Fill out a 1099-MISC form in minutes
Rent, royalties, prizes or attorney fees: enter the payments and they land in the right boxes of the official 2026 form.
- Official Rev. 12-2026 form
- All 18 boxes
- Copies 1, B, 2 and A
Example1099-MISC: $14,400 of rent for a storage unit (box 1) and a $2,500 contest prize (box 3, other income).
- Free to fill in & preview
- No account needed
- All 50 states + DC
The basics
What is a 1099-MISC form?
Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information, is the IRS form a business uses to report payments that aren't wages and aren't pay for a contractor's work. In plain terms, the 1099-MISC meaning is: “this business paid you this much rent, royalties, prize money or other income this year.”
The business files it with the IRS and gives a copy to the person it paid. The IRS matches it against that person's tax return, so the income doesn't go unreported.
What the 1099-MISC form is used for
- Rent for offices, storage, land or equipment (box 1)
- Royalties of $10 or more (box 2)
- Prizes, awards and other income (box 3)
- Medical and health care payments (box 6)
- Gross proceeds paid to attorneys (box 10)
- Crop insurance, fishing boat proceeds and fish purchases
Paid someone for their work? That's a 1099-NEC.
Who gets one
Who gets a 1099-MISC?
For payments made in 2026, most boxes apply once you pay someone $2,000 or more in the year (it was $600 through 2025). Royalties are reported from $10, and direct sales from $5,000.
- Landlords you pay rent
- Office space, a storage unit, equipment or machinery rented for your business — box 1. Rent paid to a real estate agent or property manager is reported by them, not you.
- Royalty holders
- Authors, songwriters, inventors and owners of oil, gas or mineral rights — box 2, from just $10 in the year.
- Prize and award winners
- Contest prizes and awards that aren't pay for services — box 3, other income. A prize for work done goes on the 1099-NEC instead.
- Doctors and health care providers
- Medical and health care payments made in the course of your business, even to a professional corporation — box 6.
- Attorneys paid settlement money
- Gross proceeds paid to a lawyer, for example a settlement paid to the claimant's attorney — box 10. The lawyer's own fees go on the 1099-NEC.
- Not: people you paid for work
- Contractors and freelancers you paid for services get a 1099-NEC. Employees get a W-2. Payments by card or PayPal are reported on Form 1099-K.
Side by side
1099-MISC vs. 1099-NEC: which one do you need?
| Form 1099-MISC | Form 1099-NEC | |
|---|---|---|
| Reports | Rents, royalties, prizes, medical and attorney payments, other income | Pay for services by a non-employee |
| Typical recipient | Landlord, author, prize winner, doctor, attorney | Freelancer, consultant, independent contractor |
| 2026 threshold | $2,000 (royalties $10) | $2,000 |
| Recipient copy due | January 31 (February 15 for boxes 8 and 10) | January 31 |
| IRS copy due | February 28 on paper, March 31 e-filed | January 31 |
| Create it | 1099-MISC builder | 1099-NEC builder |
How it works
How to fill out a 1099-MISC in three steps
Step 1
Enter your business as the payer
Business name, phone number, TIN and address. Outside the US? Pick your country and enter the address the way it's written there.
Step 2
Add the recipient and the payments
Their name, TIN and address from Form W-9, then each kind of payment in its own box: rents, royalties, other income, medical payments and so on.
Step 3
Check the form, then download
Your numbers appear on the official 2026 Form 1099-MISC. Click any box to change it, then download Copy 1, B, 2 and A as one PDF.
Box by box
Every box on the 2026 Form 1099-MISC
Each kind of payment has its own box. Fill in only the ones you paid — most forms use one or two.
Box 1
Rents
Rent for property or equipment used in your business.
Box 2
Royalties
Royalties of $10 or more, before any fees are taken out.
Box 3
Other income
Prizes, awards, punitive damages and other income with no box of its own.
Box 4
Federal tax withheld
Backup withholding (24%) or tax withheld from Indian gaming profits.
Box 5
Fishing boat proceeds
A crew member's share of a fishing boat's catch.
Box 6
Medical payments
Payments to doctors and other providers of health care services.
Box 7
Direct sales
Check it for $5,000 or more of consumer products sold for resale.
Box 8
Substitute payments
Paid in lieu of dividends or interest by a broker.
Box 9
Crop insurance
Crop insurance proceeds paid to farmers.
Box 10
Attorney proceeds
Gross proceeds paid to a lawyer, such as a settlement.
Box 11
Fish purchased
Cash paid for fish bought for resale from a fishing business.
Box 12
Section 409A deferrals
Optional: deferrals under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan.
Box 13aNew
Cash tips
Cash tips paid to the recipient, with the TTOC in box 13b.
Box 13bNew
TTOC
Treasury Tipped Occupation Code of the work the tips came from.
Box 14New
Overtime compensation
The qualified overtime premium included in the payments.
Box 15
Nonqualified deferred compensation
Income from a plan that fails section 409A.
