Form 1099-MISC
Miscellaneous Information
Agency
IRS
Version
2025 Tax Year
Fee
Free
Deadline
Furnish to recipient by January 31; file with IRS by February 28 (paper) or March 31 (electronic).
Official PDF hosted at www.irs.gov · Verified 2026-05-19
Who Needs This Form
- Landlords receiving $600+ in rent payments
- Recipients of royalties of $10+ (oil, gas, publishing, patents)
- Winners of prizes and awards from a business
- Recipients of medical and healthcare payments
- Anyone receiving substitute payments in lieu of dividends or interest
Step-by-Step Guide
Form 1099-MISC reports miscellaneous payments of $600+ (some $10+) that aren't compensation for services — rent, royalties, prizes, medical/healthcare payments, certain attorney settlements, and crop insurance. Services payments to contractors go on 1099-NEC, not here. This is not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your specifics.
Payer and recipient header (top section)
Same as on 1099-NEC: payer name/address/EIN/phone on the left, recipient name/address/TIN on the right. Pull recipient info from the W-9 they gave you.
Payer info
Your business legal name (not DBA), full address, EIN, phone for IRS matching.
Recipient info
From the recipient's W-9 — name on Line 1, address from Lines 5-6, TIN from Part I.
Common mistake: Filing without a W-9 on file. Without it you can't be sure of the recipient's legal name and TIN, and you may owe backup withholding for unrecorded recipients.
Box 1 — Rents
Rent paid for office space, equipment, machinery, or land used in your trade or business. NOT for personal rent (your home).
What qualifies
Office space, warehouse, equipment rental (printers, vehicles, machinery), pasture/land rental. Both real-estate rents to a landlord and equipment rents to a rental company.
Exception
Rent paid to a property manager who in turn pays the owner — file 1099-MISC to the property manager only. The manager handles 1099 to the owner.
Tip: Rent to a corporation is generally NOT reportable — corporations are excluded except for legal/medical payments.
Box 2 — Royalties
Royalty payments of $10+ (lower threshold than most other boxes). Common: oil, gas, and mineral royalties; publishing/literary royalties; patents.
$10 threshold
Note this is $10, not $600 — much lower than other 1099-MISC boxes. Even a tiny royalty triggers a 1099.
Common mistake: Applying the $600 threshold to royalties. The IRS uses $10 specifically because royalty streams are often small and need to be tracked at scale.
Box 3 — Other income
The catch-all bucket for prizes, awards, and other taxable income not covered elsewhere. Includes some payments that used to be in other boxes.
Prizes and awards
Prize winnings of $600+ in cash or fair-market value of property — game-show winnings, contest prizes, awards not for services rendered.
Punitive damages
Punitive damages awarded in a non-employment legal case (most personal-injury punitive damages).
Deceased employee final wages
Wages paid in the year after death go on 1099-MISC Box 3, not on a W-2.
Box 4 — Federal income tax withheld
Backup-withholding amount. Most filers leave blank unless the recipient hadn't provided a TIN or was subject to backup withholding.
When you withhold
24% on every payment when the recipient didn't furnish a TIN or the IRS notified you they were subject to backup withholding.
Box 5 — Fishing boat proceeds
Specific to commercial fishing boat operators. Share of the catch paid to crew members of small fishing operations.
Who uses this
Owners or operators of a fishing boat with normally fewer than 10 crew, reporting each crew member's catch share.
Box 6 — Medical and healthcare payments
Payments of $600+ for medical or healthcare services. This box covers payments to medical practitioners (doctors, hospitals, clinics) as well as some non-physician providers.
When to report
Any payment to a person or entity providing medical or healthcare services in the course of your business. INCLUDES payments to corporations (medical/healthcare is one of the corporate-exception categories).
Tip: Health insurance premiums you paid for an employee go on W-2, not here. Payments TO health insurance companies for services covered ARE reportable.
Box 7 — Direct sales $5,000+
Checkbox (no dollar amount). Mark if you made consumer-product sales of $5,000+ to the recipient for resale anywhere other than a permanent retail establishment.
Direct-sales scenarios
MLM/direct-sales (Tupperware, Mary Kay, Avon). Rare in typical service businesses.
