Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1099-NEC reports nonemployee compensation, and a business files it for each person it paid at least $2,000 for services. The instructions say it is due to the IRS on or before January 31, and payee statements are due by the same date. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the printed next business day rule points to Monday, February 1, 2027 (computed here, not published by the IRS).
More IRS forms for employers and business owners, read line by line: Form 940 instructions, Form 943 instructions and Form 944 instructions.
S corporation return (Form 1120-S) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1120-S Schedule B questions 13 to 16.
Partnership return (Form 1065) for 2025, read line by line: Form 1065 Schedule B questions 13 to 24.
Schedule C and Schedule SE (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule C lines 10 and 11.
Quick reference
| Item | Date, as printed unless marked computed |
|---|---|
| Form 1099-NEC to the IRS and to the recipient | January 31 |
| For payments made in 2026, with January 31, 2027 on a Sunday | Monday, February 1, 2027 (computed here, not published by the IRS) |
| Form 1099-MISC to the IRS on paper | February 28 |
| Form 1099-MISC to the IRS electronically | March 31 |
| Form 1099-MISC recipient statement | January 31 |
The January 31 deadline for Form 1099-NEC
The Filing dates paragraph of the instructions states the rule: “Section 6071(c) requires you to file Form 1099-NEC on or before January 31, using either paper or electronic filing procedures.” The deadline does not depend on how the form is filed. The Statements to Recipients section ties the recipient copy to the same date: “You are required to furnish the payee statements and file with the IRS by January 31.”
In practice that means the IRS copy and the recipient copy share one date. The instructions also allow one statement to cover everything paid to a person: “You can furnish each recipient with a single payee statement reporting all Form 1099-NEC payment types.”
The recipient statement rules sit outside these instructions. They say “For more information about the requirement to furnish a statement to each recipient, and truncation, see part M in the current Pub. 1099.”
When January 31 falls on a weekend
The same paragraph carries the weekend rule: “If any date shown falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday in the District of Columbia or where the return is to be filed, the due date is the next business day.”
For payments made in 2026, the January 31 date lands in 2027. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so applying the rule above gives Monday, February 1, 2027. That date is computed here, not published by the IRS, and it assumes February 1 is a business day in the District of Columbia and where the return is filed. The W-2 date for the same year is the same Monday, which the W-2 box 12 codes page covers from the form side.
Extensions of time to file
The Form 1099-NEC instructions do not set out an extension request themselves. They send readers to a separate publication for filing rules: “In addition to these specific instructions, you should also use Pub. 1099, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.” Among the topics that publication covers, the instructions list “When and where to file.” “Corrected and void returns.” and “Statements to recipients.”
The extension itself is requested on Form 8809, Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns. For Form 1099-NEC it is not automatic: “Extension requests for Form W-2, Form 1099-NEC, and additional 30-day extensions are nonautomatic.” “Extension requests for Forms 1099-NEC and W-2 must be submitted on paper.”
The length and the limit are printed in the extension period paragraph: “For Forms W-2 or 1099-NEC, only one 30-day extension of time is available.” “No additional 30-day extensions are allowed for Form W-2 and Form 1099-NEC.”
Timing matters as well: “Form 8809 must be filed by the due date of the returns.” Counting 30 days from Monday, February 1, 2027 reaches Wednesday, March 3, 2027, computed here and not published by the IRS.
An approved extension also leaves the recipient copy where it was: “Any approved extension of time to file will only extend the due date for filing the information returns with the IRS. It does not extend the due date for furnishing statements to recipients.”
The 1099-MISC dates are different
Form 1099-MISC is a different form, and the instructions give it later IRS dates: “File Form 1099-MISC by February 28, if you file on paper, or March 31, if you file electronically.” The recipient copy still goes out early: “You are required to furnish the payee statements by January 31 and file with the IRS by February 28 (March 31, if filing electronically).”
Which box a payment goes in decides which form it is on, and the instructions warn “Be sure to report each payment in the proper box because the IRS uses this information to determine whether the recipient has properly reported the payment.” See the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC boxes page for how the boxes split between the two forms.
Direct sales of consumer products are the one place the forms overlap. The instructions say “If you use Form 1099-NEC to report these sales, then you are required to file the Form 1099-NEC with the IRS by January 31.” A filer who reports the same sales on Form 1099-MISC follows the 1099-MISC dates instead, and the instructions add “Report these sales on only one form.”
Who has to file Form 1099-NEC
The deadline applies to this group: “File Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, for each person in the course of your business during the year to whom you have paid at least $2,000 in:”
| Payment type | As printed in the Form 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC instructions |
|---|---|
| Services | “Services performed by someone who is not your employee (including parts and materials) (box 1a); or” |
| Attorneys | “Payments to an attorney (box 1a).” |
| Consumer product sales | “File Form 1099-NEC or Form 1099-MISC to report sales totaling $5,000 or more of consumer products” on a buy-sell, deposit-commission or other commission basis for resale. |
| Form 1099-MISC royalties | “At least $10 in royalties” |
| Form 1099-MISC attorney proceeds | “At least $600 in gross proceeds paid to an attorney” |
| Form 1099-MISC rents | “Enter amounts of $2,000 or more for all types of rents” |
The box 1a instructions repeat the floor: “Enter nonemployee compensation (NEC) of $2,000 or more.” The line-by-line treatment is on the 1099-NEC box 1 page.
Penalties
The Form 1099-NEC instructions do not print late filing penalty amounts. They point to the general publication, whose topics include “• Penalties.” The one penalty they do mention is on attorney payments: “An attorney is required to promptly supply its TIN whether it is a corporation or other entity, but the attorney is not required to certify its TIN.” “If the attorney fails to provide its TIN, the attorney may be subject to a penalty under section 6723 and its regulations, and you must backup withhold on the reportable payments.”
Because the amounts live in another publication, a filer who is behind should read the penalty section of the current Pub. 1099 for the year being filed instead of relying on a figure from memory.
The edition read for this page is the Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026) and Form 8809 (Rev. December 2025), which are the revisions irs.gov served when it was read on 2026-10-17. The Monday date for 2027 is computed here by applying the printed next business day rule and is not published by the IRS. Check the revision printed on the form you are filing, because a later revision can change the dates and the dollar thresholds.
Common mistakes
- Using the 1099-MISC dates for a 1099-NEC. The instructions give Form 1099-NEC a January 31 filing date for both paper and electronic filing, while Form 1099-MISC has February 28 on paper and March 31 electronically.
- Stopping at the IRS copy. The instructions say the payee statements and the IRS filing are both due by January 31, so the recipient copy cannot wait for the later 1099-MISC dates.
- Missing the weekend roll. The instructions move any date that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday to the next business day, so January 31, 2027 on a Sunday points to Monday, February 1, 2027 (computed here), not to the Friday before.
Related: 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC boxes explained, 1099-NEC box 1 nonemployee compensation, W-2 box 12 codes explained, Form 1099-MISC, and 1099-NEC box 2 direct sales.
Sources
- Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. December 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099mec.pdf
- Form 8809 (Rev. December 2025), Application for Extension of Time To File Information Returns: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8809.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.