Tax season is well underway, and that means you should have received one or more income statements from employers or any other entities that paid you income in 2024.
IRS rules state that all tax documents must be made available to filers by January 31, or postmarked by this date. The most important of these is the W2—a wage and tax statement from your employers—but there’s also an alphabet soup of 1099 forms to watch out for.
Maybe you received Form 1099-DIV? That’s for dividend income. How about 1099-G, for unemployment benefits? Did you receive income via payment apps last year? If so, watch out for Form 1099-K. These are just a few of nearly two dozen 1099 form types. Any one of them could have serious implications for your tax return.
“If you get a 1099, you have to include it on your tax return in some capacity,” says Mark Steber, senior vice president and chief tax information officer at Jackson Hewitt.
The easiest way to deal with 1099s is to talk to a tax professional or to plug it into tax preparation software, saving you from grappling with the complexities of each form. But if you want to learn more, here is what you need to know about the many flavors of the 1099.
Form 1099-A: Foreclosed property
If you used property to back a secured loan and the property was foreclosed, repossessed, or abandoned, you will receive Form 1099-A. The information on this form helps you calculate the taxable gains (or losses) from the cancellation of the debt. While Form 1099-A documents capital losses or gains, losses on property held for personal use are not tax deductible.
Form 1099-B: Sale of securities
Did you sell off stocks or any other securities from your taxable investment portfolio last year? If so, you should expect to receive one or more 1099-B forms. Brokers report the proceeds you earn from sales of stocks, bonds, derivatives, or other securities on Form 1099-B.
Form 1099-C: Cancelled student loan debt
People who had student loan debt canceled or forgiven should watch out for Form 1099-C. This form acknowledges that the government or a financial entity canceled or forgave debt valued at $600 or more. Even if canceled or forgiven debt was less than $600, the IRS still requires you to report it on your tax return (under the “other income” line on Form 1040 or 1040-SR).
Form 1099-CAP: Corporate change of control
Mergers and acquisitions can be a boon for equity investors, but as always, the IRS gets a share. If you held stock in a corporation that changed control or saw substantial changes in capital structure, and received cash, stock, or other property exchanged for the corporation’s stock, you will receive Form 1099-CAP.
Form 1099-DA: Cryptocurrency
Yes, you owe taxes on income received from cryptocurrency sales. Starting in 2025, if you sold, exchanged, or disposed of a digital asset, brokers will report proceeds to you and the IRS on Form 1099-DA. That means crypto trading platforms, crypto wallet companies, and payment processors issue this form for all digital asset sales or exchanges.
If you receive Form 1099-DA, you must then calculate your capital gains or losses on schedule D of form 1040. Taxpayers should also include Form 8949 with their Form 1040 if they have any capital gains or losses from cryptocurrency transactions.
This new form represents a big change in crypto income reporting for tax purposes. Before, taxpayers had to self-report gains on their taxes. Now, transactions will automatically be reported to the IRS.
Form 1099-DIV: Dividend income
Financial institutions report the income you earn from dividends and distributions on Form 1099-DIV. Dividend payments from stocks or investment vehicles like mutual funds count as taxable income. Ordinary dividends are taxed as income, while qualified dividends are usually taxed as long-term capital gains.
Form 1099-G: Government payments
Local, state, and federal government agencies file Form 1099-G for any funds they have distributed to you that must be reported on your tax return. You will get this form if you receive payment for items such as:
- Unemployment compensation
- State or local tax refunds, credits, or offsets
- Re-employment trade adjustment assistance payments
- Government grants
- Agricultural payments
Steber says this form was popular during the pandemic and caught many taxpayers off guard since unemployment income is considered taxable.
Form 1099-H: Healthcare coverage
Taxpayers may receive Form 1099-H if they receive early payments of health coverage insurance premiums through the Health Coverage Tax Credit. This tax benefit expires at the end of 2025, but Congress is working to extend it.
Form 1099-INT: Savings account interest
If you earned any interest from a bank account—like a high-yield savings account—during the previous year, you will receive Form 1099-INT from your bank. You may also receive the form if you withheld and paid any foreign tax on interest or if you opened a new account and received a cash welcome bonus.
Form 1099-K: Payment apps
Form 1099-K covers any payments you received through a third-party payment processing platform, like Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, eBay, or Ticketmaster. For 2024, individuals with at least $5,000 in gross receipts will receive this IRS form. However, some platforms may issue the form for transactions exceeding $600, which will be the official threshold starting in 2026.
Form 1099-LS: Life insurance
Acquirers of a life insurance contract or interest in a policy sale will receive Form 1099-LS. Income must be reported appropriately.
