How CPA firms request a 1099-NEC from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask the business owner for two things: every Form 1099-NEC the business received from customers, and the list of contractors the business paid during the year, with a W-9 for each. The first is income to reconcile. The second is the business’s own filing obligation, due to contractors and the IRS by January 31.
Why CPA firms need a 1099-NEC
If the business is a sole proprietorship or an LLC taxed as a partnership, customers may send it 1099-NECs, and you tie each one to recorded revenue so IRS matching finds no gap. The forms the business must issue are a separate job: a business that pays an unincorporated contractor above the IRS reporting threshold in the course of its trade generally files a 1099-NEC for that contractor. Payments made by card or through a payment app are generally reported by the processor on Form 1099-K instead, so the contractor list should show how each one was paid.
What exactly to ask for
Copies of each 1099-NEC received for the tax year. Separately, a vendor report from the books with the total paid to each contractor during the year and the payment method, plus a current W-9 for each contractor. Ask for the contractor list in early January, so there is time to prepare and file by January 31.
What to check when it arrives
- Each 1099-NEC received shows the business’s EIN, or the owner’s SSN only where the sole proprietorship uses it.
- Box 1 on the forms received ties to revenue recorded from that customer, with differences explained by timing or card payments.
- Every contractor on the vendor report has a W-9 with a TIN and a tax classification before you prepare their form.
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: 1099-NEC forms, coming in and going out
Hi [Client name],
1099 season runs in two directions for the business.
First, please forward any Form 1099-NEC your customers sent the business for last year.
Second, I need the list of contractors and freelancers the business paid during the year, with the total paid to each and whether you paid by check, bank transfer or card. If you do not have a W-9 on file for someone, please request one now; I cannot prepare their form without it.
The forms to contractors are due January 31, so could you send the list by [date]? If pulling it from your books is a pain, tell me and we can go through 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-NEC, an unreadable or blurry scan or a copy where one of these is missing or cut off: the recipient’s name, the recipient’s TIN. 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.