For payments you make in 2026, the IRS reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC is $2,000, up from $600. The quick QuickBooks check is five steps: list the vendors you paid for services, confirm who is flagged to track for 1099, total what each was paid in 2026 by method, collect a W-9 from anyone near or over $2,000, and keep the W-9 even for vendors who fall under the line. Sources: IRS “Am I required to file a Form 1099 or other information return?”, IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, IRS backup withholding page and About Form W-9 (all read 16 October 2026), plus Intuit’s “Create and file 1099s with QuickBooks Online” (updated 8/3/2026), “Manage contractor and vendor W-9 invites” (8/5/2026) and “Create 1099 reports” (8/5/2026).
The IRS page says it plainly: “For payments made before 2026, the reporting threshold is $600. For payments made in 2026, the reporting threshold is $2,000. For payments made after 2026, see Pub. 1099 for the inflation-adjusted reporting threshold.” The current Form 1099-NEC instructions repeat the $2,000 figure for tax years beginning after 2025.
Two things do not change. Payments under the line are still deductible for you and still taxable income to the vendor; you just have no form to file. And a vendor who refuses to give you a taxpayer identification number can put you in backup withholding territory: the IRS says payers withhold 24 percent when the payee did not provide a correct TIN.
One trap for QuickBooks users: Intuit’s 1099 filing article, updated 8/3/2026, still describes a Form 1099-NEC for a nonemployee paid “$600 or more” during the previous year. That is correct for 2025 payments, which you file this winter. It is not the number for payments you make now. We could not find a setting in Intuit’s help pages for the threshold itself, so check the amount QuickBooks uses on its totals screen before you file in January.
| Step | Where in QuickBooks Online | What you are looking for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. List who you pay for services | Reports → Vendor Contact List → Customize → Change columns → check Track 1099 | Service vendors with Track 1099 blank |
| 2. Check the tracked and untracked tabs | 1099 filing flow: Tracked for 1099 and Not tracked for 1099 tabs | A vendor flagged as needing a form that you never tagged |
| 3. Total 2026 payments by vendor | 1099 Transaction Detail, 1099 Contractor Balance Summary or Detail | Vendors near $2,000, and which payments count |
| 4. Match accounts to boxes | The account-to-box screen in the 1099 flow | Most businesses use Box 1, nonemployee compensation, for services |
| 5. Collect missing W-9s | Tax Filings → Gather recipient tax info → Create W-9 invites | Status column showing missing tax information |
On QuickBooks Desktop the equivalents are Reports → Vendors & Payables → 1099 Summary and 1099 Detail. Intuit notes these default to the last calendar year, so change the date range to 2026 before you read them.
Intuit’s articles say QuickBooks leaves out payments made by credit card, debit card and third-party platforms such as PayPal, because those are reported by the payment company on a different form. They also say it excludes known corporations, vendors outside the US, product purchases (services are reportable, products are not) and reimbursements, with reimbursements identified by account names. That last point is where files go wrong: if a reimbursement sits in an account named something generic, it can inflate or hide a vendor’s total. In the 1099 totals review you can switch the dropdown between “Reportable payments only” and “Non-reportable payments only” to see what was left out and why.
An illustrative example, with made-up numbers: a freelance designer is paid $1,850 by check across 2026. Under the $2,000 line, so no 1099-NEC to file. If you also paid the designer $400 by credit card, QuickBooks excludes it from 1099 totals, and the number stays below the line either way. Now change the check total to $2,300 and the form is required. Either way the W-9 should be in your file before the year ends, because asking for one in January from someone you stopped working with in March rarely works.
The IRS describes Form W-9 as the way a payee gives the requester a correct TIN; the form goes to the person who must file the information return, not to the IRS. The IRS page lists the current revision as March 2024. In QuickBooks Online, “Gather recipient tax info” builds a list of vendors you may need to file for, and you can send W-9 invites by email. Intuit warns that email addresses cannot be edited after sending, so check them first, and that invited contractors show as “Requested” until they finish. Do not remove a contractor from the list unless you are sure they do not qualify; Intuit points out that dropping a vendor who actually needs a form can lead to a tax notice.
A practical rule for new vendors: get the W-9 before the first payment. It takes the January scramble off the table and settles the backup-withholding question early.
| Vendor | Service paid for | 2026 paid by check or ACH | W-9 on file? | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ ______ | Yes / No | Under $2,000: keep W-9. At or over: file | ||
| $ ______ | Yes / No | Missing W-9: request now |
Run it in November, again in the first week of January, and compare against the Track 1099 column. If you also have payroll year-end work to do, fold this into the year-end payroll checklist. Employees versus contractors is its own question: see 1099 vs W-2.
$2,000 for 1099-NEC and several 1099-MISC boxes, for payments made in 2026, per the IRS. Payments made before 2026 use $600, and the threshold after 2026 is inflation-adjusted under Publication 1099.
You are not required to file a 1099 for that vendor, but collecting the W-9 is still sensible. Amounts change, vendors cross the line mid-year, and a W-9 on file settles the taxpayer-ID question.
Intuit says card, debit and PayPal payments are excluded automatically because the payment companies report them. Use the “Non-reportable payments only” view to see what was left out.
Tax Filings, then “Gather recipient tax info,” then “Create W-9 invites.” Check the email addresses first, since they cannot be edited after the invite goes out.
We are not a CPA firm or tax adviser. For edge cases such as attorneys, rent, mixed goods and services, or a vendor who refuses a W-9, ask your CPA. Want your vendor list cleaned up and tagged before January? See our bookkeeping service.
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Founder of Numerawise Solutions, established MMXXIV in Atlanta. Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier. Former Intuit Technical Support engineer. Has personally led two hundred accounting software conversions for US small businesses since founding the practice. Reachable directly at [email protected].