How to File Form 1099-NEC: Who Gets One, the Deadline and the Steps

If you paid a contractor $2,000 or more for services in your business during 2026, you generally file Form 1099-NEC for that person, send them a copy, and file with the IRS by February 1, 2027. This guide covers who gets one, the forms involved, the deadline, how to file online, and what Portside can do if you would rather hand it off. Every deadline and threshold below links to the IRS page that states it.

This is general information, not advice for your situation.

How to file Form 1099-NEC at a glance

Who gets one: a person who is not your employee and whom you paid at least $2,000 for services in your business, including attorneys. (IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC)

Who usually does not: corporations, including an LLC taxed as a C or S corporation, with exceptions such as attorneys' fees.

Forms: a Form W-9 from the contractor first, then Form 1099-NEC, with the payment in box 1a. (About Form 1099-NEC)

Deadline: January 31, to both the contractor and the IRS. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the due date moves to Monday, February 1, 2027.

How to file: e-file for free with the IRS IRIS system. E-filing is required if you file 10 or more information returns in total.

Do I need to send a 1099 to a contractor?

Generally yes, if all four of these are true. The IRS instructions say you must generally report a payment as nonemployee compensation when:

You made the payment to someone who is not your employee.

You made the payment for services in the course of your trade or business. The IRS says this includes government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

You made the payment to an individual, partnership, estate or, in some cases, a corporation.

You paid that person at least $2,000 during the year.

The IRS says the minimum threshold for reporting these payments increased to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025, and that it may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027. (What's New, IRS instructions) Personal payments are not reportable. Only payments made in the course of your business count.

One rule ignores the dollar amount: the IRS instructions say you file Form 1099-NEC for each person from whom you withheld federal income tax under the backup withholding rules, whatever the payment was.

What counts as non-employee compensation

The IRS instructions list these examples for box 1a:

Professional service fees, such as fees to attorneys (including corporations), accountants, architects, contractors and engineers.

Fees paid by one professional to another, such as fee-splitting or referral fees.

Payment for services that includes parts or materials, when supplying them was incidental to the service.

Commissions paid to nonemployee salespeople and directors' fees.

A fee or travel reimbursement paid to a nonemployee who did not account for it, if the two total at least $2,000.

When you do not file a 1099-NEC

The IRS instructions say these payments do not have to be reported on Form 1099-NEC, although they may still be taxable to the person who received them:

Payments to a corporation, generally, including an LLC treated as a C or S corporation. Attorneys' fees are the main exception.

Payments for merchandise, telephone, freight, storage and similar items.

Wages and bonuses paid to employees, which go on Form W-2.

Payments to a tax-exempt organization, the United States, a state or a foreign government.

Employee business expense reimbursements.

Payments made by credit card or payment card, and certain other payments such as third-party network transactions, are reported on Form 1099-K by the payment company. They are not reported on Form 1099-NEC. (IRS instructions, Reminders)

Not sure whether someone is a contractor or an employee? The IRS points to Publication 15-A for help deciding.

Which businesses get a 1099 (LLCs, S corps, nonprofits)

This question has two halves: which businesses have to file 1099s, and which businesses receive them.

Who has to file

Any business that pays contractors in the course of its trade or business. The IRS says you are engaged in a trade or business if you operate for gain or profit, and that nonprofit organizations are considered to be engaged in a trade or business and are subject to these reporting requirements. Payments by federal, state or local government agencies are also reportable. (IRS instructions, Trade or business reporting only) That covers sole proprietors, LLCs, partnerships, S corporations, C corporations and nonprofits alike. How your own business is taxed does not change whether you file for the contractors you pay.

Do LLCs get 1099s?

It depends on how the LLC is taxed, not on the fact that it is an LLC. The IRS instructions say payments to a corporation, including an LLC that is treated as a C or S corporation, generally do not need a Form 1099-NEC. An LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership is not a corporation for this purpose, so a payment of $2,000 or more for services generally does need one. The easy way to find out is to ask for a Form W-9, where the contractor gives you their legal name, taxpayer identification number and tax classification.

Do LLC S corps get 1099s?

Generally no. If an LLC has elected to be taxed as an S corporation, it falls under the same IRS exception as other corporations, so you usually do not send it a Form 1099-NEC. The main exception is legal work: the IRS says the corporate exemption does not apply to payments for legal services, so attorneys' fees of $2,000 or more are reported even when the law firm is a corporation. (IRS instructions, Payments to attorneys) The reverse also applies: if your own business is an S corporation and you pay contractors, you are the one who files.

Do nonprofits send or receive 1099s?

Nonprofits send them. If your organization pays an individual consultant, speaker or freelancer $2,000 or more for services, you file Form 1099-NEC just as a business would. Reimbursed expenses paid to volunteers are not reported in box 1a. Nonprofits generally do not receive them, because the IRS instructions list payments to a tax-exempt organization as not reportable on Form 1099-NEC.

Quick reference by type of payee

Individual or sole proprietor: yes, at $2,000 or more.

LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership: yes, at $2,000 or more.

LLC taxed as a C or S corporation: generally no.

C corporation or S corporation: generally no.

Attorney or law firm, including a corporation: yes, for fees of $2,000 or more.

Tax-exempt organization: no.

The forms you need

Form W-9. Collect it before the first payment. It gives you the contractor's legal name, address and taxpayer identification number to put on the 1099. (About Form W-9)

Form 1099-NEC. The payment goes in box 1a. The IRS says to use the December 2026 revision of the form and instructions to file 2026 information in early 2027. (About Form 1099-NEC)

New boxes for 2026. The instructions add boxes 1b (cash tips), 1c (Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes) and 1d (overtime compensation). They matter mainly if you pay tipped workers or overtime to someone who is not on your payroll. (IRS instructions, What's New)

Box 4. Federal income tax withheld, which only applies if you backup withheld.

