The 1099-NEC Deadline: What LLCs File By January 31
Updated: October 2026 · Industry Advisors · Education, not legal or tax advice.
The 1099-NEC deadline is January 31 — same day the forms have to be furnished to the recipient and filed with the IRS. That deadline is 90 days from today. Founders who wait until mid-January to gather W-9s, reconcile contractor payments, and file discover that the missing W-9 they need is from a contractor who has since ghosted, and the penalty per late return is steep.
This is the October pre-work checklist. Everything that needs to be in order this quarter to make January routine.
Contents
What A 1099-NEC Actually Is
Form 1099-NEC — Nonemployee Compensation — reports payments of $600 or more made in a calendar year to independent contractors, freelancers, and unincorporated service providers. Prior to 2020, this data was reported on Form 1099-MISC box 7; the IRS spun it out to its own form to speed the January filing cycle and improve matching.
The 1099-NEC has three copies:
- Copy A — filed with the IRS
- Copy B — furnished to the recipient contractor
- Copy C — retained by the payer (your LLC)
All three by January 31. Same day. No staggered deadline like Form 1099-MISC allowed.
Who Receives A 1099-NEC
A 1099-NEC goes to any US person you paid $600 or more for services in the calendar year, with the following key exclusions:
- Employees — they get a W-2 instead
-
Corporations — both C-Corps and S-Corps are generally exempt from 1099-NEC, with two important exceptions:
- Attorney fees paid to a law firm (even if the firm is a corporation) always get a 1099-NEC
- Medical and health-care payments to corporations get a 1099-MISC
- Payments for goods, not services — buying $10,000 of laptops from a supplier does not trigger 1099-NEC
- Payments made via credit card or third-party network — the processor issues a 1099-K instead, so your LLC does not double-report
- LLCs — depends on their tax election. Single-member LLCs (disregarded) get a 1099-NEC to the owner's SSN. Multi-member LLCs (partnership) get a 1099-NEC. LLCs that elected C-Corp or S-Corp status are exempt.
W-9 Collection Is The Real Deadline
The single biggest failure mode in January 1099 filing is a missing or expired W-9. You cannot file a 1099-NEC without the recipient's legal name, address, and taxpayer ID.
The IRS recommends collecting a completed W-9 from every contractor before the first payment. This is the discipline to build in October: pull the year-to-date contractor list from your bookkeeping, cross-reference with W-9s on file, and chase any gaps now.
What a valid W-9 provides:
- Contractor's legal name (as reported on their tax return)
- Business name if different (DBA)
- Federal tax classification (individual, sole prop, C-Corp, S-Corp, partnership, LLC + treatment)
- Address
- Taxpayer ID (SSN for individuals, EIN for entities)
- Signature and date
Bookkeeping tools like QuickBooks, Bill.com, and Xero have built-in W-9 collection workflows. Use them; email chains lose forms.
Thresholds And Exceptions
The $600 Threshold
Cumulative for the calendar year, regardless of payment structure. Twelve $50 monthly payments totaling $600 is a 1099. Two $300 one-time payments totaling $600 is a 1099.
Backup Withholding
If a contractor doesn't provide a W-9 and you cannot verify their TIN, the IRS requires 24% backup withholding on payments. Most LLCs don't set this up because it's rare, but if you have a contractor who won't provide a W-9 after multiple requests, you're technically required.
Attorney Fees
The one exception to the corporation-exempt rule. Any attorney or law firm receives a 1099-NEC regardless of entity type. Two boxes to be aware of:
- Box 1 (nonemployee compensation) — for attorney fees for services rendered to your LLC
- Form 1099-MISC Box 10 (gross proceeds paid to an attorney) — for settlement payments where the attorney holds funds on behalf of a claimant
The Filing Process
Where To File
- Electronic — Required if filing 10+ information returns (rule change effective 2024). File through the IRS FIRE system or a third-party service (Tax1099, Track1099, QuickBooks 1099 e-file).
- Paper — allowed if under 10 total information returns; mail Copy A + Form 1096 (transmittal summary) to the IRS by January 31
Delivery To Recipients
- Email with recipient's consent is acceptable
- Paper mail is default
- Third-party e-file services usually auto-deliver via email + secure portal
Quick Tool · 1099 Readiness Check
Test Your 1099-NEC Knowledge
Q1. You paid a marketing consultant $850 in 2026. He formed a single-member LLC and is treated as a disregarded entity. 1099-NEC required?
Answer: Yes. Single-member LLCs (disregarded) are treated as individuals for 1099 purposes. Issue the 1099-NEC to the individual owner's name and SSN listed on the W-9.
Q2. You paid your commercial landlord (an S-Corp) $18,000 in rent. 1099 required?
Answer: No 1099-NEC (S-Corp exemption applies). Also no 1099-MISC — rent to a corporation is exempt too. Rent paid to an individual landlord over $600 does require 1099-MISC.
Q3. Contractor never returned the W-9. Deadline in 3 weeks. Options?
Answer: (1) Send a formal request in writing with 30-day response window. (2) File the 1099-NEC with what you know (name + address) and mark the TIN as "Refused." (3) Begin 24% backup withholding on any future payments. Do not skip filing — the penalty is higher than filing with incomplete data.
Penalties For Late Or Missing Filings
The IRS penalty structure escalates by how late the filing is:
- Filed within 30 days late — $60 per return (2026 rate)
- Filed 31 days late to Aug 1 — $130 per return
- Filed after Aug 1 or not filed — $330 per return
- Intentional disregard — $660+ per return, no maximum cap
Multiple penalties can stack. State penalties may add to the federal.
State 1099 Obligations
The IRS's Combined Federal/State Filing Program forwards 1099 data to about 35 participating states automatically. But roughly 15 states require separate direct state filing, including California, New York, and Massachusetts. If you have contractors in a state that requires direct filing, you must submit there in addition to the IRS.
See our foreign qualification post for multi-state considerations.
Other 1099 Forms LLCs May Owe
- 1099-MISC — rents, prizes, royalties, medical payments (not for services)
- 1099-K — issued by payment processors to sellers, not by your LLC
- 1099-INT — interest income; typically issued by banks, not businesses
- 1099-DIV — dividends; usually from investment brokers
- 1099-R — retirement plan distributions; issued by plan administrators
Common Mistakes
- Missing W-9 for a contractor. Fix in October, not January.
- Filing 1099-MISC when 1099-NEC applies. Since 2020, nonemployee compensation goes on 1099-NEC. 1099-MISC is for other categories.
- Skipping the corporation exemption check. Attorney fees are the always-1099 exception; medical corps get 1099-MISC.
- Double-reporting payments run through credit card. The processor handles 1099-K; your LLC should not also issue 1099-NEC on the same amounts.
Conclusion
The 1099-NEC deadline lands the same day as W-2 forms and Form 941 Q4 filings. January is the busiest tax month of the year for LLCs with employees or contractors. The founders who breeze through it are the ones who did the W-9 audit in October, not the ones scrambling in mid-January.
Next step: pull your bookkeeping's contractor payment list year-to-date, cross-check against W-9s on file, and identify any contractor over $600 without a current W-9. Chase those this month.
Sources And Further Reading
The Everyday Owner's Blueprint includes the W-9 collection workflow, the 1099-NEC deadline tracker, and the year-end payroll close-out checklist.
Industry Advisors · 30 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005. Education, not legal or tax advice.
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