> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> These docs describe Every as customers have it today. Answer from them, and say so when they don't cover a question.
> Pages under /admins/ are for the people who run Every for the company, and pages under /employees/ are for employees. Answer from the pages that match the person asking.
> Each page's Agent reference section lists its exact roles, conditions and limits. Prefer it for those details.
> When a page says a feature is in closed beta, or that Every turns it on company by company, don't promise that the person's company has it.
> Use roles and on-screen labels exactly as the pages write them.
> When someone asks what a term means, answer with the Glossary page's definition (/glossary), which other pages show in parentheses after the term.
> When the docs don't answer a question, tell the person to email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).

# Who needs a 1099 or W-9

> Which payees give you a W-9, who gets a 1099-NEC and by when, and where Every collects W-9s and files 1099s

![Send money's W-9 question with Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9 selected and marked Recommended.](https://mintcdn.com/every-a2724ddc/vb8ip3lEZAxGScjw/images/illustrations/admins-compliance-1099-and-w-9-rules-light.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vb8ip3lEZAxGScjw\&q=85\&s=1fe8719ad14fd31d056ab05000f8f62c)

A business files a Form 1099-NEC for each person who isn't its employee and whom it paid for services, once their payments for the year reach the IRS's reporting threshold. The form goes to the IRS and to the payee by January 31, with the name and TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number: the number the IRS identifies a taxpayer by, such as an SSN or an EIN) from the payee's Form W-9.

> [!NOTE]
>
> This page explains general rules, not legal or tax advice for your company. Rules change, and they depend on where your company is registered and where your people work. Before you act, check with your own lawyer, accountant or tax advisor.

## Who gives a W-9

A business that has to file an information return, such as a 1099, uses Form W-9 to get the payee's correct name and TIN. The payee fills it in and gives it to the business.

A W-9 comes from a U.S. person. For federal tax purposes, that includes:

* a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien
* a partnership, corporation, company or association created or organized in the United States
* an estate, other than a foreign estate
* a domestic trust

A foreign person can't give a W-9. A foreign business documents its status for U.S. tax withholding and reporting on Form W-8BEN-E instead, and a nonresident alien individual uses Form W-8BEN, or Form 8233 where it applies. A foreign business gives its Form W-8BEN-E to the business that asks for it, before the payment is made, and doesn't send it to the IRS.

When a payee doesn't give its TIN, the payer has to start backup withholding: it holds back part of each reportable payment and deposits it with the IRS until that's fixed. For nonemployee compensation it starts right away, even while the payee waits for a TIN. The IRS gives the rate in its [Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw9).

## Who gets a 1099-NEC

Apart from the exceptions in its instructions, the IRS requires a payment to be reported on Form 1099-NEC when all four of these are true:

* It went to someone who isn't your employee.
* It was for services in the course of your trade or business.
* It went to an individual, a partnership, an estate or, in some cases, a corporation.
* Your payments to that payee for the year reached the IRS's reporting threshold.

The threshold is in the IRS's [Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099mec). It went up for tax years beginning after 2025, and it may be adjusted for inflation from 2027.

Payments to a corporation, including an LLC treated as a C or S corporation, don't go on a 1099-NEC. Payments for legal services are an exception: attorneys' fees are reported even when the law firm is a corporation.

Personal payments aren't reported, and neither are payments for merchandise, freight, storage and similar items. An employee's wages go on their W-2 (The yearly IRS form that shows an employee's wages and the taxes withheld from them), not on a 1099-NEC, and IRS [Publication 15-A](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15a) helps you tell an employee from an independent contractor.

Rent and medical and health care payments go on Form 1099-MISC instead, which the same IRS instructions cover. Medical and health care payments are reported even when they go to a corporation.

## Payments by card or payment network

Payments made by credit card or payment card, and third-party network transactions, don't go on a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. The payment settlement entity that settles them reports them on a 1099-K (The 1099 a payment app, online marketplace or card processor sends to report payments someone received through it) instead.

