The set of 1099 forms tells the IRS how much you’ve earned, who paid you, the purpose of the payment, and how the payment was made. This allows the IRS to ensure the non-employment income you declare is the same amount companies report that they paid to you. You can use reports in your account to help you fill out your own 1099 form.
Overview
1099 forms are required for:
- Businesses that pay more than $600 annually to anyone who isn’t a direct employee
- Businesses that receive more than a combined total of $600 during one financial year from the same client
- Review the list of payments made or payments received that require a 1099 form
- We recommend checking with your accountant or tax professional to ensure you’re fully compliant with your 1099 obligations
For Business Owners/Employers
As a business/employer and the payee, it’s your responsibility to report payments you’ve made to contractors (over $600) to the IRS. You’ll need to provide a copy of one of the 1099 forms to both the IRS and to the contractor/freelancer.
To do this, you’ll need two things – the amount you paid your contractor and a blank template of the 1099 form to fill out.
If you haven't been logging contractor payments as expenses, you can get started with the steps in How do I create an expense? here. Then run an Expense report to find the total paid:
- Select the Reports section
- Under Invoice and Expense Reports, select the Expense Report
- Select Filters under Settings
- In the Date Range dropdown, choose your date range
- For Group By, choose between Category (e.g., contractors) or Merchant (name of contractor)
- Select Apply to finish
- From here, you can use the totals to fill in your 1099 form.
For Contractors and Freelancers
As a contractor, it’s your responsibility to report your taxable income to the IRS. If you’ve received more than $600 while working as a contractor for someone, you’ll need to reach out to your clients/employers to get one of the 1099 forms. It’s important to report your income as accurately as possible because your clients will also provide a copy to the IRS.
It may be helpful to send them an Invoice Details report from your FreshBooks account to speed up the process of figuring out how much they paid you over a reporting period:
Invoice Details Report
- Select the Reports section
- Under Invoice and Expense Reports, select Invoice Details
- Select Filters under Settings
- In the Date Range dropdown, choose your date range
- Next, under Clients, choose your employer and select Apply to finish
- Select the Send... button and email it to your client/employer.
Blank Forms and Templates
For US Businesses, use these templates:
Download, complete and mail any of these forms:
- 1099-K
- 1099-MISC
- 1099-NEC
- File electronically through the IRS’ Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system
- If you're using Gusto, review how to distribute Gusto’s 1099-NEC forms to your contractors
For Canadian businesses, the 1099 is called a T4A in Canada, use the CRA’s template to download, fill out, and file on your own.
FAQs
Do I need a Form 1099-K?
A Form 1099-K is for reporting online payments made by credit and debit cards as well as other payment methods like PayPal. It’s the responsibility of these online payment gateways to file and provide copies of the 1099-K to both businesses and contractors involved in the transactions. Learn more about each payment gateway’s process for providing Form 1099-K below: