If you do not receive a 1099 from an insurance company, you are still responsible for reporting all taxable income to the IRS. Failure to do so can result in audits or penalties. You should immediately contact the insurance company to request the document, but you can file your taxes using your own records, such as bank statements.
Regardless, you should report all income received on your tax return even if you don't have the 1099. This helps you avoid potential IRS penalties or audits come tax time. You can always file an amended return using Form 1040-X to correct any errors.
If a business fails to issue a form by the 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC deadline, the penalty varies from $60 to $330 per form for 2025, depending on how long past the deadline the business issues the form.
Fortunately, it is not the obligation of a non-employee to ensure that a business provides them with a 1099-MISC form.
Earned Income: Employer Wages
The IRS can catch a missing 1099 form as they receive copies from payers. If you forget to report it, you risk penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. To avoid this, report all income, even if you don't receive a 1099. If you discover a missing form after filing, submit an amended return using Form 1040-X.
Yes, you can file your taxes without a 1099, but you must still report all earned income using your own records like bank statements or pay stubs; if you don't receive the form, contact the payer first, then use Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2 or Form 1099-R) to estimate earnings if needed, as the IRS requires you to report all income to avoid penalties.
Form 1099-NEC: Due Jan 31 (to both recipients and the IRS, whether paper or e-file). Form 1099-MISC: Due Jan 31 to recipients; file with the IRS by Feb 28 (paper) or Mar 31 (e-file). Form 1099-K: Same deadlines as Form 1099-MISC.
Many small businesses need to send 1099s when they make certain payments. Copies of these forms get sent to the payee and to the IRS. In some instances, a copy is also sent to your state taxing authority.
If you still do not get the form by February 15, call the IRS for help at 1-800- 829-1040. In some cases, you may obtain the information that would be on the 1099 from other sources.
For most payments to individuals (like contractors or for other income/rents), the 1099 reporting threshold is $600, though this increases to $2,000 for tax years starting after 2025 under new law; for payment apps (Form 1099-K), the old threshold was $20,000/200 transactions, but for 2024, a phased-in $5,000 threshold was planned, with the $20k/200 rule (and $10+ in royalties/broker payments) remaining for now for 1099-MISC. Key forms are 1099-NEC for non-employee compensation and 1099-MISC for other payments, with 1099-K for third-party platform payments.
The biggest tax mistakes people make include filing late, math errors, incorrect personal info (like Social Security numbers), forgetting deductions/credits (like EITC), misreporting income, not signing forms, and making errors with bank details for direct deposit, all leading to delays, penalties, or missed savings, with using tax software or professionals helping avoid these common pitfalls.
To file your annual income tax return, you will need to use Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship), to report any income or loss from a business you operated or profession you practiced as a sole proprietor, or gig work performed.
For services performed in 2025 and prior, you get a 1099-NEC (or MISC) if you earn $600 or more from one business; starting in tax year 2026, that threshold increases to $2,000 for Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC, adjusted for inflation in later years, but you must always report all self-employment income, regardless of whether you receive a form.
You can furnish each recipient with a single payee statement reporting all Form 1099-MISC payment types. You are required to furnish the payee statements by January 31 and file with the IRS by February 28 (March 31, if filing electronically).
Penalties depend on how late the form is filed — within 30 days, after 30 days, or after August 1. IRS penalties range from $60 to $340 per form, depending on timeliness. Intentional disregard results in a minimum $680 penalty per form.
If you haven't gotten your 1099 by mid- to late-February, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040. It could help you get the information you need to e-file. If your original shows up after you e-file, keep it. You'll want to look it over to see if it matches what you were told over the phone.
Even if you don't get a Form 1099-K, if you received payments for goods, services or property, you must report your income. This includes payments you receive in cash, property, goods, digital assets or foreign sources or assets.
Every tax return is automatically run through an IRS computer program, which checks for common mistakes and red flags — including missing 1099 income. (If the IRS had to manually audit every single tax form by hand, it probably wouldn't.)
Not reporting all of your income is an easy-to-avoid red flag that can lead to an audit. Taking excessive business tax deductions and mixing business and personal expenses can lead to an audit. The IRS mostly audits tax returns of those earning more than $200,000 and corporations with more than $10 million in assets.
If you are worried that you forgot to file a 1099, or if you recently caught a mistake on a 1099, you typically have three years to rectify the mistake but may differ depending on the form.