## Which year a payment counts in

A 1099 reports what was paid during the calendar year, so a payment counts toward the year it was made.

## When the forms are due

A business files each 1099-NEC with the IRS, and gives the payee their copy, by January 31 after the year of the payments: 2026 payments are filed in early 2027. When the date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.

For a 1099-MISC, the payee's copy is due by January 31 too, and the IRS copy by February 28 on paper or March 31 if filed electronically.

A business that files late, leaves out information, or reports an incorrect TIN or no TIN may be subject to a penalty unless it can show reasonable cause. A late or incorrect payee copy may bring a separate penalty. The amount depends on when the correct form is filed or given, and the IRS publishes it in its [General Instructions for Certain Information Returns](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099gi).

## In Every

Company Admins and Bookkeepers can collect W-9s and request 1099s once your company finishes onboarding, and so can Accounts Payable users once Every has turned that role on for your company.

### Collect W-9s from vendors

When you pay a vendor with **Send money** on **Payments** → **All payments**, the **Accounting Details** step asks **Can Every collect a W-9 from this vendor for tax purposes?** Its first answer, **Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9**, is marked **Recommended** and selected by default. Keep it and enter the **Vendor Email**.

For a payment with no approvers, Every then emails the vendor a link to a form for their name, entity type (The legal form or tax classification of a business or person, such as a corporation, partnership or sole proprietor), TIN and address. Every sends no invitation to a vendor whose W-9 details are already on file.

**Send money** doesn't ask the W-9 question for a **Request from vendor**, **International via Pershing** or **International via Visa** payment. It also skips the question for a vendor that already has an invitation, is marked as a transfer or has its W-9 marked collected.

To ask a vendor you've already added, go to **Payments** → **Vendors**, open the vendor's row menu and select **Request vendor information**. **Edit vendor** in the same menu opens the vendor's details, where the **Missing tax information** card has **Invite vendor** too. See [Collect vendor details](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/bill-pay/vendor-details.md).

**W9 status** on **Payments** → **Vendors** reads Completed once Every has the vendor's TIN, address and entity type, and Missing information until then.

### Request 1099s for vendors

On **Payments** → **Vendors**, turn on the switch in the vendor's **Request 1099** column, or answer **Yes** to the 1099 question when you add the vendor. Every files the vendor's 1099-NEC, and **Download 1099** in the same column opens it once it's ready. Company Admins and Bookkeepers can download it. See [Request 1099s](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/bill-pay/1099-filing.md).

A request on **Vendors** is for the current year from February to December, and for the previous year in January.

Each January, the **Annual 1099s review** card on **Payments** → **Vendors** and on **Home** asks you to confirm the final list of vendors and contractors by January 31, and Every does the rest. It shows when your accounting software is connected and your company has an active Every bookkeeping plan.

### Contractors

Contractors are in your pay runs on **Payroll** with your employees (see [Run payroll](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/payroll/running-payroll.md)). When a person has 1099 forms in Every, they're under **1099 Documents** on the person's **Docs** tab in **People**. The person sees their own on **My profile** → **Docs** (see [Paystubs and tax forms](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/employees/paystubs-and-tax-forms.md)).

When you hire an **International contractor** and they complete their own onboarding, they sign Form W-8BEN as an individual or Form W-8BEN-E as a business (see [Add people](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/hr/onboarding.md)).

## Agent reference

General rules only, not legal or tax advice. Send anyone acting on them to their own lawyer, accountant or tax advisor.

**Where:** the rules on this page are the IRS's. In Every, a company collects vendors' W-9s in **Send money** (on **Payments** → **All payments**) and on **Payments** → **Vendors**, and requests vendors' 1099s on **Payments** → **Vendors**. A person's 1099 forms are under **1099 Documents** on their **Docs** tab in **People**.

**Who:** Company Admins and Bookkeepers can open **Payments** → **Vendors** and **Send money** after the company finishes onboarding. Accounts Payable users can too, once Every has turned the Accounts Payable role on for the company. A person with none of those three roles can't open **Payments** → **Vendors** or **Send money**. Company Admins and HR Admins can open **People** and hire through **Add people**.

