TIN ComplianceA resource from TIN Comply
🎮 Knowledge game · about 5 minutes

Fifty-State Sort

A 1099 lands on a state and you route it: the IRS forwards it through CF/SF, you file direct with the state, or the state wants nothing. Three rounds add state withholding and 1099-K and 1099-R traps while the map fills in, tile by tile.

You will learn which states take CF/SF, which want a direct 1099 filing, and how withholding changes the answerPrivacy runs in your browser; scores stay on your device
1099

Fifty-State Sort

A 1099 lands on a state. Route it: the IRS forwards it through CF/SF, you file direct with the state, or the state wants nothing. Sort all 50 states and DC in three rounds.

Keys: 1 or C for CF/SF, 2 or D for direct, 3 or N for none. Enter for next.

Round1/3
Card1/17
Score0
Combox1
The map0 of 51 sorted
CF/SF is enoughDirect filingNo state filingMissed
1099-NEC

How to play

  1. Press Start sorting. Each card is a 1099: the form, the payee, the amount, the state, and whether that state's income tax was withheld.
  2. Route it: CF/SF (the IRS forwards it to the state), Direct (file with the state yourself), or None (the state wants no copy). Tap a button or press 1, 2 or 3 (or C, D, N).
  3. Answer before the bar runs out. Fast answers earn up to 50 bonus points, and every three right in a row raise the combo, up to x4.
  4. Each state's tile fills with its true color. A miss leaves a red dot and shows the rule, with a link to that state's page.
  5. Three rounds of 17 cards cover all 50 states and DC: no withholding, then the withholding switch, then form traps.

The real rules behind the game

Fifty-State Sort drills one question a payer answers for every state where it has payees: once the federal 1099 is filed, does the state need anything else? Every answer in the game is the answer shown on this site's state 1099 filing pages, which were checked against each state revenue department's own pages (the 42 jurisdictions with an income tax were rechecked on October 26, 2026). The game computes its cards from that same data, so the game and the state pages cannot disagree.

The three answers

CF/SF is enough. Under the Combined Federal/State Filing program, the IRS electronically sends original and corrected information returns to participating states. It is an election, not an automatic exchange: you consent on your IRIS TCC application, check the CF/SF box on the return and select the state. If the box is not checked, nothing is forwarded. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia participate for tax year 2026, and eleven forms qualify, including 1099-NEC, MISC, INT, DIV, R and K. See CF/SF in IRIS.

File direct with the state. The state wants its own copy on its own system and schedule. Many CF/SF participants still want this, for every payer, for residents, or for particular forms.

No state filing needed. In that situation the state does not require a copy of that form.

Why withholding changes the answer

A state that accepts the CF/SF copy when nothing was withheld often wants a direct filing once its tax was withheld. Alabama, for example, accepts CF/SF only "if no Alabama income tax was withheld"; payers who voluntarily withhold cannot use it and file with Form A-3 instead. In the game, most "tax withheld" cards are direct filings, and the feedback names the state's year-end withholding form where the state's record names one (for example Kansas KW-3, New Jersey NJ-W-3 or Wisconsin WT-7). Hawaii is the exception: it takes the CF/SF copy either way.

Form traps

The rules differ by form. Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Illinois want Form 1099-K even without state withholding. New York wants only Form 1099-K and no state copy of 1099-NEC, MISC, INT, DIV, R, B or G. North Carolina wants 1099-R for any North Carolina address. Oregon does not want 1099-INT or 1099-DIV. The nine states with no individual income tax (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming) have no state 1099 filing for these forms, except that Florida and Tennessee take 1099-K copies from payment settlement entities. See the Form 1099-K and Form 1099-R pages.

What the game simplifies

Every card assumes the payer, the payee and the work are all in one state, and an amount above every federal and state threshold. Real filings turn on residency, the source of the payment, state thresholds and due dates, which the state pages give. Where a state's rule does not settle a card cleanly, the game leaves that card out: Vermont's 1099-NEC and MISC rule without withholding (written for nonresidents), Louisiana's 1099-MISC rule without withholding (nonresident rents), and Oklahoma's answers without withholding (its record is marked low confidence). "CF/SF is enough" assumes you e-file with the CF/SF election. The game does not cover state backup withholding or nonresident withholding rates.

Sources

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