Collecting 1099 Information From Clients: W-9s, Contractor Payments and the 2026 $2,000 Threshold

Every January, accountants and bookkeepers ask their small-business clients the same question: who did you pay as a contractor last year, and how much? The answer usually arrives as an export from the books, a list typed in an email, or a shoebox of W-9s, and the 1099-NEC deadline is January 31.

What to collect for each contractor

• Name, as on their W-9 (a business name if they have one).
• Taxpayer ID: their SSN or EIN, from the W-9.
• Entity type: individual or sole proprietor, LLC, partnership, corporation.
• Mailing address: the 1099 is sent to them.
• Total paid in the year, and how much of it was by card or a payment app.

What changed for 2026

For payments made in 2026, a 1099-NEC is required when a business pays a contractor $2,000 or more for services. It was $600 for payments through 2025, and from 2027 the threshold is adjusted for inflation. Clients who learned “anything over $600” will over-report; the list should apply the new number.

Who doesn’t get a 1099-NEC

• Payments by card or payment app. The card company or app reports them on 1099-K. Subtract them from the total.
• Corporations, usually. The common exception is attorneys’ fees, which are reported even for a corporation.
• Contractors paid less than $2,000 (for 2026) by check, cash or transfer.

What the client’s file really looks like

From the example’s sample file, an export from a small business’s books:

• A vendor named Total Lawn Care LLC, which a simple import would skip as a totals row.
• State names written out (“Massachusetts”, “ma”) and ZIP codes without their leading zero (1742 for 01742).
• A contractor with no tax ID.
• A designer paid entirely by card.
• A plumbing corporation.
• A Total row at the bottom.

Collecting it in one pass

The census portal example has a 1099 contractor template. The client drops in their export as it is, and the portal:

• matches the columns (“Vendor”, “Tax ID”, “Total Paid”, “Paid by Card”),
• tells EINs from SSNs, writes states as two letters and puts back ZIP code zeros,
• knows Total Lawn Care is a contractor and the Total row isn’t (a totals row has no tax ID),
• asks only for what’s missing, with the reason (“Required on every 1099; ask them for a W-9”),
• marks who gets a 1099-NEC: $2,000 or more not paid by card, not a corporation.

It’s the same engine as the example’s 401(k) census and health renewal census: one portal for any data you collect from clients.

Key takeaways

• Collect name, TIN, entity type, address, total paid and the card-paid part.
• For 2026 payments, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000.
• Leave out card and app payments and (most) corporations.
• Ask clients only for what’s missing, in early January.

Try the 1099 contractor template →

An accounting firm, or any business that collects data from its clients? We’ll build a portal around your fields and checks, and because we work with AI-assisted development, it costs far less than you might expect. Let’s talk.