When Do 1099s Need to Be Issued: Deadlines, Recipients, and Penalties

If you are asking when 1099s need to be issued, the short answer has two parts. Recipient copies of most 1099 forms are due by January 31 of the year after the payment year, and the IRS filing deadline depends on the form and whether you file on paper or electronically. For tax year 2025 returns filed in 2026, January 31 falls on a Saturday, so the recipient deadline shifts to February 2, 2026. The 1099-NEC must also reach the IRS by that same February 2, 2026 date; the 1099-MISC and most other variants are due to the IRS by March 2, 2026 on paper (February 28 is a Saturday) or March 31, 2026 electronically.¹

When Recipient Copies Are Due

Copy B of the 1099 goes to the payee by January 31 of the year after payment. That deadline covers Form 1099-NEC, Form 1099-MISC (for most boxes), Form 1099-INT, Form 1099-DIV, and most other common variants. When January 31 lands on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day, which is why the 2026 date is February 2.¹

One exception matters. If your 1099-MISC only reports amounts in Box 8 (substitute payments in lieu of dividends or interest) or Box 10 (gross proceeds paid to an attorney), the recipient deadline is February 15. For tax year 2025 returns that February 15 is a Sunday, so the deadline moves to February 17, 2026.¹

You can deliver recipient copies electronically instead of on paper, but only if the recipient has given affirmative electronic consent in a way that proves they can open the file in the format you plan to use. Before you request that consent you have to tell the recipient the scope of what they are agreeing to, how to get a paper copy, how to withdraw consent, and what hardware or software they need. Change your delivery technology later and you need a fresh consent.¹

When the IRS Copy Is Due

Filing Copy A with the IRS is a separate obligation from furnishing recipient copies, and the deadlines are not the same across forms. Any filing date that lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday rolls to the next business day.²

Form 1099-NEC

For tax year 2025 returns, the 1099-NEC is due to the IRS by January 31, 2026, shifted to February 2, 2026 because of the Saturday, regardless of whether you file on paper or electronically.³ That one date covers both the recipient copy and the IRS filing, which is unusual among 1099 forms.

This changes for tax year 2026 returns. Starting then, the IRS filing deadline for Form 1099-NEC moves to February 28 for paper filers and March 31 for electronic filers, matching the 1099-MISC schedule. The January 31 recipient deadline stays put.⁴

Form 1099-MISC and Other Variants

Form 1099-MISC is due to the IRS by February 28 on paper or March 31 electronically. For tax year 2025 returns, February 28, 2026 is a Saturday, so paper filers have until March 2, 2026.³ Most other 1099 forms, including 1099-INT and 1099-DIV, follow the same February 28 paper and March 31 electronic schedule.¹

When You Must File Electronically

If you file 10 or more information returns in total during the calendar year, you must file them electronically. That 10-return count combines all form types, including W-2s and every variety of 1099, so a small business with a few contractors and a few employees often crosses the threshold.⁵ Electronic filing goes through the IRS FIRE system or the newer IRIS portal.³

Who You Have to Issue a 1099 To

The deadlines only matter for payments that actually trigger a 1099. The general rule: if your business pays $600 or more to a non-employee during the calendar year for services, rents, or certain other categories, you file a 1099. Some payment types kick in lower. Royalties and broker payments in lieu of dividends or tax-exempt interest reported on Form 1099-MISC start at just $10.⁶

Form 1099-NEC covers nonemployee compensation of $600 or more paid to individuals or unincorporated businesses for services in your trade or business, including fees, commissions, and payments to independent contractors, freelancers, and consultants.² Form 1099-MISC handles other payment types at the $600 threshold: rents, prizes and awards, medical and healthcare payments, crop insurance proceeds, and gross proceeds paid to an attorney.⁶

Corporate Payees

You generally do not send a 1099 for payments made to a corporation, including an S corporation. There are two exceptions you have to watch: payments for medical and healthcare services, and payments to attorneys. Both require a 1099 even when the recipient is incorporated.⁴ Legal fees of $600 or more get reported no matter the firm’s corporate structure.

Payments Made by Card or Through PayPal, Venmo, and Similar

If you paid a contractor through a credit card, debit card, or a third-party payment network like PayPal or Venmo, do not report that payment on a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. The payment settlement entity reports those transactions on Form 1099-K. Doubling up creates a duplicate that causes problems for the recipient and can trigger IRS matching notices.² The 1099-K reporting threshold has been permanently restored to $20,000 in gross payments and more than 200 transactions.⁷

What a Missed Deadline Costs

The IRS assesses separate penalties for two failures: not filing correct returns with the IRS on time, and not furnishing correct statements to recipients on time. The amount scales with how late you are. For information returns due in 2026:⁸

Up to 30 days late: $60 per return
31 days late through August 1: $130 per return
After August 1 or never filed: $340 per return
Intentional disregard: $680 per return, with no annual cap

These same per-return amounts apply to failures to furnish correct payee statements, so a single missed form can be penalized twice. A business that misses the deadline on 50 returns and does not correct them by August 1 faces up to $17,000 in penalties, doubled if the recipient copies were also missed.

Annual caps limit total penalties for businesses not acting with intentional disregard, with lower caps for businesses with gross receipts of $5 million or less and higher caps for larger businesses. The base statutory caps for smaller businesses are $175,000, $500,000, and $1,000,000 across the three tiers; for larger businesses they run $500,000, $1,500,000, and $3,000,000. The IRS adjusts these for inflation each year.⁹ The IRS may waive penalties if you can show reasonable cause, which generally means acting responsibly before and after the failure and correcting errors quickly once discovered.¹⁰

If You Need More Time

Form 8809 is how you request more time to file Copy A with the IRS. It does not give you extra time to send recipient copies.¹¹

For most 1099 forms, including the 1099-MISC, filing Form 8809 before the original due date gets you an automatic 30-day extension with no explanation required. A second 30 days is possible on paper with written justification, and is not automatic.¹¹

Form 1099-NEC is treated differently under current rules (for tax year 2025 returns). It does not qualify for an automatic extension. Any 1099-NEC extension request must be submitted on paper with a signed hardship justification, and the IRS grants these only in demonstrated hardship cases. No additional 30-day extension is available. Because the 1099-NEC filing deadline moves to February 28 for tax year 2026 returns, these extension rules may be updated, so check the current Form 8809 instructions when you file.¹¹

Extensions on recipient copies are a separate and much harder process. You cannot use Form 8809. You have to send a letter to the IRS demonstrating good cause before the original recipient deadline, and approval is rare.¹¹

Don’t Forget State Deadlines

Many states require their own copy of 1099 filings, with their own deadlines and penalties on top of federal ones. The IRS runs the Combined Federal/State Filing program, which forwards your federally filed 1099 data to participating state tax agencies when you file through FIRE or IRIS. Not every state participates, and some that do still require direct filing for certain form types.¹² Check with your state’s tax agency before you assume federal filing covers you.

1
Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Reporting
4
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1099 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (For Use in Preparing 2026 Returns)
5
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. IRS Issues FAQs on Form 1099-K Threshold Under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6721 – Failure to File Correct Information Returns
10
Internal Revenue Service. Penalty Relief for Reasonable Cause
11
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8809 (Rev. December 2025) Application for Extension of Time to File Information Returns
12
Internal Revenue Service. Combined Federal/State Filing (CFSF) Program State Coordinator Information FAQs