Issuing a 1099 or 1096 Form
The topic of 1099 forms is covered in the following three pages:
- What are the 1099 form types and requirements?
- How do you prepare and file a tax return with a Form 1099?
- How do I issue a Form 1099?
If you made certain payments to an employee, contractor, or other recipient during the tax year, you may need file a Form 1099 to the IRS and send a copy to the payment's recipient. Additionally, you will need to file a Form 1096, which is used to transmit your paper Form 1099. See the sections below for information on issuing Form 1099 and/or 1096.
1099 Types, Filing Requirements, and Due Dates
When you pay certain individuals for work and services, but do not take them on as an employee, you will generally need to issue them a 1099 summarizing the amounts paid to them. You use this and Form 1096 to report your end of the transactions throughout the year; the recipient then reports this on their own tax returns. Since the IRS has a copy, they are expected to submit the same information shown on the form.
Prepare and File a 1099
1099 forms are only filed on paper, so you cannot prepare and e-file a 1099 online.
Follow these steps to prepare and file a Form 1099:
- Obtain a blank 1099 form (which is printed on special paper) from the IRS or an office supply store.
- Fill out the 1099. Each Form 1099 comes with 5 copies, so make sure to write or type on the top copy so it transfers down onto each copy, like carbon paper.
- Send Copy A to the IRS, Copy 1 to the appropriate state tax agency, Copy B and Copy 2 to the income's recipient (they get two copies so they can attach one to their return and keep one), and keep Copy C for your records.
- After you have filled out all of your 1099 forms for the year, you need to fill out a Form 1096 as well. Form 1096 summarizes all of your 1099 forms and is filed with the IRS. The mailing address is on the last page of the Form 1096 instructions.
The due dates for these forms to be sent can be found below.
1099 Dollar Amounts, Due Dates
The dollar amount or maximum earnings to issue a 1099 vary based on the type of form. The table below shows the 1099 forms, the types of income reported on each 1099, the minimum income reporting requirements, and due dates to the recipient and IRS.
1099-A
Home foreclosures and property abandonments
Any amount
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-B
Securities sales, redemption of securities, commodities trading, futures transactions, barter exchanges
Any amount
Feb. 15
February 28
1099-C
Canceled or forgiven debt, discharge of indebtedness
$600
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-CAP
Changes in capital structure, a new acquisition of corporate control
Stock or property valued at $100 million
Jan. 31
February 28
dividends, distributions of capital gains, distributions of liquidations
$10 (for liquidations, $600 or more)
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-G
Unemployment benefits, state and local tax refunds, alternate TAA payments, taxable grants, agricultural payments
$10
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-H
Advance payments of health insurance premiums made under the Health Coverage Tax Credit
Any amount
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-INT
Interest income
$10 ($600 for certain business-related interest income)
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-K
Merchant card (credit and debit card) payments, third party network payments (such as PayPal)
$20,000 total (potentially $600 in future years -
details on Form 1099-K)
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-LTC
Long-term care insurance benefits, life insurance distributions, accelerated death benefits
Any amount
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-MISC
Miscellaneous income (royalties, some self-employment income, etc.)*
$10 or $600 for non-employee compensation
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-NEC
Non-employee compensation*
$10 or $600 for non-employee compensation
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-OID
Original issue discounts, which are a special type of interest repayment
$10
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-PATR
Distributions from Co-ops
$10
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-Q
Distributions from Coverdell ESAs and Qualified Tutition Programs (QTPs), rollovers of these accounts
Any amount
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-R
Annuities, pensions, life insurance contracts, profit-sharing plans, retirement plans (IRA, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, military), plan rollovers and conversions
$10
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-S
Sales and exchanges of real estate or land, timber royalties made under a pay-as-cut contract
$600
Jan. 31
February 28
1099-SA
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Archer MSAs (Medical Savings Accounts), Medicare Advantage MSAs
Any amount
Jan. 31
February 28
RRB-1099
Railroad retirement benefits and Social Security equivalent benefits
Any amount
Jan. 31
N/A
SSA-1099
Social Security benefits
Any amount
Jan. 31
N/A
*This includes contract payments, commissions, reimbursements, awards, and bonuses, rental income, royalties, attorney fees, board of directors fees, medical service fees, proceeds from direct sales of consumer products for resale, crop insurance proceeds, payments to fishing boat crew members, Indian gaming profits paid to tribal members, punitive damages awarded in court, "golden parachutes", substitute dividends and tax-exempt interest payments, income from an NQDC (nonqualified deferred compensation plan) under Section 409A.
Related Form 1099 Tax Topics:
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