Form 1099-LTC: Long-term care insurance
Payments made to you or third parties from an insurance company or settlement provider related to long-term care insurance contracts or accelerated death benefits are reported on Form 1099-LTC.
Form 1099-MISC: Small business income
Form 1099-MISC is the Swiss Army knife of 1099 forms. Anyone who owns a business, rents out apartments, runs a farm, operates a fishing boat, or otherwise receives payments from the normal course of business will likely be reckoning with a stack of 1099-MISC forms. According to Steber, it’s one of the most common 1099 types because of its catch-all nature.
If you received at least $600 from the following, it should be reported on the form:
- Rent payments
- Prizes or awards
- Medical or health care payments
- Crop insurance proceeds
- Cash payments for fish
- Cash paid from a notional principal contract to an individual, partnership, or estate
- Payments to an attorney
Form 1099-NEC: Non-employment compensation
If you earn $600 or more by providing services to a business, it’s typically required to report those payments on Form 1099-NEC. The IRS calls this nonemployment compensation, and it covers a broad swath of freelancers, gig workers, and independent contractors. This document informs the IRS not only about income but also that you did not have income tax, social security, or Medicare tax withheld from payments.
Form 1099-OID: Discounted bond income
Form 1099-OID reports interest from bonds that were issued at prices lower than the value, known as an “original issue discount.”
Form 1099-PATR: Income from cooperatives
Form 1099-PATR notes taxable distributions received from cooperatives, like a farm or housing co-op.
Form 1099-Q: Education savings account distributions
Individuals receiving payments from a 529 education plan or a Coverdell education savings account (CESA) will receive Form 1099-Q. The income received may or may not be taxable.
Form 1099-QA: ABLE account distributions
Distributions from Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts are reported on Form 1099-QA. Income is only taxable if it is used for expenses other than to support a disabled person.
Form 1099-R: Retirement account income
Income you receive from retirement accounts, annuities, and certain insurance products is reported on Form 1099-R. This can include distributions from an IRA, profit-sharing plans, annuities, and pensions. It also covers income from certain insurance contracts, like survivor income benefit plans, permanent and total disability payments under life insurance contracts, and charitable gift annuities.
Form 1099-S: Real estate transactions
The sale or exchange of real estate is reported on Form 1099-S. It may or may not need to be included in your tax return.
Form 1099-SA: Health savings accounts
Form 1099-SA reports distributions from a health savings account (HSA), Archer Medical Savings Account, or Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account. A separate form is issued for each plan type.
Form 1099-SB: Life insurance sales
If your life insurance policy is transferred under a reportable policy sale, including to a foreign person, the policy issuer will supply a Form 1099-SB.
SSA-1099: Social Security benefits
The Social Security Administration will send Form SSA-1099 to people who receive Social Security benefits since some of the income is considered taxable.
What should I do if I receive a 1099 by mistake?
If you receive a 1099 form by mistake, it is best to immediately contact the issuer in the top left corner of the document. Taxpayers should keep records of all correspondence with the issuer and make a copy of the original 1099 form.
If a corrected form cannot be obtained, the IRS advises filers to still report the income on Lines 8z and 24z (Other Income and Other Adjustments) and note the 1099 form was received by mistake.
What should I do if my 1099 is incorrect?
If a 1099 is received and there are mistakes, taxpayers should immediately contact the form issuer and request a corrected document. Keep detailed records of the original document and correspondence.
Contact the IRS if an amended document cannot be obtained by the issuer. Taxes should still be filed on time, and an amended return can be filed later if needed.
What if I’m missing a 1099 form?
Payees are legally obligated to receive their 1099 forms relating to income from the previous year by January 31 of the current year. If you did not receive the form by mail, check with the expected issuer. They may have provided an option to download it online, or there could be a problem such as with your address.
If you do not receive the 1099 in time, you are still expected to report the income. “If you didn't get one, leaving it off is the worst answer, you know, unless you want to go with what I'll call the nuclear option, which is, leave it off and then amend later. But that never really helps out,” Steber says.
What if I received income but did not receive a 1099 form?
Regardless of whether you receive a 1099 form, all income must be reported to the IRS. However, Steber warns that making assumptions without proper record-keeping can be a recipe for trouble.
“Guessing is more risky than leaving it off,” he says. When in doubt, Steber encourages taxpayers to talk to a tax professional for help or, at a minimum, rely on trusted resources like IRS.gov. If not, you could create more tax issues down the road, including the potential to be penalized or audited by the IRS.
“This is not a place to go guessing, or watch that TikTok video, or ask your uncle Bob with TikTok,” Steber says. “You need to work with somebody who's knowledgeable, and if you do plan to do it yourself, make sure you use a credible source.”
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