Information returns
1099 threshold for 2026: $2,000, up from $600
For 2026, a business sends a Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC only when it pays someone $2,000 or more in the year, up from $600. The change came with the July 2025 tax law and applies to tax years beginning after 2025. Payment apps send a Form 1099-K only above $20,000 and 200 transactions. Income below these amounts is still taxable.
The thresholds
The IRS says the $2,000 amount may be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027. No 2027 figure has been published yet. The same $2,000 threshold applies to backup withholding on these payments.
| Form and payment | Through 2025 | From 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1099-NEC: pay to contractors and freelancers | $600 | $2,000 |
| 1099-MISC: rents, prizes, other income, medical payments | $600 | $2,000 |
| 1099-MISC: royalties | $10 | $10 |
| 1099-MISC: gross proceeds paid to an attorney | $600 | $600 |
| 1099-K: payment apps and marketplaces | More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions | More than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions |
| 1099-K: credit and debit card payments | No threshold | No threshold |
If you are paid on a 1099
All income is taxable, form or no form. A client who paid you $1,800 in 2026 does not have to send a 1099-NEC, but the $1,800 still goes on your Schedule C, and self-employment tax applies once your net profit reaches $400.
Keep your own record of every payment, deposits and invoices, because fewer forms will arrive. The IRS can still see payments that come through a card processor, since those have no threshold.
If you pay contractors
Collect a Form W-9 before the first payment. Send a 1099-NEC to each contractor you paid $2,000 or more during 2026, and file it with the IRS.
Form 1099-NEC is due to the IRS and the contractor by January 31. For 2026 payments that is Monday, February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday. Form 1099-MISC is due to the IRS by February 28 on paper or March 31 if filed electronically, moved to the next business day when that falls on a weekend.
Payments made by card or through a payment app are reported by the processor on Form 1099-K, so you do not also send a 1099-NEC for them.
State thresholds can be lower
Some states set their own, lower reporting thresholds for Form 1099-K and other information returns, so a state form can arrive even when no federal one is required.
Self-employed or paying contractors?
USTAXX prepares Schedule C returns from your own records, not just the forms you got, and helps small businesses with their year-end 1099s. In person in Naperville, IL, or remotely.
Questions people ask
What is the 1099 threshold for 2026?
$2,000 for Forms 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC payments, up from $600. Royalties stay at $10. The Form 1099-K threshold is more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.
Do I have to report income under $2,000 if I did not get a 1099?
Yes. All income is taxable whether or not a form is issued. Self-employed income goes on Schedule C.
Is the $600 1099 rule gone?
For 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC payments, yes, from tax years beginning after 2025. It still applies to 2025 payments and to gross proceeds paid to attorneys.
What is the 1099-K threshold for 2026?
Payment apps and online marketplaces send a 1099-K when payments total more than $20,000 and there are more than 200 transactions. Card payments have no threshold.
When is Form 1099-NEC due for 2026 payments?
February 1, 2027, both to the contractor and to the IRS, because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday.
Where these rules come from
- IRS: Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC
- IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-K
- IRS: Form 1099-K FAQs, general information
- IRS: Working Families Tax Cuts, businesses
General information, current when written, not advice about your situation. Fees and forms change; the official pages above are the authority.