How CPA firms request a 1099-MISC from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask the owner for every Form 1099-MISC the business received, usually for rents or royalties, and for the list of payments the business made that may need one: rent paid to an individual or partnership landlord, royalties, prizes, settlements and some payments to attorneys. Each form received ties to income; each form owed is a filing obligation.
Why CPA firms need a 1099-MISC
A business that owns property or licenses something may receive 1099-MISC forms for rents or royalties, and the IRS matches those against the return. In the other direction, a business that pays rent to a landlord who is not a corporation, or makes other reportable payments above the IRS threshold, generally has to issue a 1099-MISC. Rent is easy to miss: it often leaves as a recurring bank transfer that nobody thinks of as a vendor payment.
What exactly to ask for
Copies of each 1099-MISC received for the tax year. Separately, a list of rent, royalty and other non-contractor payments the business made, with the payee, the total paid for the year and a W-9 for each payee. Rent paid to a corporation generally needs no form, so the tax classification on the W-9 matters.
What to check when it arrives
- Each form received is booked under the right kind of income: box 1 rents, box 2 royalties, box 3 other income.
- Landlords and other payees on the list have a W-9 showing whether they are corporations, which usually exempts them.
- Rent the business pays to its own owner is identified, because it needs a form and shows up on the owner’s Schedule E.
Email to send your client
Replace the bracketed parts. The same text fits in the message of a DokuTrak request (up to 1,000 characters).
Subject: Form 1099-MISC for the business
Hi [Client name],
Two quick things about Form 1099-MISC for the business.
If anyone sent the business a 1099-MISC for last year, for rent, royalties or anything else, please forward it.
And I need a short list of the business’s non-contractor payments: who you pay rent to, any royalties, and any settlements or prizes, with the total for the year. If your landlord is a person or a partnership rather than a corporation, the business may have to send them a form, and I will need their W-9.
Could you reply by [date]? If you are not sure what counts, send me what you have and we will sort it together.
Thank you, [Your name]
Ask once. DokuTrak does the chasing.
- Your client uploads from one link, with no account and no password.
- Reminders go out on a schedule, by default 2, 5, 10 and 14 days after the request, until the file arrives.
- With AI review switched on in your workspace (it is off by default), each upload gets a first pass that flags a file that is not a 1099-MISC or an unreadable or blurry scan. It says so when it is not sure.
- You accept every file or mark it for re-upload, and your client gets the note by email. The AI never accepts a file.