Who Should Receive Form 1099-MISC?

Form 1099-MISC Is No Longer Used to Report Nonemployee Income

A bar owner works with their accountant to file 1099-MISC forms
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Form 1099-MISC is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form used to report payments made to others during the year, including royalties, awards, rents, medical and healthcare payments, and payments made to attorneys. This form was previously used for non-employee income, but you must report those payments on a different form beginning in 2020.

Because the IRS has made such a sweeping change in regard to who should send and receive 1099-MISC forms, it's important to understand these changes and how they might affect you.

Key Takeaways

  • Form 1099-MISC reports payments made by a business to landlords, some attorneys, prize and award recipients and medical and healthcare providers.
  • This form also reported payments made to non-employees, such as independent contractors, but that changed in 2020.
  • The general rule is that you must issue a 1099-MISC form to any qualifying entity or individual to whom you paid $600 or more during the tax year, with some exceptions.
  • You must provide a copy of each 1099-MISC form to the payee and file the original with the IRS.


Who Should Send a 1099-MISC Form? 

If you make certain payments as a function of your trade or business, you must prepare 1099-MISC forms to show the amounts you have paid to others during the year. The IRS considers a “trade or business” to include: 

  • An entity you operate for gain or profit
  • A non-profit organization, including 501(c)3 and (d) organizations
  • A trust of a qualified employer pension or profit-sharing plan
  • A non-exempt farmers’ cooperative
  • A widely held fixed-investment trust

Who Should Receive a 1099-MISC Form? 

To prepare a 1099-MISC form, ask payees to complete and sign a W-9 form, which will include their taxpayer ID information. If the taxpayer ID is missing or incorrect, the IRS will reject the form. Prepared forms must be given or sent to your payees and filed with the IRS. 

You must send and file a 1099-MISC for certain types of payments of $600 or more you make during the year. You typically do not have to report payments below that threshold.

Rents

Rents are reported in the 1099-MISC form's box 1 and should include:

  • Payments for renting or leasing office space, but not payments to real estate agents or property managers
  • Machine rentals. Divide the payment between the machine provider and the operator if the rental includes a payment to the operator of the machine. You'll report the payment to the machine operator on 1099-MISC and the operator’s payment on Form 1099-NEC
  • Payments to owners of coin-operated amusements
  • Pasture rentals

Prizes and Awards

Prizes and awards include monetary prizes and the fair market value of merchandise you awarded to someone. These would be reported in box 3 of the 1099-MISC form. They would include sweepstakes winnings, but not proceeds from a wager or gambling winnings from a casino. 

Medical and Healthcare Payments

You must report in box 6 payments that your business makes to doctors, suppliers, or providers of medical or healthcare services. This includes payments to medical healthcare insurance companies. You don’t have to report payments to pharmacies for prescription drugs. 

You usually don’t usually have to report payments to corporations, but you must do so if they're providers of medical or healthcare services. Be sure to list the corporation as the payee, not an individual. 

Payments to Attorneys 

Use Form 1099-MISC, box 10, to report gross proceeds of $600 or more paid to an attorney or law firm during the year, including payments to corporations. Gross proceeds aren’t fees for an attorney’s legal services. They're amounts paid in other ways, such as in a lawsuit settlement agreement. Use Form 1099-NEC to report payment of attorney fees for services. 

Miscellaneous Income

Use box 3 to report other payments of $600 or more. Some examples of miscellaneous payments are termination payments to former self-employed insurance salespeople and payments of damages from a lawsuit. 

Exceptions to the $600 Annual Minimum

The $600 annual minimum doesn't apply in a few rare cases. You should report money paid in the following circumstances no matter how small the amount.

Royalties

You must report royalties in box 2 if you paid the recipient at least $10 during the year. Royalties are payments made to owners of property for the use of that property. Examples are intellectual property such as copyrights, patents, trade names, and trademarks, or oil, gas, and other mineral properties. 

Backup Withholding

You might receive a backup withholding order from the IRS requiring your company to withhold income taxes from payments you make to a payee. You must report in box 4 all backup withholding amounts for anyone for whom you have withheld income taxes under a backup withholding order, even if the total is $600 or less. Use Form 1099-NEC to report these payments if the backup withholding is for a nonemployee. 

Who Should Not Receive a Form 1099-MISC?

Don’t use Form 1099-MISC to report wages paid to employees. Use Form W-2 for these payments, including business travel allowances and expense reimbursements. Use form 1099-NEC to report payments to independent contractors.  

Note

You generally don’t have to report payments made to corporations, including LLCs taxed as corporations, but there are some exceptions. 

You don’t have to report payments for merchandise, telegraphs, telephone, freight, storage, and other similar items.         

When and Where Do I File 1099-MISC Forms? 

Your 1099-MISC forms are due on Feb. 28 of the year following the tax year to payees and to the IRS. The due date may fluctuate due to holidays and weekends. The due date would be the next business day if Feb. 28 falls on a Sunday. You have until March 31 to file If you file these forms electronically with the IRS, but the Feb. 28 deadline remains the same for payees.

The best way to file 1099-MISC forms with the IRS is to do so electronically using the IRS File Electronic Returns Electronically (FIRE) system. You must file electronically if you file 250 or more 1099-MISC forms. You can also file a printed 1099-MISC. 

The Bottom Line

The IRS regulations for Form 1099-MISC are complex, and every business situation is unique. It's essential to seek out the services of a qualified tax professional or use tax preparation software to prepare your Forms 1099-MISC.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How Do You Correct a 1099-MISC Form?

Fill out a new 1099-MISC form with the correct information and mark the "corrected" box on the form. File the corrected form electronically or by mail.

Where Can You Get a 1099-MISC Form?

You can order hard copies of 1099-MISC forms from the IRS or file them electronically via the IRS FIRE system. You may also print them out from the IRS website.

What Goes on a 1099-MISC Form?

Include the following information on a 1099-MISC form:

  • Your name, address, and TIN
  • Name, address, and TIN for the payee
  • The amount you paid in the box that corresponds to what the payment was for


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Sources
The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. IRS. "Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC."

  2. IRS. "2022 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns."

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