Do LLCs get 1099s when you pay them for work?
The letters LLC on an invoice do not decide it. One box on the contractor's W-9 does, and it also tells you whose name and number go on the form.
For payments made in 2026, an LLC gets a Form 1099-NEC if you paid it $2,000 or more for services by check, bank transfer or cash and it is not taxed as a C or S corporation.
Line 3a of the LLC's Form W-9 says how it is taxed, and a one-owner LLC with no election is reported under its owner's name and taxpayer ID, with the LLC's name on the second line.
Payments to a law firm for legal services are reportable whatever the firm's tax classification, so an LLC taxed as an S corporation can still need a 1099.
Yes, unless the LLC is taxed as a corporation. For payments made in 2026, you send a 1099 to an LLC you paid $2,000 or more for its work by check, bank transfer or cash. An LLC taxed as a corporation gets nothing from you unless it is a law firm or a medical provider. The LLC tells you which it is on the tax form it fills in for you.
So the letters LLC after a contractor's name do not answer the question. One box on that form does. Before you pay any LLC again this year, get the form, check how it says it is taxed, and note whose name it gives. If it says LLC and nothing else, ask again. In January that form is what your 1099s are filled in from, and an LLC that never sent one is the 1099 you cannot finish.
Which LLCs get a 1099 for 2026?
For payments made in 2026, an LLC gets a Form 1099-NEC from you if you paid it $2,000 or more for services by check, bank transfer or cash, and its Form W-9 does not say it is taxed as a C or S corporation. That is the rule in the IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, which exempt payments to corporations, including an LLC taxed as one, and then carve out legal services and medical and health care payments.
The W-9 is the form a contractor fills in to give you their taxpayer identification number. Line 3a is where they say how they are taxed. A one-owner LLC that has not elected to be taxed differently is ignored for federal tax, so the IRS instructions for the W-9 have it tick its owner's box, which for a person is "Individual/sole proprietor", rather than the LLC box. Every other LLC ticks the LLC box and writes C, S or P beside it.
Find the contractor's answer in the left column. The row tells you whether a 1099 goes out and what goes on it.
What line 3a of the LLC's W-9 shows | 1099-NEC for 2026 at $2,000 or more? | Name on the form | Taxpayer ID on the form |
|---|---|---|---|
"Individual/sole proprietor" ticked, LLC name on line 2 (one owner, no election) | Yes | The owner's name first, the LLC's name on the second line | The owner's Social Security number, or the owner's own EIN if they have one |
LLC box, with P (taxed as a partnership) | Yes | The LLC's name | The LLC's EIN |
LLC box, with C (taxed as a C corporation) | No, unless the work is legal or medical | Not needed | Not needed |
LLC box, with S (taxed as an S corporation) | No, unless the work is legal or medical | Not needed | Not needed |
LLC box, nothing beside it | Not known yet | Ask for a corrected W-9 before you pay again | Ask for a corrected W-9 before you pay again |
Any of the above, paid for legal services | Yes, whatever the classification | As the matching row above, or the LLC's name for C and S | As the matching row above, or the LLC's EIN for C and S |
Any of the above, paid for medical or health care | Yes, on Form 1099-MISC instead | As for legal services | As for legal services |
The name on the invoice tells you none of this. "Studio North LLC" could sit in any of the first five rows.
The letters after a contractor's name say what they registered with the state. Line 3a says what they file with the IRS, and the 1099 follows what they file.
What should I do before I pay an LLC contractor?
Get the W-9 before the first payment, and read it the day it arrives. Five checks, in order:
Ask for it at onboarding, with the contract. The W-9 is not sent to the IRS. You keep it, and it is what the 1099 is copied from.
Read line 3a and find the row in the table above. If it shows the LLC box with nothing beside it, ask for a corrected form now.
Check the two name lines. A one-owner LLC puts the owner's name on line 1 and the LLC's name on line 2. That order is the order on the 1099.
Check there is a taxpayer ID. If a payee does not give you one when you first ask, the IRS requires backup withholding of 24% from what you pay them until they do.
File it with the contractor's record, so the form and the payments sit together when January comes. Keeping the document with the vendor is what makes the 1099 a copy job rather than a search.
If you already pay LLCs with no W-9 on file, December is the month to ask. The request is easier while the next invoice is still waiting to be paid.
How does that work for a studio paying six LLCs?
Here are the 2026 contractors of a small design studio, every one of them an LLC, all paid by bank transfer or check. The names, amounts and classifications are illustrative.
Six LLCs and $26,600 paid produce three 1099-NEC forms and one W-9 to chase. The largest payment on the list, $9,000, needs no form at all. The $2,500 to a law firm taxed as an S corporation does.