Boxes 5 to 7. State information. The IRS says these boxes are for your convenience and do not need to be completed for the IRS.

Form 1099-MISC. A different form for things like rent, royalties and certain other payments. Its due dates differ: the IRS says to file by February 28 on paper or March 31 electronically, with the same next-business-day rule. (IRS instructions, Filing dates)

For contractors you pay through payroll software, the software often prepares the 1099-NEC for you. If you want to see how the rest of the year-end forms fit together, read our year-end payroll checklist.

1099-NEC filing deadline

The IRS instructions say you must file Form 1099-NEC on or before January 31, using either paper or electronic filing, and that you must furnish the statement to the recipient by the same date. If January 31 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day. (IRS instructions, Filing dates) For payments made in 2026, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the due date is Monday, February 1, 2027.

Unlike Form 1099-MISC, Form 1099-NEC has the same deadline whether you file on paper or electronically.

If you miss it, file as soon as you can. The IRS covers penalties in Publication 1099, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns, so check it for the current amounts instead of relying on a number you saw somewhere else.

How to file 1099-NEC, step by step

Collect a Form W-9 from each contractor. Do this before you pay them if you can.

Total what you paid each person in 2026. Leave out amounts paid by credit card or payment app, which the payment company reports on Form 1099-K.

Decide who needs a form. Use the questions above: services, not an employee, $2,000 or more, and not a corporation (unless an attorney).

Complete Form 1099-NEC. You may truncate the recipient's taxpayer identification number on the copy you give them, but not on anything you file with the IRS, and the payer's number can never be truncated. (IRS instructions)

Send the contractor their copy by the deadline. The IRS says the recipient copies can be completed online as fillable PDFs.

File with the IRS. E-file if you can, and you must if you have 10 or more information returns in total.

Check your state. States set their own 1099 rules. If a state tax department requires a paper copy, the instructions say to use Copy 1 for it and give Copy 2 to the recipient for their state return. The IRS lists each state's website on its state government websites page.

Keep your records. If you later need to correct a form, the instructions say not to check the VOID box on a paper correction, because the IRS scanners will ignore it.

How to file 1099 online

The IRS offers a free system called the Information Returns Intake System, or IRIS. It has two routes (IRS: E-file information returns with IRIS):

IRIS Taxpayer Portal. A free, web-based system where you can e-file up to 100 returns at a time, enter them by hand or upload a .csv file, and download recipient copies to send out.

IRIS Application to Application (A2A). For third-party software or services. The IRS says it can file thousands of returns at a time.

To use IRIS you need a Transmitter Control Code (TCC). The IRS says to apply early because processing may take up to 45 days. (IRS: E-file information returns) If your deadline is February 1, that is a reason to start well before January. The IRS also publishes Publication 5717, the IRIS Taxpayer Portal user guide.

The same page explains who must file electronically: if you have 10 or more information returns, you must e-file them. That total includes your 1099s and your W-2s. A waiver is available on Form 8508.

Can Portside file your 1099s if we do not do your books?

Yes! What that looks like depends on where your payments live:

Contractors paid through your payroll software. Our payroll services include preparing, filing and mailing W-2 and 1099 forms for the employees and contractors you pay that way.

Vendors and contractors in books Portside keeps. Our accounting services include preparing, filing and mailing 1099s to all the vendors and independent contractors who need one.

Books kept somewhere else. We can still file the 1099s. We just need a little more information from you to be sure the forms are right.

If contractor payments run through payroll, our guide to optimizing your small business payroll process shows how to keep that clean all year. When you are ready for help, the short form below tells us how your accounting is set up today.

Frequently asked questions

How do I file a 1099-NEC?

Collect a Form W-9 from each contractor, total what you paid each one for services during the year, complete Form 1099-NEC with the payment in box 1a, send the recipient their copy, and file with the IRS. The IRS offers free e-filing through IRIS, and e-filing is required if you file 10 or more information returns in total.

Do I need to send a 1099 to a contractor?

Generally yes, if you paid someone who is not your employee at least $2,000 for services in the course of your business during the year. The main exception is payments to corporations, other than attorneys. (IRS instructions)

What is the 1099-NEC filing deadline for 2026?

The IRS says Form 1099-NEC is due January 31, both to the recipient and to the IRS. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the due date for 2026 payments is Monday, February 1, 2027.

Do LLCs get 1099s?

It depends on how the LLC is taxed. An LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship or partnership generally gets a 1099-NEC for payments of $2,000 or more. An LLC taxed as a C or S corporation generally does not, except for attorneys' fees.

Do LLC S corps get 1099s?

Generally no. An LLC that is taxed as an S corporation falls under the IRS exception for corporations, with attorneys' fees as the main exception.

Can I file 1099s online for free?

Yes. The IRS offers IRIS, which lets you e-file up to 100 returns at a time through the Taxpayer Portal at no cost. You need a Transmitter Control Code first, and the IRS says it may take up to 45 days to process. (IRS: IRIS)

What if I paid my contractor by credit card?

Payments made by credit card or payment card are reported by the payment company on Form 1099-K, not by you on Form 1099-NEC. (IRS instructions)

Do nonprofits have to file 1099-NEC?

Yes. The IRS says nonprofit organizations are considered to be engaged in a trade or business and are subject to these reporting requirements. A nonprofit that pays an individual contractor $2,000 or more for services files a 1099-NEC like any other payer.