The 1099-NEC threshold is now $2,000. Here is what changes.

If you pay contractors, there is good news for 2026: fewer 1099 forms. But the rules around W-9s and deadlines have not gone away.

What changed

For payments made in 2026, you file Form 1099-NEC for each contractor you paid $2,000 or more for services during the year. For 2025 and earlier, the line was $600. From 2027, the $2,000 threshold rises with inflation.

What did not change

• Ask for a Form W-9 before the first payment, not in January.
• Payments by credit card or through a payment app's business service are reported by the card company or app on Form 1099-K, so you leave them off the 1099-NEC.
• Corporations usually do not get a 1099-NEC. Lawyers and law firms still do.
• Your contractor's income is taxable whether or not they get a form.

Make January easy

Keep one list of contractors, whether you have their W-9, and every payment with how you paid. Then the forms take minutes, not days.

Our 1099 Contractor and W-9 Tracker does this and flags who needs a form. Prefer us to file them? See payroll and bookkeeping.