What this form is for
Nonemployee Compensation (1099-NEC). Reports what a business paid a non-employee — a contractor, freelancer or professional — over the year. Since 2020 it has carried non-employee compensation instead of 1099-MISC box 7.
Deadline. 31 January, to the recipient and to the IRS.
Who needs it
Businesses that paid $600 or more to a non-employee. The contractor receives a copy rather than filing one.
When you do not need it
Payments to a corporation are generally not reported on a 1099-NEC, with attorneys the notable exception. Payments made through a card or a third-party network are reported by the processor on a 1099-K, not by you.
Before you start
Have these to hand — stopping halfway to look one of them up is how a ten-minute job becomes an evening.
- A W-9 from each contractor
- Your total payments to each of them for the year
- Your own EIN
How to fill it in
Open the file in the Quire editor. Existing form fields become editable straight away; on a flat scan you can drop your own text boxes, checkboxes and dates exactly where they belong. Sign it with the Sign tool — draw, type or upload your signature — then export.
Everything happens in your browser. A tax or immigration form carries enough personal information that it has no business sitting on somebody else's server, and here it never does.
What goes wrong
- Collect the W-9 before you pay, not in January. Chasing a TIN after the fact is where most of the January panic comes from.
- Paper filers must also send Form 1096 as a cover sheet. E-filers do not.
Where it goes
Follow the address or e-file route printed in the current IRS instructions for this form. Those change between tax years, so check the instructions rather than reusing last year’s envelope.
This page explains the document and helps you fill it in. It is not legal or tax advice, and it is not affiliated with any government agency.