Box 16–18
State
State tax withheld, your state ID number and the state income — two lines.
FATCA
Filing requirement
Only for foreign financial institutions meeting a FATCA requirement.
Example: your bakery rented a delivery van from a neighbour for $650 a month in 2026 — $7,800 for the year — and paid a $2,500 prize in a recipe contest to someone else. The van owner gets a 1099-MISC with 7800.00 in box 1. The contest winner gets their own 1099-MISC with 2500.00 in box 3.
Filing
How to file a 1099-MISC form
Send Copy B to the recipient
By January 31 — February 1, 2027 for 2026 payments — or by February 15 if you filled in box 8 or 10. Mail it, hand it over, or email the PDF if they agreed to electronic delivery.
File the IRS copy
By March 31, 2027 if you e-file, or by March 1, 2027 on paper (February 28 is a Sunday). E-filing is free through the IRS Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) and required once you file 10 or more information returns.
Filing on paper
Paper 1099-MISCs must be the IRS's scannable red-ink forms with Form 1096, mailed to the IRS center for your state. A Copy A printed from a PDF can't be filed — use it as your record and as the reference when you e-file.
State copies
Some states want their own copy (Copy 1). Check your state's 1099 rules — many take the federal data through the IRS.
Copies in your PDF
Which 1099-MISC copy goes where
Your PDF has the four copies of the official form with the same numbers on each, plus the IRS Instructions for Recipient.
Copy 1
For the state tax department, where your state asks for one.
Copy B
For the recipient, to keep with their tax records.
Copy 2
For the recipient to file with a state income tax return.
Copy A
The IRS copy, printed in red. For your records only: file it online through IRIS.
For the recipient
1099-MISC tax rate: how the income is taxed
There is no special 1099-MISC tax rate. What the form reports is added to the recipient's other income and taxed at their ordinary federal rates — 10% to 37% — plus state income tax where it applies. Where it goes on the return depends on the box:
- Rents and royalties (boxes 1 and 2) — Schedule E, after expenses such as repairs or depreciation.
- Prizes, awards and other income (box 3) — Schedule 1 of Form 1040 as other income.
- Income from a trade or business — Schedule C, where 15.3% self-employment tax applies to the profit as well.
- Tax withheld (box 4) — credited on the return like any other withholding.
Pricing
One price per 1099-MISC. No subscription.
Fill in the form and review every box for free. You only pay when you're ready to download the PDF.
Form 1099-MISC
$7.99 per form
- Fill in the form
- Free
- Review every box
- Free
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Included with every 1099-MISC
- Official 2026 IRS Form 1099-MISC
- Editable review on the form itself
- Copy 1, B, 2 and A in one PDF
- PDF download plus a link by email
Questions
1099-MISC FAQ
What is a 1099-MISC form?
Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Information, is an IRS information return that reports payments a business made during the year that aren't wages and aren't pay for a contractor's services: rents, royalties, prizes, medical payments, attorney proceeds and other income.
What is the 1099-MISC form used for?
It tells the IRS, and the person you paid, how much of each kind of miscellaneous income they received from you, so it can be reported on their tax return. The payer files it; the recipient uses Copy B.
Who gets a 1099-MISC?
Anyone your business paid at least $2,000 in 2026 in rents, prizes and awards, other income or medical payments, or at least $10 in royalties — usually individuals, partnerships and LLCs rather than corporations. Medical and attorney payments are reported even to corporations.
What's the difference between a 1099-MISC and a 1099-NEC?
Pay for services by someone who isn't your employee goes on the 1099-NEC. Everything else on the list — rent, royalties, prizes, medical payments, attorney settlement proceeds and similar income — goes on the 1099-MISC.
What is the tax rate on 1099-MISC income?
There isn't a special rate. The income is added to the recipient's other income and taxed at their ordinary federal rates of 10% to 37%. Rents and royalties go on Schedule E; prizes on Schedule 1 as other income. If the income comes from running a business, it goes on Schedule C and self-employment tax of 15.3% applies too.
How do I file a 1099-MISC form?
Give Copy B to the recipient by January 31 (February 15 if box 8 or 10 is filled). File the IRS copy by February 28 on paper or March 31 electronically — free through the IRS Information Returns Intake System (IRIS). A Copy A printed from a PDF can't be filed on paper.
How do I fill out a 1099-MISC?
Enter your business in the payer boxes and the recipient from their Form W-9, then put each type of payment in its own box: rent in box 1, royalties in box 2, prizes in box 3, and so on. Leave boxes that don't apply empty. The generator walks you through it and shows the filled-in form before you download.
Where did the golden parachute box go?
Excess golden parachute payments moved to box 3 of Form 1099-NEC in 2020. The 2026 Form 1099-MISC has no box for them.
How much does the 1099-MISC generator cost?
Filling in the 1099-MISC and previewing every box is free. Downloading the finished PDF costs $7.99 per form, with no subscription.
Reviewed October 2026 against the IRS Form 1099-MISC (Rev. December 2026) and the 2026 Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC.
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