A W-9 and a 1099 are two ends of the same process for paying a contractor. A W-9 is the form your contractor fills out to give you their taxpayer details. A 1099 is the form your business files with the IRS at year-end to report what you paid them. You collect the W-9 first, then use the information on it to complete the 1099.
If you hire freelancers, independent contractors, or other non-employees, you'll deal with both. Here's what each form does, who's responsible for it, and the filing rules—including the reporting threshold that changes in 2026.
W-9 vs 1099 at a glance
Question | W-9 | 1099 |
|---|---|---|
What is it? | Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification | Information return reporting payments to a non-employee |
Who fills it out? | The contractor (the payee) | Your business (the payer) |
Who receives it? | You keep it on file; it isn't sent to the IRS | The IRS, the contractor, and your state (if applicable) |
When? | At the start of the working relationship | At year-end, by February 2, 2026 for the 2025 tax year |
Reporting threshold | Collect from anyone you may pay as a contractor | $600+ for 2025 payments; $2,000+ for 2026 payments onward |
What is a W-9 form?
A W-9 form is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form filled out by independent contractors who do work for your business. Think of it as a filing card containing information such as a person's legal name, address, taxpayer identification number (TIN), and social security number (SSN). The current version is Rev. March 2024, which added Line 3b for flow-through entities with foreign partners or owners.
As a small business owner, you should collect this W-9 form from anyone who is not a part-time or full-time employee, such as independent contract workers, freelancers, self-employed individuals and sole proprietors.
It's best to always ask for a copy of the W-9 form at the onset of a worker's contract to ensure you have the contractor's information. (Tip: if you bank with Relay, this request is automated for you.)
What is a 1099 form?
A 1099 form is a tax form your business sends to the IRS to report non-employment income you paid to a contractor during the year. For the 2025 tax year, you must file one for each contractor you paid $600 or more. Starting with payments made in 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised that threshold to $2,000, indexed for inflation from 2027 on.
What is non-employment income exactly? It includes:
Rent
Awards and prizes
Medical and healthcare income payments
Crop insurance proceeds
Cash payments for fish purchased from anyone who makes a living catching fish
Cash paid from a notional principal contract to an individual, partnership, or estate
Amounts to an attorney
Any fishing boat proceeds
Or any other miscellaneous income.
This also includes income you paid to independent contractors, self-employed individuals and freelancers.
1099 forms must be filed with the IRS. Additional copies must be given to the payee and the state tax department (if applicable), and your business must keep one for its records.
As always, individuals must report all income earned on their tax return, which includes income reported on a 1099 form.
Main difference between W-9 vs 1099
The main difference between a W-9 and a 1099 is that a W-9 is used by a business to collect information about a contractor that does work for the business, whereas a 1099 is used by the business to report to the IRS how much it has paid to contractors. In other words, W-9s flow from contractors to the business and are used to create 1099s at year-end, which then flow from the business to the IRS and other relevant parties.
Let's illustrate this with an example: you hire a freelance writer for your business blog. Before the writer turns in their first draft, you have them fill out a W-9 and file it away. Then, in January, you see the freelancer earned $1,000 for the current tax year. This freelancer now needs a 1099 so you can report their income to the IRS.
W-9s are filed away by the business, acting almost like a catalog library for contractors. However, 1099s are filed with the IRS and a copy is sent to the contractor so they can file the income on their tax return.
Who is considered an independent contractor?
How do you tell the difference between contractors and employees?
Contractors provide services without being bound by the requirements of an employee. They can set their hours, use their own tools, refuse work, and complete work in their preferred way. They are also responsible for their health insurance and retirement accounts and submitting their taxes in the form of business taxes or self-employment taxes.
Employees, on the other hand, must abide by set business hours, use the company's tools and strategies to do their work, and are usually provided health insurance and retirement accounts. Employees are issued W-2 forms, which report their wages paid with tax withholding for payroll taxes.
Do you need a W-9 to issue a 1099?
No, you do not need to get a W-9 to issue a 1099, as long as you can obtain a tax ID number or SSN from the individual (which is required to issue a 1099). However, to shield your business from any penalties related to reporting false tax information, it is best to request that your contractors complete an IRS form W-9 themselves and send it back to you. This way the onus falls on them to supply you with accurate and up-to-date information.
Types of 1099s
There are many different types of 1099 forms, each used for a different type of income.
The most popular is Form 1099-NEC, which is required for all contractors that earn more than the reporting threshold in a financial year. As a small business owner, this is likely the form you'll deal with the most often. But here are some of the other 1099 you may run into:
A 1099-INT is used to report interest earned in the tax year to the IRS.
A 1099-DIV is used to report dividend income earned in the tax year to the IRS.
A 1099-G is used to register money received from governments.
A 1099-R is used to report distributions or payouts from a pension or retirement account, as well as annuities and life insurance payouts.
A 1099-B reports income from securities or property handled by a broker, such as the sale of stocks, commodities, and other securities.
A 1099-S reports income from real estate transactions during the tax year.