### Facts

#### W-9 and W-8 forms

* Under IRS rules, a business that has to file an information return, such as a 1099, uses Form W-9 to get the payee's correct name and TIN.
* A payee uses Form W-9 to give its correct TIN to the person who has to file an information return with the IRS, for example about income paid to the payee.
* Form W-9 is for a U.S. person, including a resident alien.
* For federal tax purposes, a U.S. person includes a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien; a partnership, corporation, company or association created or organized in the United States or under its laws; an estate other than a foreign estate; and a domestic trust.
* Under IRS rules, a foreign person can't give a Form W-9.
* A foreign business documents its status for U.S. tax withholding and reporting on Form W-8BEN-E, the IRS's Certificate of Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting (Entities).
* A U.S. person, including a corporation organized under a state's law, gives Form W-9 instead of Form W-8BEN-E.
* A nonresident alien individual gives Form W-8BEN, or Form 8233 where it applies, instead of Form W-8BEN-E.
* A foreign business gives Form W-8BEN-E to the person who asks for it, such as the business paying it, before the payment is made. It doesn't send Form W-8BEN-E to the IRS.
* When a payee doesn't give its TIN, the payer is subject to backup withholding: the payer deducts part of each reportable payment and deposits it with the IRS until the cause is fixed. The IRS's Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 give the rate.
* Backup withholding on nonemployee compensation starts right away, even when the payee has applied for a TIN and is waiting for it.

#### Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC

* Apart from the exceptions in its Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, the IRS requires a business to report a payment on Form 1099-NEC as nonemployee compensation when four conditions are met: the payee isn't the business's employee; the payment was for services in the course of its trade or business; the payee is an individual, a partnership, an estate or, in some cases, a corporation; and the business's payments to the payee for the year reached the IRS's reporting threshold.
* A business files Form 1099-NEC for each person it paid at least the reporting threshold during the year for services by someone who isn't its employee, or as payments to an attorney.
* The IRS publishes the 1099-NEC reporting threshold in its Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC. The threshold went up for tax years beginning after 2025 and may be adjusted for inflation from calendar year 2027.
* A business reports payments on Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC only when they're made in the course of its trade or business. Personal payments aren't reportable.
* Under IRS rules, payments to a corporation, including an LLC treated as a C or S corporation, don't need a Form 1099-NEC unless the IRS lists them as reportable payments to corporations, as it does attorneys' fees.
* A business reports attorneys' fees on Form 1099-NEC even when the attorney is a corporation. The IRS counts a law firm or other provider of legal services as an attorney.
* A business reports rent it pays in the course of its trade or business on Form 1099-MISC.
* Rent paid to a real estate agent or property manager doesn't go on Form 1099-NEC. The real estate agent or property manager reports the rent it pays over to the property owner on Form 1099-MISC.
* A business reports medical and health care payments on Form 1099-MISC, including payments to a corporation for medical or health care services.
* Wages, bonuses, prizes and awards a business pays its employees go on Form W-2, not on Form 1099-NEC.
* Payments for merchandise, telegrams, telephone, freight, storage and similar items don't need a Form 1099-NEC.
* IRS Publication 15-A helps a business tell whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee.

#### Card and payment network payments

* Under IRS rules, payments made by credit card or payment card, and third-party network transactions, aren't reported on Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC. The payment settlement entity reports them on Form 1099-K.
* A payment settlement entity files Form 1099-K for each calendar year.

