A 1099 is an information return used to report various types of income other than wages, salaries, and tips. Payers must provide a copy to the recipient by January 31 and the Internal Revenue Service by the end of February unless an extension has been filed.

Information reporting is required by entities who; in the course of business make certain types of payments. These payments include income earned by independent contractors. U.S. tax law requires businesses to submit a Form 1099 for every contractor paid at least $600 for services during a year. Other fees, commissions, rents, royalties, prizes, awards and legal services are generally reported on a 1099-MISC. Other types of payments must be reported on forms specific to that type of payment.

Examples include:
1099A Acquisition/Abandonment of Property
1099-B Proceeds from Broker or Barter Exchange Transactions
1099-C Cancellation of Debt
1099-CAP Changes in Corporate Control and Capital Structure
1099-DIV Dividends and Distributions
1099-G Government Payments
1099-H Health Insurance Advance Payments
1099-INT Interest Payments
1099-LTC Long Term Care Benefits
1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income
1099-OID Original Issue Discount
1099-PATR Taxable Distributions Received From Cooperatives
1099-Q Payment from Qualified Education Programs
1099-R Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement Plans, IRA’s, or Insurance Contracts
1099-S Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions
1099-SA Distributions from an HAS, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA
1042-S Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income