1099 checklist for year end: vendors, W-9 forms and filing dates
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In brief
A 1099 checklist takes you from the year’s vendor payments to filed forms: list who you paid, drop card payments and most corporations, and sort the rest into Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. Then collect a Form W-9 from each payee, check the numbers, and furnish and file on time.
The checklist: 1099 year-end checklist
Start the first two groups in early December. The last group runs in January, ahead of the due dates for Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC.
- PDFPrint it or tick it off on screen.Free, no email
- WordEdit it and send it under your name.Free, with your email
- Excel trackerOne row per item, with a status column.Free, with your email
Build the payee list
- Run the vendor payments report for January to DecemberBy payee, with the payment method of each payment.
- Remove payments made by card or through a payment appReported on Form 1099-K by the processor.
- Remove payments to corporationsKeep attorneys and medical or health care providers.
- Remove merchandise, freight, storage and phone payments
- Collect invoices for any payee whose service is unclear
Collect and check payee details
- Form W-9 on file for every remaining payeeName, number, entity type, signature and date.
- Request missing W-9 forms from the vendorsKeep a record of each request.
- Check name and number pairsIRS TIN Matching, or a format check first.
- Flag payees with no valid number for backup withholding
- Review workers paid like staff for classificationContracts and work arrangements, from the client.
Prepare the forms
- Form 1099-NEC for services and attorneys’ feesBox 1a, at the 2026 threshold.
- Form 1099-MISC for rents, royalties, medical payments and attorney gross proceedsEach amount in its own box.
- Check the new cash tips boxesBox 1b on Form 1099-NEC, Box 13a on Form 1099-MISC.
- Check whether the client’s state wants its own copy
Furnish, file and keep
- Furnish Form 1099-NEC to recipients and file it with the IRSSame date; for 2026 payments, February 1, 2027.
- Furnish Form 1099-MISC to recipients
- File Form 1099-MISC with the IRSPaper or electronic deadline, whichever applies.
- E-file when the total reaches the e-file thresholdIRIS, or the client’s filing software.
- Save the payee list, W-9 forms and filed copiesWith the year-end records.
Who gets a Form 1099, and on which form
Start from a vendor payments report for the calendar year, by payee, with the payment method. Two filters remove most lines before you look at amounts.
First, payments made by credit card, debit card or a third-party network are reported on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity, not on Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). Second, payments to a corporation, including an LLC taxed as a C or S corporation, are generally not reported (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
The corporation rule has exceptions. Attorneys’ fees of $2,000 or more go in Box 1a of Form 1099-NEC (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). Medical and health care payments to corporations stay reportable too (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
| Payment type | Form and box | Reporting floor |
|---|---|---|
| Services by a non-employee, such as a freelancer | Form 1099-NEC, Box 1a | $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
| Attorneys’ fees for legal services | Form 1099-NEC, Box 1a | $2,000 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
| Rents | Form 1099-MISC, Box 1 | $2,000 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
| Royalties | Form 1099-MISC, Box 2 | $10 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
| Medical and health care payments | Form 1099-MISC, Box 6 | $2,000 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
| Gross proceeds paid to an attorney | Form 1099-MISC, Box 10 | $600 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC) |
The new thresholds for 2026 payments
For tax years beginning after 2025, the minimum amount for reporting certain payments rose to $2,000, and it may be adjusted for inflation from 2027 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). So a contractor paid $1,500 in 2026 no longer needs a Form 1099-NEC, where under the old rule the same payment did (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). The year of payment sets the floor: a late form for 2025 payments still uses the $600 floor (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025)).
Not every floor moved. Royalties are still reported from $10, and gross proceeds paid to an attorney from $600 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). The 2026 forms also carry new boxes for cash tips, Box 1b on Form 1099-NEC and Box 13a on Form 1099-MISC (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). Check whether any client pays reportable tips before you assume they stay blank.
Collect and check a Form W-9 from every payee
Form W-9 is the form a payee uses to give its correct taxpayer identification number to the business that files the information return (IRS, About Form W-9). It also tells you the entity type, which settles whether the corporation exemption applies.
Ask in December for any payee still missing one, and do not wait for January. The guide to collecting W-9 forms from vendors has the request wording that gets answers.
When a payee will not give a correct number, backup withholding is the 24% the payer must withhold from future payments to that payee (IRS, Backup withholding). Tell the client before the next payment goes out, not after.
Check names and numbers before you file
A name that does not match the number on IRS records leads to a notice later. TIN Matching is the IRS service that lets a payer check a name and taxpayer identification number pair before filing (IRS, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Matching). To use it, the payer must be in the IRS Payer Account File (IRS, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Matching).
For a quick format check on your side first, the TIN checker flags numbers that cannot be valid. Then fix the vendor record in the books so next year starts clean.
Also look at anyone paid like staff, such as a person working set hours with the client’s tools. Classification is its own question, and a worker who should be on payroll needs a Form W-2, not a Form 1099-NEC.
Due dates and how to file
Form 1099-NEC is due on January 31, on paper or electronically, and the recipient copy is due the same day (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). When a due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). For 2026 payments, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the date becomes February 1, 2027 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
Form 1099-MISC goes to recipients by January 31 and to the IRS by February 28 on paper or March 31 electronically (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). In 2027, February 28 is a Sunday, so the paper deadline moves to March 1 (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
A filer with 10 or more information returns in the year must e-file, and that count combines every form type (IRS, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns). IRIS is the free IRS web system that e-files Forms 1099, up to 100 returns at a time (IRS, E-file information returns with IRIS).
Questions people ask
What documents do I need to prepare 1099 forms?
You need the vendor payments report for the calendar year with payment methods, a Form W-9 for each payee showing name, number and entity type, and the client’s confirmation of any payee you cannot identify.
What is the 1099-NEC threshold for 2026 payments?
For tax years beginning after 2025, nonemployee compensation is reported from $2,000, up from the old floor (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). The amount may be adjusted for inflation from 2027 onward (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
Do I send a 1099 to a vendor I paid by credit card?
No. Payments by credit card, debit card or a third-party network are reported on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity, not by you on Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC (IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC).
What if a vendor never returns a Form W-9?
Keep a record of your requests and tell the client that backup withholding applies to future payments when a payee does not give a correct number. The IRS sets that rate at 24% (IRS, Backup withholding).
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC: Sets the $2,000 floor for tax years beginning after 2025, $10 royalties, $600 attorney gross proceeds, the card-payment and corporation exceptions, the tip boxes and the filing dates.
- IRS, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns: A filer required to file 10 or more information returns in a year must e-file, counting all form types together.
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025): For 2025 payments, Form 1099-NEC reports nonemployee compensation of at least $600.
- IRS, About Form W-9: Form W-9 gives a correct taxpayer identification number to the person who must file an information return.
- IRS, Backup withholding: Payers withhold 24% from future payments when a payee fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number.
- IRS, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Matching: TIN Matching lets payers in the Payer Account File check name and number pairs before filing.
- IRS, E-file information returns with IRIS: IRIS, the IRS Information Returns Intake System, is a free web-based system that e-files up to 100 information returns at a time.
About the author
Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. Arthur Teboul.
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