Is an org. legally required to generate 1099 forms?
April 1, 2013 2:44 PM

Is the non-profit I work for legally required to generate 1099 forms for all of the individuals who receive stipends from this org. and have filled out W9 forms (technically "independent contractors")?

I am trying to help the people in our job training program file their taxes but am running into some opacity in the staff/accountant side of our organization in getting the info these folks need.

From what I've read, if a business or non-profit pays someone $ as an independent contractor and has that employee fill out a W-9 form with this taxpayer id number as part of the employment process, when reporting taxes for the year the business or non-profit should be generating 1099 forms: one copy for the IRS and one for the individual. Is this accurate?

How strict is the requirement that this 1099 be provided to the individual? I'm basically trying to figure out how likely it is that these 1099s have been generated and simply lost in the shuffle, making it potentially easier for me to keep pushing the accountant to reissue them. Many people in the program have non-permanent addresses or may have moved and not updated their address.
posted by anonymous to Work & Money (3 answers total)


If you think a 1099 was issued but can't get the accountants to confirm this or supply copies (wtf?), you could help your clients contact the IRS by phone or in-person. They should be able to confirm what information returns were filed and possibly even provide a transcript of the information.

It's entirely possible that they filled out W-9 forms but were never issued 1099 forms, such as if they were paid less than the required amount.
posted by zachlipton at 2:58 PM on April 1, 2013


The $600 is per year, not per check. And while you aren't *required* to produce them for people taking in less than that, it might be good practice to do so, because they still have to claim it as income on their taxes.

The accountant should know whether they prepared and issued the forms, and whether any of them were returned back to them. It might not be the accountant's job to generate the forms, but it should be someone's job.
posted by gjc at 3:32 PM on April 1, 2013


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