Box 8 — Substitute payments in lieu of dividends or interest
Payments by a broker or other party as a substitute for dividends or tax-exempt interest that a customer should have received during a short-sale period.
Who uses this
Brokers and securities-lending intermediaries. Recipients report on Schedule B.
Box 9 — Crop insurance proceeds
Crop insurance payments of $600+ made by insurance companies to farmers.
Who uses this
Crop insurance issuers reporting to farmer-recipients.
Box 10 — Gross proceeds paid to an attorney
Settlement or judgment proceeds of $600+ paid to an attorney in connection with legal services, REGARDLESS of who actually receives the money (client or attorney's trust account).
Always reported, always 1099-MISC
Even if the attorney is a corporation, Box 10 still applies. Distinct from attorney fees for services in your own business — those go on 1099-NEC.
Common mistake: Reporting attorney fees on Box 10 when they should be on 1099-NEC. Box 10 is for gross settlement/judgment proceeds, not for fees you paid your own lawyer.
Box 11 — Fish purchases for resale
Cash payments of $600+ for fish purchased from an individual engaged in the trade or business of fishing.
Cash basis
Reportable only for cash transactions. Checks and electronic payments to the same fisherman don't require reporting.
Box 12 — Section 409A deferrals
Year-end deferrals under a nonqualified deferred-compensation plan that meets Section 409A requirements. Used mainly for executive compensation reporting.
Optional disclosure
Required only at certain reporting thresholds — most small businesses won't use this.
Boxes 13-14 — FATCA and excess golden parachute
Box 13: FATCA filing requirement indicator. Box 14: Excess golden parachute payments. Both rare; consult instructions if applicable.
Box 13 — FATCA
Check if you're filing this 1099 to satisfy FATCA reporting.
Box 14 — Nonqualified deferred compensation
Excess parachute payments under §280G/§4999. Rare except in executive comp.
Boxes 15-17 — State info
State tax withheld, state code/payer state number, state income. Required for state reporting in states that don't participate in the Combined Federal/State Filing program.
Box 15 — State tax withheld
Only when you withheld state income tax.
Box 16 — State / Payer state no.
Two-letter state code and your state withholding ID.
Box 17 — State income
State-allocable portion of the federal-taxable income.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Putting services payments to non-employees on 1099-MISC
Pre-2020 nonemployee compensation went on Box 7 of 1099-MISC. The IRS moved it to 1099-NEC in 2020 so the January 31 deadline could apply only to compensation reporting.
Fix: Service payments to non-employees → 1099-NEC. Rent/royalty/prizes/medical/legal-settlement → 1099-MISC. Never both for the same payment.
Skipping Box 6 for corporate medical providers
The corporate-payee exemption that lets you skip 1099-MISC for corporations does NOT apply to Box 6 (medical/healthcare). You file even if the provider is incorporated.
Fix: Always issue 1099-MISC Box 6 for $600+ medical/healthcare payments regardless of entity type.
Box 10 confusion: gross proceeds vs attorney fees
Box 10 is gross proceeds paid TO an attorney in connection with legal services — typically a settlement check made out to 'Smith Law Firm IOLTA.' If you instead paid a lawyer fees for your own business (drafting a contract, defending you in court), that's a service payment → 1099-NEC.
Fix: Settlement/judgment check made out to law firm: 1099-MISC Box 10. Fee paid to your own attorney for legal services: 1099-NEC Box 1.
Using $600 threshold for royalties
Royalties have a $10 threshold (Box 2), not $600. A $25 royalty payment still requires a 1099-MISC.
Fix: Memorize: $10 for royalties (Box 2), $600 for almost everything else, $5,000 indicator for Box 7 direct sales.
Reporting rent paid to a property manager AND the owner
If you pay rent through a property-management company that then pays the landlord, you issue 1099 to the manager — not to both. Double-reporting creates duplicate income on the landlord's records.
Fix: Identify your direct payee. If it's a property manager, that's your 1099 recipient — the manager handles their own 1099 to the property owner.
Sending late — penalties stack
Late penalties for information returns escalate: $60/form within 30 days, $130/form within August 1, $330/form thereafter (2025 rates), with annual caps that vary by business size. Maximum penalties for intentional disregard have no cap.