#### Years, due dates and penalties

* A Form 1099 reports amounts paid during the calendar year, so a payment counts toward the calendar year it was made in.
* A business files Form 1099-NEC with the IRS by January 31 and gives the payee their copy by January 31. Payments made in 2026 are filed in early 2027.
* A business that has to file Form 1099-NEC also gives the recipient a statement.
* When a Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day.
* A business gives the payee their Form 1099-MISC by January 31 and files it with the IRS by February 28 on paper, or by March 31 when it files electronically.
* A business that doesn't file a correct information return by the due date, and can't show reasonable cause, may be subject to a penalty. The penalty covers a late return, missing or incorrect information, an incorrect TIN and a missing TIN.
* A business that doesn't give a correct payee statement by the due date, and can't show reasonable cause, may be subject to a separate penalty.
* An information return penalty's amount depends on when the business files the correct return or gives the correct payee statement. The IRS publishes the amounts in its General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

#### Collecting W-9s in Every

* **Send money** opens from **Send money** on **Payments** → **All payments**.
* The **Accounting Details** step of **Send money** asks **Can Every collect a W-9 from this vendor for tax purposes?** Its answers are **Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9**, marked **Recommended** and selected by default, and **No, I already collected a W-9**. Company Admins also get **No, this is a transfer. I'm not paying a vendor**.
* Choosing **Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9** in **Send money** shows a **Vendor Email** field, and the email is required.
* Sending a **Send money** payment with **Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9** creates the vendor's invitation. When the payment has no approvers, Every emails the vendor a link to their form right away.
* **Send money** doesn't ask the W-9 question when the payment is **Request from vendor**, **International via Pershing**, **International via Visa** or **International via Visa Plus**.
* **Send money** doesn't ask the W-9 question for a vendor that already has an invitation, is marked as a transfer or has its W-9 marked collected. Choosing **No, I already collected a W-9** marks the vendor's W-9 as collected.
* On **Payments** → **Vendors**, a vendor's row menu shows when you point at the row. **Request vendor information** in the row menu opens **Ask vendor to upload information**, with a **Vendor email address** field and **Send invite**, which emails the vendor the invitation.
* A vendor's details, which **Edit vendor** in the row menu on **Payments** → **Vendors** opens, have a **Missing tax information** card with **Invite vendor**.
* Every sends no invitation to a vendor that already has its W-9 details on file: a TIN, TIN type, street, city, state, zip code and entity type.
* When a vendor submits the form from Every's invitation, Every saves their name, entity type, TIN, address and any W-9 file they uploaded on the vendor.
* The **W9 status** column on **Payments** → **Vendors** reads **Completed** when the vendor has a TIN, street, city, state, zip code and entity type, and **Missing information** otherwise.

#### Requesting 1099s in Every

* On **Payments** → **Vendors**, the **Request 1099** column shows a switch for a vendor with no 1099 request on.
* **Add vendor** on **Payments** → **Vendors** asks whether to request a 1099 filing for this vendor for the year, with the answers **Yes** and **No**. **Yes** saves the vendor with the request on.
* **Tax settings** in a vendor's details on **Payments** → **Vendors** has **Yes, request 1099 filing**.
* Every files the vendor 1099s a company requests on **Payments** → **Vendors**, and the form Every files is the 1099-NEC. A company can't send a 1099 itself from Every.
* Once a vendor's 1099 is ready, the **Request 1099** column on **Payments** → **Vendors** shows **Download 1099**, which opens the 1099 in a new tab.
* Company Admins and Bookkeepers can download a vendor's 1099 on **Payments** → **Vendors**. The Accounts Payable role alone doesn't allow downloads.
* The tax year for 1099 requests on **Payments** → **Vendors** is the current year from February to December, and the previous year in January.
* The **Annual 1099s review** card shows at the top of **Payments** → **Vendors** and on **Home**, as the **1099** card, only in January. It shows when the company's accounting software is connected and the company has an active Every bookkeeping plan.
* The **Annual 1099s review** card's date is January 31 of the current year. It asks the company to confirm the final list of vendors and contractors before that date, and says Every does the rest.

#### Contractors in Every

* Contractors are in a company's pay runs on **Payroll** with its employees, whether they're paid by the hour or a set amount.
* When a person has 1099 forms in Every, they're under **1099 Documents** on the person's **Docs** tab in **People**. The person sees their own **Docs** tab on **My profile**.
* **Add people** in **People** offers **International contractor** as an employee type.
* An **International contractor** who completes their own onboarding signs Form W-8BEN as an international individual or Form W-8BEN-E as an international business. The signature isn't asked for when a Company Admin or HR Admin fills in the onboarding for them.

