In this guide
How to use it
The Do I need to send a 1099? tool walks through four questions for the common payments. This one is the index behind it: search by what the payment was for, including the unusual ones the instructions bury, and see the form, the box and the threshold. Pick the year you paid it, since the $600 amounts became $2,000 for payments made in 2026. The full threshold history by year is in the threshold lookup.
Who you paid matters as much as what for. A corporation is exempt from most 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC reporting, a foreign person is outside the 1099 system altogether, and the W-9 is how you know which applies. Set Who was paid? to see the answer for that kind of payee.
Every payment type, by form and box
Built box by box from the forms on the federal forms pages and checked against the Guide to Information Returns in Publication 1099 (2026) and the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC instructions (Rev. 12-2026). Every box that holds a payment amount has an entry. Boxes for withholding, state information, dates, codes and checkboxes are left out, except backup withholding, which has its own row. Thresholds are for payments made in 2026; pick another year in the tool.
| Payment | Form | Box | 2026 threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees for services by a contractor, freelancer or consultant | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Commissions, referral fees and fee splitting with a non-employee | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Directors' fees | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Attorney fees for legal services | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Payments by a federal executive agency for services | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Prizes and awards for services | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Payments to non-employee entertainers and performers | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Payments to insurance salespeople who are not employees | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Payments for an oil or gas working interest | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Payments to section 530 workers | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Taxable fringe benefits for non-employees | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Exchanges of services (barter between businesses outside a barter exchange) | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Travel or expense reimbursements to a contractor who doesn't account for them | 1099-NEC | 1a | $2,000 |
| Cash tips paid through to a non-employee | 1099-NEC | 1b | No separate threshold: shown when the box 1a or box 3 amount is reported |
| Qualified overtime compensation to a non-employee | 1099-NEC | 1d | No separate threshold: shown when the box 1a or box 3 amount is reported |
| Direct sales of $5,000 or more of consumer products for resale | 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC | NEC 2 or MISC 7 | $5,000 |
| Excess golden parachute payments to a non-employee | 1099-NEC | 3 | Any amount |
| Rent for office space, a building or land | 1099-MISC | 1 | $2,000 |
| Equipment, machine, vehicle and pasture rent | 1099-MISC | 1 | $2,000 |
| Public housing rental assistance paid to a project owner | 1099-MISC | 1 | $2,000 |
| Rent paid to a real estate agent or property manager | No 1099 from you | ||
| Royalties | 1099-MISC | 2 | $10 |
| Prizes and awards not for services | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Punitive and other taxable damages paid to a claimant | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Wages paid to a deceased employee's estate or beneficiary | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Payments to research study participants | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Payments to achieve a specific objective, produce a report or enhance a skill | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Termination payments to former self-employed insurance salespeople | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Indian gaming profits paid to tribal members | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Compensation to H-2A agricultural workers without a valid TIN | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Cash payments under notional principal contracts to individuals, partnerships or estates | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Fees paid to informers (by a non-government payer) | 1099-MISC | 3 | $2,000 |
| Crew shares of fishing boat proceeds | 1099-MISC | 5 | All amounts |
| Medical and health care payments | 1099-MISC | 6 | $2,000 |
| Substitute payments in lieu of dividends or tax-exempt interest | 1099-MISC | 8 | $10 |
| Crop insurance proceeds | 1099-MISC | 9 | $2,000 |
| Settlement or other gross proceeds paid to an attorney | 1099-MISC | 10 | $600 |
| Cash paid for fish bought for resale | 1099-MISC | 11 | $600 |
| Section 409A deferrals of a non-employee | 1099-MISC | 12 | $2,000 (optional box) |
