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Do I need to send a 1099?

Four questions about who you paid and how. A straight answer.

What did you pay for?
Who did you pay?
How did you pay?
Tax year
Your answerYes, send a 1099-NEC.

You paid $2,500 in 2026, at or over the $2,000 line. Give it to them by January 31, 2027. It goes to the IRS by January 31 too.

You'll need their name, address and tax ID. Ask for a W-9 before you pay them; it's much harder to get after.

The line is $600 for payments through 2025 and $2,000 from 2026 on. General rules for small businesses; your tax preparer has the final say on unusual cases.

The short version

If your business paid a person or a small business (not a corporation) for work, by check, bank transfer or cash, and the total for the year reached the line, you send them a 1099-NEC. Rent works the same way on a 1099-MISC.

The line went up in 2026

For payments made through 2025 the line is $600. For payments from January 1, 2026 on, it's $2,000, and it will rise with inflation after that.

When you don't send one

  • You paid by credit card, debit card, PayPal or a payment app. The payment company reports it on a 1099-K.
  • You paid a corporation, unless it's a law firm.
  • You bought products, not services.
  • It was an employee's wages. Those go on a W-2.

The deadline

January 31, to the contractor and to the IRS for a 1099-NEC. Get a W-9 from every contractor before you pay them the first time.

Your 1099 list, ready in January.

SumSwift finds everyone you paid for services from your bank statements, adds it up by person, tells you who crosses the line, and tracks whose W-9 you still need.

Free to join. The first 1,000 in get their catch-up free.