For payments your business made in 2026, you send a Form 1099-NEC to a contractor you paid $2,000 or more by check, ACH, wire or cash, unless the contractor is a corporation. The threshold was $600 for 2025 and earlier years. Forms 1099-NEC for 2026 are due February 1, 2027. Use the checker to test a payment.
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1099 checker for 2026 payments
Answer three questions to see whether a payment your business made in 2026 needs a Form 1099, which form, and when it is due in 2027.
For payments made in 2026 in the course of a US trade or business. It covers the common cases only: royalties, prizes, payments to foreign contractors and backup withholding follow other rules. Results are estimates for general information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm them with your own CPA, tax adviser or attorney before making decisions. Using this tool does not create a client relationship with Catching Numbers Inc.
What is the 1099 threshold for 2026?
The threshold is $2,000 for payments made in 2026. It applies to nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC and to rents, medical payments and other income on Form 1099-MISC. The IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC say the amount may be adjusted for inflation from 2027. Royalties keep their own $10 threshold.
This is the first filing season under the higher amount. A contractor you paid $1,500 in 2025 needed a 1099-NEC. The same $1,500 paid in 2026 does not.
Who gets a 1099-NEC?
The IRS says you generally report a payment on Form 1099-NEC when all four of these are true:
- You paid someone who is not your employee
- The payment was for services in the course of your trade or business
- You paid an individual, a partnership or an estate (and, in a few cases, a corporation)
- You paid that payee at least $2,000 during the year
Personal payments are not reportable. If you paid a contractor to work on your own home, no 1099 is needed.
Which payments do not need a 1099?
- Payments by credit card, debit card or payment app. The card company or app reports these on Form 1099-K, so leave them out of your total.
- Payments to corporations, including LLCs taxed as C or S corporations. Attorneys’ fees and medical and health care payments are the main exceptions.
- Payments for goods: merchandise, freight, storage and similar items.
- Wages to employees, which go on Form W-2.
- Rent paid to a property manager or real estate agent. They report the rent they pay over to the owner.
When are 1099s due in 2027?
| Form | To the recipient | To the IRS |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1099-NEC | February 1, 2027 | February 1, 2027 |
| Form 1099-MISC | February 1, 2027 | March 1, 2027 on paper; March 31, 2027 by e-file |
If you file 10 or more information returns of any kind in a year, counting W-2s and 1099s together, the IRS requires you to file them electronically.
What should you do before year-end?
- Collect a Form W-9 from every contractor. It gives you their tax ID and tells you whether they are a corporation. Without a tax ID, backup withholding rules can apply.
- Total what you paid each vendor in 2026. Run the report by vendor, not by expense account.
- Split bank payments from card payments. Only check, ACH, wire and cash count toward the $2,000.
- Reconcile first. Vendor totals are only as good as the books behind them. If the books are behind, catch them up before January.
Our guide to 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC prep covers W-9s and the forms in more detail, and the year-end close checklist shows where 1099s fit in the close.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to send a 1099 to an LLC?
It depends on how the LLC is taxed. A single-member LLC or one taxed as a partnership gets a 1099 if you paid $2,000 or more for services. An LLC taxed as a C or S corporation generally does not. The LLC’s Form W-9 shows which one it is.
Do I send a 1099 if I paid by credit card or PayPal?
No. Payments made by credit card, payment card or a third-party network are reported by the payment company on Form 1099-K. You leave them out of Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC.
Is the 1099 threshold still $600?
Not for payments made in 2026. The threshold is $2,000 for 2026 payments, reported in early 2027. The $600 threshold applied to 2025 and earlier years, and still applies to a few items such as gross proceeds paid to attorneys.
Do I need to send a 1099 to my lawyer?
Yes, if you paid $2,000 or more in fees in the course of your business. Attorneys’ fees are reported on Form 1099-NEC even when the law firm is a corporation.
What if a contractor will not give me a W-9?
Ask again in writing and keep a record. The IRS backup withholding rules apply to payees who have not given you a tax ID, and you must file a 1099 for anyone you withheld from, whatever the amount. Ask your tax CPA how to handle it.
Our monthly bookkeeping tracks contractor payments and W-9s through the year, so the 1099 list is ready in January. If your books are behind, our catch-up and cleanup service gets them current first, for a one-time flat fee.
Get your books and vendor records ready for January
Book a free consultation. We’ll review your file and tell you what it takes to be ready before the 1099 deadline.