| Cash tips included in 1099-MISC box 3 | 1099-MISC | 13a | No separate threshold: shown when the box 1a or box 3 amount is reported |
| Qualified overtime compensation included in 1099-MISC box 3 | 1099-MISC | 14 | No separate threshold: shown when the box 1a or box 3 amount is reported |
| Nonqualified deferred compensation of a non-employee that fails section 409A | 1099-MISC | 15 | All amounts in the Pub 1099 (2026) chart; the 1099-MISC instructions (Rev. 12-2026) say $2,000 or more |
| Goods, merchandise, inventory and supplies | No 1099 | ||
| Freight, shipping, storage and telephone | No 1099 | ||
| Any payment made by credit card, debit card or a payment app | Reported on 1099-K by the processor | More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions (third party network); any amount for payment card transactions | |
| Payments to a C or S corporation | Usually no 1099 | ||
| Payments to an LLC | Depends on the W-9 | ||
| Payments to a tax-exempt organization, government or foreign government | No 1099 | ||
| Wages, bonuses and travel allowances paid to an employee | Form W-2 | ||
| Employee expense reimbursements under an accountable plan | No 1099 | ||
| Scholarships and fellowship grants | No 1099-MISC or NEC | ||
| Cost of current life insurance protection | No 1099-MISC or NEC | ||
| Compensation for wrongful incarceration | No 1099-MISC | ||
| Certain Department of Justice public safety officer benefits | No 1099-MISC | ||
| Interest you pay on a loan or seller-financed note | 1099-INT | 1 | $2,000 |
| Bank, credit union and brokerage interest | 1099-INT | 1 | $10 |
| Early withdrawal penalty on a time deposit | 1099-INT | 2 | $10 |
| Interest on U.S. Savings Bonds and Treasury obligations | 1099-INT | 3 | $10 |
| Investment expenses of a single-class REMIC | 1099-INT | 5 | $10 |
| Foreign tax paid on interest | 1099-INT | 6 and 7 | $10 |
| Tax-exempt (municipal bond) interest | 1099-INT | 8 and 9 | $10 |
| Market discount and bond premium | 1099-INT | 10 to 13 | $10 |
| Dividends paid to shareholders | 1099-DIV | 1a and 1b | $10 |
| Capital gain distributions from a fund or REIT | 1099-DIV | 2a to 2f | $10 |
| Nondividend distributions (return of capital) | 1099-DIV | 3 | $10 |
| Section 199A dividends from a REIT | 1099-DIV | 5 | $10 |
| Foreign tax paid on dividends; fund investment expenses | 1099-DIV | 6 to 8 | $10 |
| Liquidation distributions | 1099-DIV | 9 and 10 | $2,000 |
| Exempt-interest dividends from a fund | 1099-DIV | 12 and 13 | $10 |
| Original issue discount, periodic interest, market discount and premium on OID instruments | 1099-OID | 1 to 6, 9, 10 | $10 |
| OID on U.S. Treasury obligations; tax-exempt OID | 1099-OID | 8 and 11 | $10 |
| Patronage dividends from a cooperative | 1099-PATR | 1 | $10 |
| Nonpatronage distributions, per-unit retain allocations and redeemed notices | 1099-PATR | 2, 3, 5 | $10 |
| Section 199A(g) deduction and pass-through credits from a cooperative | 1099-PATR | 6 to 12 | $10 |
| Unemployment compensation | 1099-G | 1 | $10 |
| State or local income tax refunds, credits or offsets | 1099-G | 2 | $10 |
| Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance payments | 1099-G | 5 | $2,000 |
| Taxable government grants | 1099-G | 6 | $2,000 |
| Agriculture program payments | 1099-G | 7 | See the Form 1099-G instructions |
| Market gain on Commodity Credit Corporation loans | 1099-G | 9 | See the Form 1099-G instructions |
| Governmental paid family leave benefits | 1099-G | 10 | $2,000 |
| Payments you process as a payment app or marketplace | 1099-K | 1a, 5a to 5l | More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions (third party network); any amount for payment card transactions |
| Card-not-present transactions | 1099-K | 1b | More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions (third party network); any amount for payment card transactions |
| Sales of stocks, bonds and other securities through a broker | 1099-B | 1a to 1g | All amounts |
| Regulated futures, foreign currency and section 1256 contracts | 1099-B | 8 to 11 | All amounts |
| Barter exchange transactions | 1099-B | 13 | All amounts |
| Digital asset (crypto) sales through a broker | 1099-DA | 1f | See the form instructions (optional aggregate reporting for some stablecoin and NFT sales) |
| Proceeds from a real estate sale | 1099-S | 2a and 2b | Generally $600; a principal residence of $250,000 or less ($500,000 married) can be excepted on the seller's certification |
| Digital assets received as real estate sale proceeds | 1099-S | 2c | Generally $600; a principal residence of $250,000 or less ($500,000 married) can be excepted on the seller's certification |
| Buyer's part of real estate tax | 1099-S | 4 | Generally $600; a principal residence of $250,000 or less ($500,000 married) can be excepted on the seller's certification |
| Timber royalties under a pay-as-cut contract | 1099-S | 2a | Generally $600; a principal residence of $250,000 or less ($500,000 married) can be excepted on the seller's certification |
| Canceled debt | 1099-C | 2, 3, 7 | $600 |
| Foreclosure or abandonment of secured property | 1099-A | 2 and 4 | All amounts |
