Payee TallyPayee Tally / Guide
1099 thresholds for 2026
For payments made in 2026, the line for contractor pay and rents moved from $600 to $2,000. The IRS instructions for 2026 give these amounts.
General information, not tax or legal advice. For your own situation, ask a tax professional.
| Payment | Form and box | Line for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Pay for services by a non-employee | 1099-NEC, box 1 | $2,000 or more |
| Rents | 1099-MISC, box 1 | $2,000 or more |
| Gross proceeds paid to an attorney for legal services | 1099-MISC, box 10 | $600 or more |
What changed
The IRS instructions say the nonemployee compensation threshold rose to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025. Through 2025 the line was $600, so a contractor you paid $1,500 in 2025 may have had a form, and the same $1,500 in 2026 falls under the line.
Card and app payments
The instructions say payments made with a credit card or payment card, and certain other payments such as third-party network transactions, are reported on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity, and are not reported on Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC. That is why the totals sheet keeps card and app payments apart.
Add up per payee, per year
The lines apply to what you paid one payee over the year, not to one payment. A contractor paid $400 a month from January reaches $2,000 with the May payment.
Add up your own payees. Paste your bank or bookkeeping export and see each payee's 2026 total, marked at $2,000.
Open the totals sheetSource: the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (revision for 2026 information), read October 23, 2026.