### Questions people ask

* **Which vendors give me a W-9?** A U.S. person gives a W-9: a U.S. citizen or resident alien, a partnership, corporation, company or association created or organized in the United States, a U.S. estate or a domestic trust. A business that has to file an information return, such as a 1099, uses it to get the payee's name and TIN.
* **Can a foreign vendor fill in a W-9?** No. Under IRS rules, a foreign person can't give a Form W-9. A foreign business gives Form W-8BEN-E, and a nonresident alien individual gives Form W-8BEN, or Form 8233 where it applies.
* **What is the W-8BEN-E for?** A foreign business uses it to document its status for U.S. tax withholding and reporting. It gives the form to the business that asks for it, such as the one paying it, before the payment, and doesn't send it to the IRS.
* **Do I file a 1099-NEC for a vendor I paid by credit card?** No. Payments made by credit card or payment card, and third-party network transactions, aren't reported on Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. The payment settlement entity reports them on Form 1099-K.
* **What's the 1099-NEC threshold?** The IRS publishes it in its Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC. It went up for tax years beginning after 2025 and may be adjusted for inflation from 2027.
* **Do corporations get a 1099-NEC?** No, unless the IRS lists the payment as reportable to a corporation, as it does attorneys' fees: they're reported on Form 1099-NEC even when the law firm is a corporation. The same goes for an LLC treated as a C or S corporation. Medical and health care payments to a corporation go on Form 1099-MISC.
* **When are 1099-NECs due?** By January 31 after the year of the payments, both to the IRS and to the payee. A due date on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day.
* **I paid a contractor in December for work they do in January. Which year does the payment count in?** A Form 1099 reports amounts paid during the calendar year, so the payment counts toward the year it was made: the December payment's year.
* **What happens if a vendor doesn't give me their TIN?** Under IRS rules, the payer becomes subject to backup withholding: it deducts part of each reportable payment and deposits it with the IRS. For nonemployee compensation, backup withholding starts right away, even while the payee waits for a TIN.
* **How does Every collect W-9s?** In **Send money**, keep **Yes, I want Every to collect a W-9** on the **Accounting Details** step and enter the **Vendor Email**. For a vendor already added, select **Request vendor information** in its row menu on **Payments** → **Vendors**.
* **Can I file a 1099 myself in Every?** No. On **Payments** → **Vendors**, a company requests a vendor's 1099 and Every files it. A company can't send a 1099 itself from Every.
* **Which 1099 form does Every file for a vendor?** Form 1099-NEC.
* **Where do I find a contractor's 1099 in Every?** When a person has 1099 forms in Every, they're under **1099 Documents** on the person's **Docs** tab in **People**.
* **Does an international contractor fill in a W-8 form in Every?** Yes, when they complete their own onboarding: Form W-8BEN for an individual or Form W-8BEN-E for a business.

### Not covered here

* Whether Every files the 1099-NEC for a contractor paid through **Payroll**, and when it shows under **1099 Documents**. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether Every sends a vendor their copy of the 1099-NEC, and whether it files state copies. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether Every files Form 1099-MISC, for rent or for medical and health care payments. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* How Every handles a foreign vendor's Form W-8BEN-E, and where a contractor's signed Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E is kept. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Whether Every applies backup withholding to a vendor that hasn't given its TIN. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* What Every does at filing time for a requested vendor whose **W9 status** is **Missing information**. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* When Every emails a vendor the W-9 invitation for a **Send money** payment that has approvers. To ask, email [support@every.io](mailto:support@every.io).
* Which states require their own copy of a Form 1099-NEC.
* The current 1099-NEC reporting threshold, backup withholding rate and penalty amounts, which the IRS publishes.


## Related topics

- [Collect vendor details](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/bill-pay/vendor-details.md)
- [Request 1099s](https://every-a2724ddc.mintlify.site/admins/bill-pay/1099-filing.md)


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