To make a 1099 form, you need each recipient’s taxpayer identification number and payment totals, then you either e-file through the IRS’s free online portal (IRIS) or submit paper copies ordered from the IRS. The most common version is the 1099-NEC, used to report $600 or more in payments to independent contractors, freelancers, and other non-employees. Here’s how to handle the entire process from gathering information to meeting your deadlines.
Collect Recipient Information First
Before you can fill out any 1099, you need specific details from every person or business you paid. The standard way to collect this is by having each recipient complete a W-9 form, which you should request before or shortly after you start working with them. Chasing down W-9s in January when forms are due makes the process far more stressful than it needs to be.
From each W-9, you’ll pull the following details to enter on the 1099:
- Legal name of the individual or business entity
- Mailing address
- Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN): this is either a Social Security number (formatted XXX-XX-XXXX) or an Employer Identification Number (formatted XX-XXXXXXX)
- Account number if you have multiple accounts for the same recipient and are filing more than one 1099-NEC for them
You’ll also need your own business name, address, and TIN as the payer. On the form itself, your information goes in the upper-left section and the recipient’s goes just below it. The dollar amount you paid goes in the appropriate box, typically Box 1 (Nonemployee Compensation) on the 1099-NEC.
Decide Which 1099 Type You Need
The 1099-NEC is what most small businesses need. You file one for each person or unincorporated business you paid $600 or more during the tax year for services. This covers freelancers, independent contractors, consultants, and similar workers who are not your employees.
The 1099-MISC covers a different set of payments: rent, prizes and awards, royalties, and certain other income categories. If you paid $600 or more in rent to a landlord for office space, for example, that goes on a 1099-MISC rather than a 1099-NEC. Payments to most corporations (C-corps and S-corps) generally don’t require a 1099, but payments to attorneys are an exception and must be reported regardless of the attorney’s business structure.
E-File Free Through the IRS IRIS Portal
The IRS offers a free online system called the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Taxpayer Portal. It’s the simplest way to create and file 1099 forms if you don’t use payroll or accounting software that handles it for you.
Here’s how to use it:
- Apply for a Transmitter Control Code (TCC). This is a 5-digit code that identifies your business when you e-file. You’ll need to create an account and request the TCC before you can submit anything, so don’t wait until the last week of January.
- Sign in and enter your returns. You can type in the information for each 1099 manually or upload a CSV file with all your data at once. The portal handles up to 100 returns per batch.
- Download recipient copies. After you submit, you can download copies of each 1099 to distribute to your payees. They need their copies by the January 31 deadline.
- Save your records. The portal lets you keep a record of completed, filed, and distributed forms, along with saved issuer (payer) information you can reuse the following year.
Your submission counts as timely if it goes through by 11:59 p.m. on the due date. For most small businesses, IRIS is the best option because it’s free, handles the IRS filing and recipient copies in one place, and eliminates the need to deal with special paper forms.
Paper Filing: When It Applies
If you file 10 or more information returns in a calendar year (counting all types together, including W-2s), the IRS requires you to file electronically. That 10-return threshold is an aggregate across all form types, not per form. So if you issue seven W-2s to employees and four 1099-NECs to contractors, your total of 11 means e-filing is mandatory.
If you’re under that threshold, you can file on paper, but you’ll need the official IRS scannable forms. You cannot just print a 1099 on plain paper from a downloaded PDF and mail it to the IRS. The copies submitted to the IRS must be on special red-ink forms designed for machine scanning.
You can order limited quantities of paper forms directly from the IRS website. The limit is 10 information returns per order. Note that certain 1099 variants, including the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, are no longer available in the old carbonless multi-part format. If you need more forms than the IRS provides or want a simpler process, office supply stores and tax software companies sell IRS-approved 1099 kits with the correct formatting.
Paper filers also need to include Form 1096, which is a summary transmittal form that acts as a cover sheet for the batch of 1099s you’re mailing. You don’t need a 1096 if you e-file.
Filing Deadlines
The 1099-NEC has one uniform deadline: January 31. Both the copies you send to recipients and the copy you file with the IRS are due on that date, whether you file electronically or on paper.
The 1099-MISC has a split schedule. Recipient copies are due January 31, but the IRS filing deadline is February 28 for paper filers or March 31 for electronic filers.
If any deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date moves to the next business day. A leap year does not extend a February 28 deadline to February 29. For paper filers, the form is considered timely if it’s properly addressed and postmarked by the due date through the U.S. Postal Service or an IRS-designated private delivery service.
Using Accounting Software or a Payroll Service
If you use accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, or Wave, 1099 preparation is often built in. These platforms track your payments to contractors throughout the year, auto-populate the forms, and either e-file directly with the IRS or connect to an approved filing service. Many charge a per-form fee for this, typically a few dollars each, but the time savings can be worth it if you have more than a handful of contractors.
Payroll services like Gusto, ADP, and Paychex handle 1099 filing as part of their contractor payment features. If you’re already using one of these to pay contractors, the 1099s may be generated and filed automatically.
For businesses that prefer a more hands-on approach but want to skip the IRS portal, the IRIS system also supports an application-to-application (A2A) method. This is designed for software developers and third-party services that transmit data in bulk through an API. Most small business owners won’t use A2A directly, but it’s the backbone that many commercial tax software products use behind the scenes.
Sending Copies to Recipients
Filing with the IRS is only half the job. You’re also required to send each recipient their own copy of the 1099 by January 31. This is the copy they use to report income on their own tax return.
You can deliver recipient copies electronically if the recipient has consented to receive them that way. Without consent, you need to mail a paper copy. If you used the IRIS portal, you can download and print the recipient copies directly. Unlike the IRS copy, recipient copies do not need to be on the special red-ink scannable paper. A clear, legible printout on regular paper works.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline
Late filing triggers penalties that scale based on how late you are. Filing within 30 days of the deadline carries a smaller penalty per form, while filing after August 1 or not filing at all results in the highest penalty. The amounts also increase for larger businesses. Intentionally disregarding the filing requirement carries even steeper fines with no cap.
If you realize you’ve made an error on a 1099 you already filed, you can submit a corrected form. The IRIS portal supports corrections, and paper filers can submit a corrected form by checking the “CORRECTED” box at the top. Filing a correction promptly helps avoid penalties tied to inaccurate information.