The short answer
| What it reports | Rent or royalty payments; prizes and awards that are not for services, such as winnings on TV or radio shows. |
|---|---|
| Amounts to report | $2,000 or more, except $10 or more for royalties and $600 or more for gross proceeds paid to an attorney |
| To the recipient | January 31 |
| To the IRS, on paper | February 28 |
| To the IRS, electronically | March 31 |
If one arrives
Where it goes depends on the box. Rent and royalties usually reach Schedule E; prizes and other income reach Schedule 1; medical payments reach Schedule C.
The form is how a payer tells the IRS what it paid. Its absence is not permission — income you received is reportable whether or not a form covers it, and a threshold decides only who must file, never what you owe.
If you have to send one
You file one for rent, royalties, prizes and similar payments. Royalties start at $10 and gross proceeds paid to an attorney at $600 — both far below the general threshold.
Electronic filing is required once you file 10 information returns, counting every type together — eight 1099-NECs and four 1099-MISCs is twelve, not eight.
What belongs on a 1099-MISC
Form 1099-MISC is what a business uses for payments that are not pay for services. The two forms divide the ground cleanly: fees for work go on Form 1099-NEC, and this form takes most of the rest. The instructions say to file it "for each person in the course of your business to whom you have paid" any of the amounts it covers, so, as with the 1099-NEC, a payment you make as a private person is not reported.
Each box has its own threshold, and three of them sit below the general $2,000:
| Box | What it reports | Report from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rents, such as office space, machine rentals and pasture | $2,000 |
| 2 | Royalties, from patents, copyrights, trade names and trademarks | $10 |
| 3 | Other income, including prizes and awards not for services | $2,000 |
| 4 | Federal income tax withheld under backup withholding | any amount |
| 6 | Medical and health care payments to a physician or other provider | $2,000 |
| 7 | A checkbox for direct sales of $5,000 or more of consumer products for resale | $5,000 |
| 10 | Gross proceeds paid to an attorney, such as a settlement | $600 |
| 13a, 13b, 14 | Cash tips, tipped occupation codes and overtime included in box 3 | — |
Not every box on the form is covered here. Box 7 is a tick, not an amount, and is the same fact a payer may report in box 2 of Form 1099-NEC instead; see the direct seller's checkbox. The $2,000 applies to payments made from 2026; for payments made during 2025 it was $600. See $600 or $2,000, and which year each applies to.
Rents: box 1
Office space, a bulldozer to level a car park and a farmer's grazing land are the instructions' own examples. Two points catch people out. Rent paid through a real estate agent or property manager is reported by the agent, not by you. And a rental that comes with an operator is split: the machine on this form, the operator's charge on Form 1099-NEC. The duty can run the other way from what a tenant expects, too: a stylist who rents a chair may owe the salon a 1099-MISC, not the reverse. See who issues the 1099 for chair rent.
Royalties: box 2, from $10
The instructions use box 2 for "royalty payments from intangible property such as patents, copyrights, trade names, and trademarks," and a publisher reports "the gross royalties (before reduction for fees, commissions, or expenses) paid by a publisher directly to an author or literary agent." Gross means before the agent's cut, so the form can show more than reached the author's account. Where the royalties go on your return depends on whether you created the work: see Schedule E.
Prizes and other income: box 3
Box 3 takes "prizes and awards that are not for services performed." An award for work, such as a prize for the top-selling contractor, is pay for services and goes on Form 1099-NEC instead. Box 3 is also where a payer reports payments to individuals that are not subject to self-employment tax.
Payments to corporations
A payment to a corporation is usually not reported. Form 1099-MISC keeps two exceptions that matter here: medical and health care payments, because "The exemption from issuing Form 1099-MISC to a corporation does not apply to payments for medical or health care services provided by corporations, including professional corporations"; and gross proceeds paid to an attorney.
Dates
Recipients get their copy by January 31. The IRS copy is due February 28 on paper and March 31 electronically, later than the 1099-NEC, which is due January 31 however it is filed. If the direct sales checkbox is reported on Form 1099-NEC instead, the earlier date applies. See the deadlines calendar.
Common questions
I pay a contractor who also rents me the equipment. One form or two?
I pay rent for my office through a property manager. Do I send the 1099-MISC?
Why did I get a 1099-MISC for only $40 of royalties?
My publisher reports my book royalties on a 1099-MISC. Do they go on Schedule E?
Does a 1099-MISC mean I owe self-employment tax?
This page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. It covers United States federal reporting. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation.