How mortgage brokers request a 1099-NEC from borrowers
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask self-employed borrowers and independent contractors for every 1099-NEC they received for the last two years, which lenders usually review alongside the tax returns. Each form shows what one client paid them. Together they help the underwriter see who pays the borrower and whether that income has a steady history, depending on the loan program.
Why mortgage brokers need a 1099-NEC
A 1099-NEC is not proof of income on its own: the underwriter qualifies the borrower on the profit reported on Schedule C, after expenses. The forms back up that figure and show where the money comes from, one client or many, and whether those clients still pay this year. A borrower who recently moved from W-2 pay to contract work may face more questions, because the self-employment history is short.
What exactly to ask for
Every 1099-NEC received for the two most recent tax years, one per paying client, read with the matching tax returns. Ask the borrower to list their main clients so you can count the forms against the list. For the current year, lenders may also ask for a year-to-date profit and loss statement and recent business bank statements.
What to check when it arrives
- The total of the 1099-NEC forms is consistent with the gross receipts on Schedule C for the same year.
- The payer names match the clients the borrower described, and the main ones still show up in this year’s deposits.
- Each form shows its tax year, and together they cover both years the lender is reviewing.
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: Your 1099-NEC forms from the last two years
Hi [Client name],
To document your contract income, I need the 1099-NEC forms you received for the last two years, one from each client who paid you.
Clients mail them or post them in an online account by the end of January. If a tax preparer files your return, they likely kept copies, which is often the quickest place to look.
Could you send them by [date], along with a short list of your main clients? If a form never arrived from one of them, tell me and we will document that income another way.
Best regards, [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.