Do I need to send 1099s to contractors?
Quick answer
If you run your rentals as a business, you generally must send Form 1099-NEC to unincorporated contractors and service providers you pay above the IRS reporting threshold in a year. Corporations are usually exempt, with common exceptions like attorneys. Thresholds and deadlines change, so collect a W-9 before paying and confirm current rules with your tax professional.
When landlords have to issue a 1099-NEC
The 1099-NEC reports payments for services to the people who worked on your property. You send one when three things line up: you pay a contractor for business services, you pay more than the IRS reporting threshold across the year, and the contractor is not taxed as a corporation.
Think plumbers, electricians, painters, cleaners, property managers, lawyers, and accountants. Materials and product purchases do not count. Payments to corporations are generally exempt, though legal fees paid to an attorney are a well known exception. Whether your rental activity rises to a business also shapes your obligation, so this is worth a conversation with your accountant.
Collect a W-9 before you pay
The single best habit is to require a completed Form W-9 before a contractor's first check clears. It gives you the legal name, address, and taxpayer ID number you will need in January, and it tells you whether the vendor is a corporation you can skip.
Chasing a W-9 after the work is finished is where landlords lose hours and patience. Make it part of onboarding every vendor, right alongside proof of insurance, and file the form with the rest of that vendor's records so it is ready when you need it.
Payments by card or app are handled differently
If you pay a contractor by card or through a third party payment network, the processor reports that amount, so you generally do not send a 1099-NEC for it. Sending one anyway can double count the income on your vendor's return.
This is why tracking how you paid matters as much as how much you paid. Separate your check and cash payments, which you report, from card and app payments, which the processor already covers on your behalf.
Filing, deadlines, and common mistakes
You send one copy to the contractor and file another with the IRS, using the totals from your books and the details from each W-9. Deadlines apply and penalties grow the longer you wait, so confirm the current dates with the IRS or your tax professional rather than guessing. State filing may also apply, so check the guides at /laws/.
- Missing a W-9, then scrambling for a taxpayer ID at filing time.
- Issuing a 1099 to a corporation that did not need one.
- Double reporting card payments the processor already covers.
- Forgetting property managers, attorneys, and accountants, who often qualify.
How Rentari helps
Rentari makes 1099 season a byproduct of everyday bookkeeping instead of a January scramble. Auto-Accounting records every vendor payment as you go, and Expense and Receipt Scanning ties each invoice to the contractor who sent it.
When the year closes, Tax-Ready Reporting totals what you paid each vendor so you can see who crosses the reporting threshold and needs a form. Keep a W-9 on file for every contractor, and the details you need to file are already sitting next to the dollars you paid.
Related questions
Do I send a 1099 to an incorporated contractor?
What if I paid the contractor with a card?
What happens if I do not send a required 1099?
This article is general information for landlords, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and city; verify specifics with the official statute or a licensed professional. See our state law guides.