The 1099 rules changed for 2026. Here's what matters if you pay contractors.
Two things changed about 1099s this year, and they landed close enough together that a lot of business owners are going to walk into January with the wrong list and the wrong login.
1. The threshold moved from $600 to $2,000
For payments made in 2026, you only have to issue a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC to a contractor once you've paid them $2,000 or more during the year. It used to be $600.
That's genuinely fewer forms for most small businesses. The designer you paid $900 for a logo refresh? No form needed next January.
But here's the trap, and it's the one I keep flagging for clients: you still need a W-9 on file for every contractor, regardless of what you paid them. Because you don't always know in September who's going to cross $2,000 by December. If you wait until January to chase a W-9, you're chasing someone who's already moved on — and you're the one holding the penalty.
Get the W-9 when you hire them. Every time. It takes one email.
2. The IRS is shutting off the system you filed through
If you file your own 1099s electronically, you've been using a platform called FIRE. It's being retired and replaced with IRIS, and the deadlines are tighter than most people realize:
November 9, 2026 — last day to move your Transmitter Control Code application over
November 19, 2026 — the final FIRE submission ever
The IRIS Taxpayer Portal is free and handles up to 100 returns at a time, which covers essentially every small business I work with. But you cannot set this up on January 30th. Getting a TCC takes real lead time, and filing season is exactly when the IRS is least able to help you.
What to actually do
Pull your contractor list now and check who has a W-9 on file. Chase the gaps this month, not in January.
If you self-file 1099s, start your IRIS application before November 9.
If someone else files them for you, send one email asking whether they've made the IRIS switch. If the answer is vague, that's worth knowing in September rather than February.
None of this is complicated. It's just easy to miss when you're running a business and not thinking about IRS filing systems — which is fair, because you shouldn't have to be.
If you'd rather hand the whole contractor-and-1099 question to someone else this year, let's talk…
