Answer
Did the 1099-NEC filing threshold change to $2,000 for 2026?
By Raman Singh, EA, CFP® · Updated May 2026
Short answer
Yes. Starting with payments made in 2026, you only have to issue a Form 1099-NEC (or 1099-MISC) to a contractor or vendor you paid $2,000 or more during the year, up from the old $600 threshold. The change comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the $2,000 amount will be indexed for inflation in future years. Important: this is a payer-side reporting rule. It does not reduce your obligation to report income you receive, whether or not anyone sends you a form.
Who this affects: if you hire subcontractors, virtual assistants, designers, or other independent vendors, you are the payer and must track how much you pay each one. Under the old rule, anyone you paid $600 or more for services got a 1099-NEC by January 31. For 2026 payments that line moves to $2,000, so fewer small vendors will need a form.
The effective date: the new threshold applies to payments made after December 31, 2025, which means the 2026 tax year, with forms filed in early 2027. For the forms you file in early 2026 (covering 2025 payments), the old $600 threshold still applies. Do not apply the new number a year early.
What did not change: you still collect a Form W-9 from every vendor before you pay them, so you have their taxpayer ID and entity type on file. Payments made by card or through a platform (PayPal, Stripe, Venmo for business) are reported by that platform on a 1099-K, not by you, so you do not double-report those. And you still must e-file if you are filing 10 or more information returns in total.
The income side is unchanged: a common misread is that a higher reporting threshold makes small amounts tax-free. It does not. You owe tax on all business income you earn, reported or not. If a client pays you $1,500 and never issues a 1099, that $1,500 is still taxable income on your Schedule C or S-corp return. Clean bookkeeping, not the presence of a form, is what makes your income reporting correct.
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