Hate to be the bearer of (potentially annoying) news, but if you’re a contractor, it’s time to think about getting your taxes in order for 2025. On the bright side, we’re here to help!
We’ve provided this handy checklist for contractors whose clients send them 1099s – a common tax form for many folks who are self-employed. Here are 1099 forms contractors need to know about:
- 1099-NEC
- NEC stands for Nonemployee Compensation
- you’d receive this form if you were paid at least $600 in 2025 via a platform like Wingspan
- 1099-MISC
- you might receive this form if you were paid for providing licensed clinical services (for example: you are a doctor, dentist, therapist or psychologist)
- 1099-K
- you’d receive this form if you were paid over $20,000 and had over 200 transactions through an app like Paypal or via credit cards (you can read more about this form here in our explainer)
Now that you’re up to speed, here’s the checklist! These are based on the most popular questions Wingspan receives from contractors like you about 1099-NECs.
Can you check off everything on this list?
- Understand the different types of 1099s
- Surprise, it’s not just 1099-NEC or 1099-K forms! If you received over $600 this calendar year from Wingspan, you’ll likely receive a 1099-NEC form. But you may also be sent a 1099-MISC filing for medical and health care payments (Box 6).
- Plan for when your 1099-NEC form will arrive
- If you have completed your tax verification and are eligible, you will receive your 1099 tax form electronically or postmarked by January 31st. That should give you plenty of time to file before Tax Day on Wednesday, April 15th.
- Keep in mind that you may not receive a 1099-NEC form if you file as an S-Corp.
- Verify that your payments were included on the 1099-NEC
- Ensure that all the payments you received from a client are accounted for by downloading a CSV within the Wingspan app. Simply follow our guide on 1099-NEC payment amounts.
- Make sure the 1099-NEC has all your current information
- Did you move this year? Change your legal name? Your 1099-NEC needs to stay updated.
- Request corrections to your 1099 tax form directly through the Wingspan platform. Wingspan allows you to request updates to the payment amount, tax identification number (TIN), legal name, and/or address. Learn more here.
- Once your request is submitted, it will be sent to your payer for review. It’s important to note that correction requests are submitted to your payer for review and are subject to their approval. They are not submitted directly to the IRS.
Now that you’ve learned about your 1099, we have two easy steps you can take today to help yourself with taxes next year. First: discover the simple steps you should take to get your taxes right for 2026 and beyond. Secondly, sign up for Wingspan’s tax withholding account, which automatically sets aside money from each Wingspan payment, and makes it easy to pay the IRS when you’re ready. Learn more!
*This information is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax or legal advice.