Contractor | What its W-9 shows | Paid in 2026 | 1099-NEC? | Name and number on it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Illustrator, one-owner LLC | "Individual/sole proprietor", LLC name on line 2 | $6,400 | Yes | Her name, then the LLC's; her Social Security number |
Copywriting LLC, two members | LLC, P | $3,200 | Yes | The LLC's name and EIN |
Motion design LLC | LLC, S | $9,000 | No | Not needed |
Law firm PLLC, reviewing a client contract | LLC, S | $2,500 | Yes, because the work is legal services | The firm's name and EIN |
Photographer, one-owner LLC | "Individual/sole proprietor" | $1,500 | No, under $2,000 for 2026 | Not needed for 2026 |
Web developer LLC | LLC box, nothing beside it | $4,000 | Not known yet | Ask for a corrected W-9 first |
The photographer is the row to keep an eye on. $1,500 is under the line for 2026, and the IRS instructions say the $2,000 is adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027, so next year's line is not a number anyone can quote yet. Keep the W-9 on file either way.
That list, with each name and number copied from the W-9, is the contractor line in the year-end package for your accountant.
List every LLC you have paid this year by check or bank transfer. Beside each, write what line 3a of its W-9 says, or "missing". Every row that reads "missing", or "LLC" with nothing beside it, is an email to send this week.
My contractor's W-9 says LLC but no letter. What now?
Ask for a corrected W-9 before you pay again. The IRS instructions tell an LLC that is not ignored for tax to tick the LLC box and enter C, S or P, and tell a one-owner LLC to tick its owner's box instead. A W-9 with the LLC box ticked and nothing beside it has not answered the one question you needed it for.
Guessing leaves you with one of two problems in January: a form sent that did not need to go, or a form that needed to go and did not. Both are fixable. Asking in November is easier.
If the corrected form still leaves you unsure, or the person you pay works more like an employee than a contractor, put it to whoever files your return before January rather than during it. Whether someone is a contractor at all comes before any of this, and it is their question to answer with you.
A customer sent my LLC a 1099. Is that wrong?
Not unless your LLC is taxed as a C or S corporation, and even then it does not change what your LLC owes. The IRS instructions exempt payments to an LLC taxed as a corporation from reporting, so that customer did not have to send one. A form that arrives anyway does not create income, and no form arriving does not remove it. The IRS says a 1099-NEC not being issued does not mean the income does not have to be reported.
What matters is that the name and number on it are right for how your LLC is taxed. If they are wrong, ask the customer for a corrected form. The correction comes from the payer, not from you.
If you are not sure how your own LLC is taxed, the answer is on the W-9 you gave the customer. What S corporation treatment changes for the owner is covered in how to pay yourself from an LLC.
Do card payments or state rules change the answer for an LLC?
They can, and neither depends on the LLC. Payments by card or PayPal fall outside your 1099 whoever you paid, and some states set filing rules of their own. Both are covered in which part of a vendor's total counts toward $2,000.
When are the 2026 1099s due?
Form 1099-NEC for payments made in 2026 is due to the IRS and to each contractor by January 31, under the IRS instructions. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, and Publication 1099 moves a due date that falls on a weekend to the next business day.
An LLC's services go on Form 1099-NEC. Form 1099-MISC is for rent, medical and health care payments and a few other categories, at the same $2,000 for 2026.
Do I need to issue a 1099 to an S corp?
Not for services paid in 2026, unless the S corporation is a law firm paid for legal services or a provider paid for medical or health care. The IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC exempt payments to corporations, including an LLC taxed as an S corporation, and carve those two out. Legal fees go on Form 1099-NEC and medical payments on Form 1099-MISC.
Do I need a new 1099 with my LLC's EIN instead of my SSN?
Not if your LLC has one owner and no election to be taxed differently. For a one-owner LLC that is ignored for federal tax, Publication 1099 (2026) tells the payer to put the owner's name on the first line, the LLC's name on the second, and the owner's Social Security number, or the owner's own EIN if they have one. The LLC's EIN goes on the form only when the LLC is taxed as a partnership or a corporation. If the form does not match how your LLC is taxed, ask the payer for a corrected one.
Contractor records that are ready in January
Knowing which LLCs get a 1099 only helps if every payment to them is recorded with the right payee, method and date as it happens. If you are weighing whether to keep doing that yourself, we are happy to talk it through, including whether anything needs to change at all.
This article explains how the rules generally work. It is not tax advice for your situation.
Operations background across retail, property management, and e-commerce. Writes step-by-step guides for owners who need the answer, not the theory.
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