The 1099-MISC form is a catch-all for income that doesn't fit into any other 1099 category.
Who is responsible for remitting the taxes?
Business owners are responsible for sending a copy of each required 1099 form to the respective entity or individual. However, the business owner is not responsible for tax remittances. The individuals who received payment (and the associated 1099s) are responsible for remitting their own taxes.
That said, there are some circumstances where the payer (i.e., the business owner that pays the contractor fee) is required to withhold 24% of the payment. This is known as "backup withholding." In this situation, the backup withholding requirement should be noted on the W-9 form by the payment recipient (i.e., the contractor) so the business owner knows to withhold 24%.
Note: If you're the payer responsible for backup withholding, you are also responsible for reporting that 24% to the IRS on Form 945 and sending the withheld money to the IRS. These payments typically follow a schedule similar to payroll taxes (those reported on Form 941), which means you'll be making monthly or semi-weekly deposits.
Backup withholding comes into play if:
The individual did not provide a correct Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) on their W-9 form.
The contractor did not certify their TIN.
The TIN is incorrect according to the IRS.
The IRS tells the contractor their income payments are subject to backup withholding because they didn't report interest and dividends on their tax return.
Tips for submitting 1099 tax forms
Now that you know more about W-9s and 1099s, here you'll find some helpful tips for submitting 1099 forms to ensure the right ones get to the right people.
First, you should know that you'll receive multiple copies of the 1099 form (up to 5), with each one meant for a different recipient.
Copy A is meant for the IRS
Copy B is meant for the recipient (i.e., the payee)
Copy C will stay with you for record-keeping
Copy 1 is meant for the state tax agency
Copy 2 is also meant for the recipient
Here are the steps to approach W-9s and 1099s:
Collect a W-9 from each contractor at the beginning of your relationship. Don't wait until the end of the year to see if they'll earn more than the reporting threshold.
When tax season comes around, be sure that you are using the most recent tax year 1099 form, which can be filed by mail or electronically. Note that if you file 10 or more information returns of any type in a year, the IRS requires you to file them electronically.
Fill out each 1099 form using the information from the individual's W-9 form — their legal name, address, Taxpayer Identification Number or Social Security Number.
Calculate the total income you paid them during the year.
Submit Copy A to the IRS.
Submit Copy B and Copy 2 to the taxpayer.
Submit Copy 1 to your state tax department (if applicable).
Keep Copy C for your records.
Important IRS dates & penalties
For the 2025 tax year, the deadline to send Form 1099-NEC to the IRS and your contractors is February 2, 2026 (the usual January 31 date falls on a weekend).
If not filed or filed late, the following per-form late penalties can be incurred for returns due in 2026:
$60 if filed within 30 days
$130 if filed more than 30 days late but before August 1
$340 if filed on or after August 1, which is the same penalty if you do not file a 1099 at all
$680 per form if the failure is due to intentional disregard
How to automatically collect W-9s with Relay
Having a W-9 on file for everyone you pay non-employment income to is important. With Relay, you can easily collect W-9 information from contractors with just one click.
When's the best time to collect W-9 forms from your contractors? When you're paying them.
Think about it: you've just started the relationship, and they're already eager to get paid, so filling out a form alongside getting their pay is an easy task. Compare that to sending your contractor a frantic email at the end of the year asking for a W-9 — it's much more likely to be ignored or get a delayed, last-minute response.
You avoid this tax season stress when you bank with Relay.
Relay lets you automatically request W-9 forms from your contractors at the time of payment. Best of all, they'll need to upload their W-9 before they can get paid, making sure that you'll actually get those forms back.
And when it comes time for tax season, you can export all of your collected W-9s as a CSV and upload them into Xero or QuickBooks Online to generate 1099s for each of your payees. That's hours of manual data entry saved.
Get organized for tax season with Relay
If you're looking for a way to simplify contractor payments — both while you're making them and at year-end — Relay is business banking built to keep you organized. You get up to 20 checking accounts with no monthly maintenance fees, automatic W-9 collection at the time of payment, and 1099 data you can export at year-end and sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Open a Relay account to get set up in about 10 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Are a W-9 and a 1099 the same form?
No. A W-9 collects a contractor's taxpayer information (legal name, address, and TIN or SSN) and stays on file with your business. A 1099 reports to the IRS how much you paid that contractor during the year. You use the details on the W-9 to complete the 1099.
Who fills out a W-9 — the business or the contractor?
The contractor fills out the W-9 and returns it to you. Your business fills out and files the 1099.
What is the 1099 reporting threshold for 2026?
For payments made in 2025, you must issue a 1099 to any contractor you paid $600 or more. For payments made in 2026 and later, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the threshold to $2,000, and it will be indexed for inflation starting in 2027.
When are 1099 forms due?
For the 2025 tax year, Form 1099-NEC is due to both the IRS and your contractors by February 2, 2026 (the January 31 deadline moves because it falls on a weekend).
Do I have to file 1099s electronically?
If you file a combined total of 10 or more information returns of any type in a calendar year, the IRS requires you to file them electronically.