Fix: Calendar key dates: recipient copies by January 31; IRS electronic file by March 31 (or February 28 for paper).
Ignoring state filing
Some states (PA, MA, OR, IA, etc.) require separate 1099 filing even if you e-filed federally. Combined Federal/State Filing (CF/SF) handles most participating states automatically, but not all 50.
Fix: Check your state's revenue department for 1099 filing requirements. Don't assume federal = state filed.
Filing for personal payments
1099-MISC reporting applies to trade-or-business payments. Personal payments — paying your housekeeper, a tutor for your kids, your dog walker — generally don't require 1099-MISC.
Fix: Ask: was this payment 'in the course of your trade or business'? If not, no 1099. Exception: household employees subject to nanny-tax rules go on Schedule H, not 1099.
Fill Online — Free
Fill Form 1099-MISC in your browser
Miscellaneous Information. Step through the fields below, then download a filled PDF — your data never leaves this page.
Step 1 of 4
Payer information (your business)
The business filing the 1099. Use the legal business name and EIN — not your DBA. This must match your IRS registration.
Four-digit year being reported.
Check only if this 1099 was filed in error and you're voiding it.
Check only if this is a corrected return.
Type your business identity exactly as registered with the IRS. The PDF accepts a multi-line block.
Your business EIN. Sole proprietors without an EIN may use SSN — but get a free EIN at irs.gov/EIN to keep your SSN private.
Related Forms
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Related Guides
- Tax Filing Guide
Income tax brackets, sales tax, property tax, and total tax burden for every US state — sourced from Tax Foundation and IRS, with step-by-step filing guides for each state.
- Small Business Setup & Compliance
Form an LLC or corporation, understand state tax obligations, find licensing requirements, and connect with SBA and SBDC resources in every US state — verified against Secretary of State portals, Tax Foundation, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I use 1099-MISC vs 1099-NEC?
Services to non-employees → 1099-NEC. Rent/royalties/prizes/medical/legal-settlement → 1099-MISC. Before 2020 nonemployee compensation was on 1099-MISC Box 7; the IRS split it out so the January 31 deadline could apply just to compensation.
What's the deadline for 1099-MISC?
Furnish to recipient by January 31. File with the IRS by February 28 (paper) or March 31 (electronic). Note this is LATER than the 1099-NEC IRS deadline (which is January 31 for both).
Do I need a 1099-MISC for my rent payments?
Only if you're a business renting from a non-corporate landlord at $600+/year. Personal rent (your home) does not require 1099-MISC. Rent paid to a property management company → 1099 to the manager.
What if my recipient is a corporation?
Most 1099-MISC payments to corporations are NOT reportable — corporations are excluded from information reporting on most categories. Exceptions: medical/healthcare payments (Box 6), gross attorney proceeds (Box 10), fish purchases for resale, and a few specialty cases.
I received a 1099-MISC — where do I report it?
Depends on the box. Box 1 (rents) and Box 2 (royalties) typically go on Schedule E (rental/royalty income). Box 3 (other income) on Schedule 1, line 8z. Boxes 5-6 (fishing, medical) usually Schedule C. Consult instructions for your specific box.
What if my 1099-MISC has the wrong amount?
Contact the payer immediately for a Corrected 1099-MISC. If unreachable, report what you actually received on your return. Keep records (bank statements, invoices) — expect a CP2000 notice from the IRS and respond with your evidence.
Do I need to file 1099-MISC for credit-card payments?
No. Payment networks file 1099-K for credit-card and third-party payments. Filing 1099-MISC on top creates duplicate income reporting. Only file 1099-MISC for direct payments (check, ACH, cash, person-to-person Zelle).
Can I e-file 1099-MISC?
Yes. Use IRS IRIS (irs.gov/iris) or commercial e-file software. E-filing is required if you file 10+ information returns of any type in the year. The electronic deadline (March 31) is a month later than the paper deadline (February 28).
Sources
Disclaimer: Mubboo Editorial Team. This guide is for general information only and is not tax, legal, or immigration advice. Tax and immigration rules change — always confirm with the official agency, a licensed tax professional, or an immigration attorney before relying on these instructions for filing.