reported on a 1099 even when the firm is incorporated.¹ That special rule does not apply to accountants, so an incorporated CPA firm gives you a pass.

Payments by Credit Card or App Don’t Count

If you paid the accountant with a credit card, debit card, or through a third-party payment platform like PayPal or Venmo, leave those payments off the 1099-NEC. The payment processor reports them separately on Form 1099-K.³ IRS rules specifically block double-counting by shifting card and app payments to the 1099-K.⁴

Only payments by check, cash, ACH, or wire transfer count toward the $600 threshold. If you paid your accountant $2,000 total but $1,500 went through a credit card and only $500 by check, the reportable portion sits below $600 and no 1099-NEC is required.

Get a W-9 Before You Pay

You cannot fill out an accurate 1099-NEC without the accountant’s taxpayer information, and the way to collect it is Form W-9. Request a completed W-9 before you issue the first payment.⁵ Waiting until January to chase down W-9s from a year’s worth of vendors is a scramble worth avoiding.

The W-9 collects the accountant’s legal name, business name, address, federal tax classification, and taxpayer identification number. For individuals and sole proprietors, the TIN is usually a Social Security Number; for other entities, it’s an Employer Identification Number.⁶ The tax classification line is what tells you whether the accountant is a corporation (no filing needed) or an unincorporated entity (1099-NEC required).

What Happens If the Accountant Won’t Provide a W-9

Missing W-9 does not mean you skip reporting. If the accountant never returns the form or supplies an incorrect TIN, you’re required to withhold 24% of each payment and remit it to the IRS as backup withholding. Businesses that fail to withhold when required can become personally liable for the uncollected tax.⁷

Backup withholding also applies when the IRS notifies you that a TIN on file doesn’t match its records. If an accountant writes “Applied For” on the W-9, you have a 60-day window before you must begin withholding at 24% on all future payments until a valid TIN comes through.⁷

Filing Deadlines

The 1099-NEC has two separate due dates. Copy B goes to the accountant by January 31 following the tax year. Copy A goes to the IRS by February 28 on paper, or by March 31 if filed electronically.⁸

Electronic filing is mandatory for businesses filing 10 or more information returns of any type during the year. The count aggregates across all information returns, so a few 1099-NECs, some 1099-INTs, and a W-2G can put you over the line.⁸ You can e-file through the IRS FIRE system or the newer IRIS platform, though the IRS has announced that IRIS will be the only intake system starting with filing season 2027, with FIRE targeted for retirement at that point.⁹

What Late or Missed Filing Costs

Penalties are per form and scale with how late you are. For returns due in 2026:¹⁰

Filed within 30 days of the deadline: $60 per form
Filed after 30 days but by August 1: $130 per form
Filed after August 1 or not filed at all: $340 per form
Intentional disregard: $680 per form with no annual cap

The same amounts apply separately for failing to furnish a correct payee statement to the accountant. Miss the deadline on five 1099-NECs and file in September, and you’re looking at $1,700 in penalties on the IRS side alone. Small businesses have lower annual maximum caps, but the per-form amounts don’t change with business size.¹⁰

State Filing May Also Apply

Federal filing does not always end the job. Many states require businesses to file 1099-NEC copies with the state tax authority, particularly when state income tax was withheld, and deadlines and thresholds vary. The IRS runs a Combined Federal/State Filing Program that forwards your electronically filed 1099-NEC data to participating states automatically, which can eliminate separate state filings. You do have to apply for the program, code your returns with the correct state identifiers, and in some states notify the state directly that you’re participating.¹¹ Confirm with your state tax agency whether CF/SF covers your obligations or whether an additional state filing is required.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your Form 1099-K
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Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions IRC Section 6050W
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
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Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
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IRS.gov. Publication 1099 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (For Use in Preparing 2026 Returns)
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Internal Revenue Service. Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE)
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. Combined Federal/State Filing (CF/SF) Program