How tax preparers request a 1099-NEC from clients
By Arthur Teboul, DokuTrak · Published
In short
Ask each self-employed client for every 1099-NEC they received for the year, one per payer, and for the business expenses that go with that income in the same request. Remind them that a client who paid them without sending a form still counts. Send the request in early February, after payers’ January 31 deadline.
Why tax preparers need a 1099-NEC
Box 1 nonemployee compensation goes onto Schedule C as gross receipts, and the net profit after expenses flows to Schedule SE for self-employment tax. The IRS matches each 1099-NEC filed by a payer against the return, so a missing one produces a notice later. The expenses matter just as much: without them, the client pays income tax and self-employment tax on the full amount.
What exactly to ask for
Copy B of every 1099-NEC for the tax year being filed, plus the client’s own total of what they billed, since some payers send nothing and card or app payments may come on a 1099-K instead. Ask for the expenses at the same time: mileage log, home office, equipment, software, phone, and health insurance premiums they paid themselves.
What to check when it arrives
- The recipient TIN is the client’s SSN or the EIN they gave the payer, so the income lands on the right Schedule C.
- The box 1 total across all forms is not higher than the gross receipts the client reports, and any gap is explained.
- Box 4 federal income tax withheld is picked up, because backup withholding on a 1099-NEC is easy to miss.
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 and business expenses
Hi [Client name],
Thanks for everything you have sent so far. For your freelance income I need every 1099-NEC you received for the year, one from each client who paid you. If someone paid you but sent no form, please list them anyway with the amount, because that income still goes on the return.
In the same message, could you add your work expenses: mileage, home office, equipment, software, phone. A spreadsheet or an export from your bookkeeping app is fine.
Could you send everything by [date]? If a 1099-NEC looks wrong, tell me and we will ask the payer for a corrected one.
Best, [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.