| Cash, stock or property received in a corporate acquisition of control or recapitalization | 1099-CAP | 2 | Over $1,000 per shareholder |
| Pension, 401(k), IRA and annuity distributions | 1099-R | 1, 2a, 5 | $10 |
| Net unrealized appreciation in employer securities; capital gain on lump sums | 1099-R | 3 and 6 | $10 |
| Distributions from life insurance and endowment contracts | 1099-R | 1 | $10 |
| Amount allocable to in-plan Roth rollovers | 1099-R | 10 | $10 |
| 529 plan and Coverdell ESA distributions | 1099-Q | 1 to 3 | All amounts |
| ABLE account distributions | 1099-QA | 1 to 3 | All amounts |
| HSA, Archer MSA and Medicare Advantage MSA distributions | 1099-SA | 1, 2, 4 | All amounts |
| Long-term care benefits and accelerated death benefits | 1099-LTC | 1 and 2 | All amounts |
| Long-term care premiums paid from a 401(k) or other defined contribution plan | 1099-LPS | 1 | All amounts |
| Payments in a life insurance policy sale (life settlement) | 1099-LS | 1 | All amounts |
| Seller's investment and surrender value in a life insurance policy sale | 1099-SB | 1 and 2 | All amounts |
| IRA contributions, rollovers, Roth conversions and year-end value | 5498 | 1 to 15 | All amounts |
| Coverdell ESA contributions | 5498-ESA | 1 and 2 | All amounts |
| HSA and Archer MSA contributions and year-end value | 5498-SA | 1 to 5 | All amounts |
| ABLE account contributions, rollovers and year-end value | 5498-QA | 1 to 4, 8 | All amounts |
| Trump account contributions and year-end value | 5498-TA | 1 to 6 | All amounts |
| Qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) premiums and value | 1098-Q | 1a to 5 | All amounts |
| Incentive stock option exercises | 3921 | 3 to 5 | All amounts |
| Employee stock purchase plan share transfers | 3922 | 3 to 6 | All amounts |
| Mortgage interest you receive from an individual | 1098 | 1, 4, 5, 6 | $600 per mortgage |
| Student loan interest you receive | 1098-E | 1 | $600 |
| Interest you receive on a car loan to an individual | 1098-VLI | 1 and 5 | $600 per loan |
| Tuition payments and scholarships at an eligible educational institution | 1098-T | 1, 4 to 6, 10 | See the form instructions (every student with a reportable transaction, with exceptions) |
| Donated cars, boats and airplanes a charity receives | 1098-C | 4c and 6b | Claimed value over $500 |
| Fines, penalties and restitution a government receives under a court order or settlement | 1098-F | 1 to 4 | $50,000 |
| Tax credit bond credits | 1097-BTC | 1 | $10 |
| Gambling winnings | W-2G | 1 and 7 | Generally $2,000 (slots, bingo, keno, and other wagers at least 300 times the wager); poker tournaments $5,000 |
| Backup withholding (24%) on a reportable payment | The 1099 for the payment, and Form 945 | 4 on most 1099s | Applies to a reportable payment when the payee has not given a TIN or the IRS has notified you; for 1099-NEC and MISC payments, once payments to the payee reach $2,000 for the year |
| Any payment to a foreign person or company | 1042-S, or nothing | 2 | All amounts |
The ones people get wrong
- Attorneys are two boxes. The attorney's fee for legal services goes on 1099-NEC box 1a at the general threshold. Settlement money paid to the attorney goes on 1099-MISC box 10 at $600. Both apply even when the firm is a corporation.
- Card and app payments are not yours to report. Pay a contractor by card or PayPal and the processor reports it on 1099-K. Pay by check, ACH or Zelle and it is on your 1099-NEC.
- Rent through an agent. Paying a property manager is not reportable by you; the manager reports to the owner.
- Royalties stay at $10. P.L. 119-21 raised the general amount to $2,000 but left royalties, substitute payments and the $600 attorney gross proceeds and fish purchase amounts where they were.
- Golden parachutes moved. Excess golden parachute payments to non-employees go on 1099-NEC box 3 (from 2025), not 1099-MISC.
- Crop insurance is not a corporate exception. Only attorney fees and gross proceeds, federal executive agency payments for services, medical payments, substitute payments and cash fish purchases are reportable to corporations.
Below the threshold is not the same as untouchable. Backup withholding applies to a reportable payment when the payee has not given a TIN, and many states have their own, lower thresholds. See the state pages.
Questions people ask
Is the $2,000 threshold per payment or per year?
Per payee per year: the total you paid that payee during the calendar year, for that kind of payment.
Do I report payments to an LLC?
It depends on how the LLC is taxed, which its W-9 shows. A single-member LLC is reported under the owner's name and TIN; a multi-member LLC as a partnership; an LLC taxed as a C or S corporation is usually exempt.
Do I report parts and materials?
Parts and materials billed as part of a service are reported with the service. Merchandise bought on its own is not reportable.
What about payments to a foreign contractor?
No 1099. Work done in the United States is U.S.-source income: withhold 30% (or a treaty rate) and report on Form 1042-S. Work done entirely abroad is not reported. The W-8 form selector shows which certificate to collect.