How to Make a 1099 for Someone: Forms, Filing, and Deadlines

To make a 1099 for someone you paid, collect a completed Form W-9 from them, total up what you paid them during the calendar year, enter that total on the correct 1099 form (usually the 1099-NEC for contractor work), send the recipient their copy, and file with the IRS by January 31. The rest is detail: which form fits which payment, whether the recipient’s business structure exempts them, and how you paid them.

When You Actually Need to Issue One

The obligation only applies to payments made in the course of a trade or business. Hiring someone to paint your house as a personal expense doesn’t trigger a 1099. Paying a contractor through your business does. Nonprofits, government agencies, and trusts of qualified pension plans all count as being in a trade or business for this purpose.¹

The threshold is $600 or more paid to the same non-employee across the full calendar year. It’s cumulative, not per invoice. Ten payments of $75 each to the same freelancer add up to $750 and cross the line.²

Payments to corporations generally don’t require a 1099. Two big exceptions: attorneys and medical or health care providers get a 1099 whether or not they’re incorporated. LLCs taxed as sole proprietorships or partnerships are treated as unincorporated for this purpose and do require reporting. The W-9 the recipient fills out will tell you which category they fall into.²

Which Form to Use

Most business owners issue Form 1099-NEC. Use it when you paid someone $600 or more for services and they’re not your employee: freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, and attorneys billing for legal services.²

Form 1099-MISC covers other categories that aren’t compensation for services:

Rent of $600 or more paid to a landlord for business space or equipment
Prizes and awards of $600 or more
Medical and health care payments of $600 or more
Gross proceeds of $600 or more paid to an attorney (settlement payments, as opposed to the attorney’s own fees, which go on the 1099-NEC)
Royalties of $10 or more
Broker payments in lieu of dividends or tax-exempt interest of $10 or more

Royalties and substitute dividend payments use a $10 threshold rather than $600.³

Step 1: Get a W-9 Before You Pay

Ask every new contractor or vendor to complete a Form W-9 before you cut them a check. The W-9 gives you their legal name, business name if different, address, taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN), and their business structure, which tells you whether they’re exempt as a corporation. Keep the signed W-9 on file.⁴

If the recipient refuses to provide a TIN, you’re required to withhold 24% of every payment and send it to the IRS. This is backup withholding. It also kicks in if the IRS notifies you the TIN they provided is wrong, or if they fail to certify they’re not subject to backup withholding. You report the amount withheld in Box 4 of the 1099-NEC and remit it using Form 945 at year’s end.⁵¹

Step 2: Fill Out the Form

In the payer section, enter your business name, address, and federal tax ID. Copy the recipient’s name, address, and TIN directly from their W-9 into the recipient fields. On the 1099-NEC, Box 1 is where you enter the total non-employee compensation paid during the year, including fees, commissions, and other service payments. Reconcile this against your accounting records before you file.

If you performed backup withholding, put the withheld total in Box 4. Boxes 5 through 7 handle state ID and state income if your state requires reporting.

Use official IRS-approved forms or tax software rather than printing your own. The IRS scans paper forms, and non-standard formatting can cause rejections. Software also pulls payment totals from your bookkeeping records, which reduces data-entry errors.

Step 3: Skip Anything You Paid by Card or App

Payments you made through a credit card, debit card, or third-party payment network (PayPal, Venmo business accounts, and similar) do not go on a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. The payment processor reports those separately on Form 1099-K, and reporting them yourself would double-count the contractor’s income.⁶

If you paid the same contractor $3,000 by check and $2,000 through PayPal, only the $3,000 goes on the 1099-NEC. Sort payments by method before you calculate box totals. Payments by check, cash, ACH, or wire are reportable by you. Payments by card or app aren’t.

The 1099-K threshold for third-party settlement organizations is $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions to the same payee in a year, restored by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill to the pre-American Rescue Plan level.⁷

Step 4: Send the Copies and File With the IRS

Each 1099 has multiple copies. Copy A goes to the IRS. Copy B goes to the recipient for their own tax return. Copy C stays in your records.

Filing Electronically

The IRS’s free web portal for filing 1099s is the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS). If you have 10 or more information returns of any type to file in a year, counting all your 1099s, W-2s, and other information returns together, electronic filing is required.⁸

The older FIRE system is being phased out, with IRIS set to become the sole intake system for filing season 2027. If you’ve used FIRE before, plan the switch.⁹

Filing on Paper

If you file fewer than 10 information returns and prefer to mail them, include Form 1096 as a transmittal cover sheet. The 1096 summarizes the count and dollar totals for the forms it accompanies. Use a separate 1096 for each type of 1099 (one covering all your 1099-NECs, another for all your 1099-MISCs). Filers with 10 or more returns who still want to file on paper have to request a waiver from the IRS.¹⁰

Send the recipient their Copy B by mail, or deliver it electronically if they’ve consented to electronic statements.

Deadlines

Form 1099-NEC: January 31 for both the recipient copy and the IRS copy, whether you file on paper or electronically.
Form 1099-MISC, recipient copy: January 31 for most payment types, February 15 if you’re reporting amounts in Boxes 8 or 10.
Form 1099-MISC, IRS copy: February 28 on paper, or March 31 electronically.

If a deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it shifts to the next business day.¹¹

The 1099-NEC deadline is the tightest of the bunch because there’s no staggered schedule: the recipient copy and the IRS copy are both due January 31. Start collecting W-9s and reconciling payment records before year-end so you’re not chasing missing information in the last week of January.

Fixing a Mistake After You File

Submit a corrected return as soon as you spot the error. The IRS treats corrections in two categories:

Wrong amount, code, or checkbox: Prepare a new form with the right numbers, check the “CORRECTED” box at the top, and file it. If you’re on paper, include a new Form 1096.
Wrong recipient name or TIN: This takes two forms. File a corrected return that zeros out the original entry, then file a new original return with the correct recipient information.

On paper corrections, do not check the “VOID” box. That tells the IRS scanner to skip the form, and your correction never gets recorded.¹

What Late or Missing Filings Cost

Penalties are charged per form and escalate the longer you wait. For returns due in 2026:¹²

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

The penalties apply separately to the IRS copy and the recipient copy, so one missing 1099 can generate two charges. Annual caps limit exposure for most businesses, with lower caps for those with average annual gross receipts of $5 million or less.¹³

Check Your State’s Rules

Many states want a copy of the 1099 filed with their tax agency too. The IRS runs a Combined Federal/State Filing program that forwards your electronic 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC filings to participating states automatically, at no cost.¹⁴

Not every state participates, and some participating states still require a separate direct filing when state income tax was withheld. Confirm the specific rule with your state’s tax department before you rely on federal forwarding.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
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Internal Revenue Service. Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information
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Internal Revenue Service. Forms and Associated Taxes for Independent Contractors
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
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IRS. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
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Internal Revenue Service. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
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Internal Revenue Service. E-File Information Returns With IRIS
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Internal Revenue Service. Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE)
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns
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IRS. 2026 Publication 1099
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.7 Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. Combined Federal/State Filing (CF/SF) Program