1099 Forms for Influencers and Content Creators

A Form 1099 is an IRS information return a payer sends to report money it paid you. For creators, three versions come up most: Form 1099-NEC (brands paying you directly for services), Form 1099-K (payments through payment apps, marketplaces and card processors), and Form 1099-MISC (royalties, prizes and certain other income). Before a brand pays you, it usually asks for a Form W-9 so it has your taxpayer ID.

For tax year 2026, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 (up from $600), and the 1099-K threshold for payment apps and marketplaces is more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. Income is reportable whether or not you get a form.

Here's how each form works, based on current IRS guidance.

Form W-9: what brands ask for first

Form W-9 is how you give a payer your taxpayer identification number. The IRS describes its purpose simply: "Use Form W-9 to provide your correct Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)" to a person who is required to file an information return with the IRS (IRS: About Form W-9). The current revision is dated March 2024.

A few things creators commonly notice:

• You fill out the W-9; the brand keeps it. It isn't sent to the IRS by you.
• The TIN can be a Social Security number or an EIN. Some creators who operate as a business use an EIN on W-9s instead of their SSN.
• Your business name and tax classification go on it (individual/sole proprietor, LLC, corporation and so on). The classification affects whether the brand issues a 1099 at all; payments to corporations are generally not reported on 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, with some exceptions, according to the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC.
• Not providing a correct TIN can trigger backup withholding. The IRS says payers must withhold at "the current rate of 24 percent" when a payee fails to provide a correct TIN (IRS: Backup Withholding).

Because a W-9 contains your SSN or EIN, creators generally send it through a secure method rather than a regular email attachment when the brand offers one. Creators who get the same W-9 request from brand after brand can produce it with STAKD's W-9 generator.

Form 1099-NEC: brands paying you for services

What it reports: Nonemployee compensation, meaning payments for services by someone who isn't the payer's employee. For creators, this is the typical form for a brand deal paid by check, ACH or wire.

Who sends it: The brand, agency or company that paid you.

Threshold: This changed recently.

• Tax year 2025 and earlier: $600 or more.
• Tax year 2026: $2,000 or more. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act raised the threshold, and the IRS states that for tax years beginning after 2025 the minimum threshold for reporting these payments is $2,000 (IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC; see also Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-19, which describes the change as applying to payments made after December 31, 2025).
• 2027 onward: The IRS says the threshold may be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027.

Deadline: The IRS instructions state that 1099-NEC is due to both the recipient and the IRS by January 31. For tax year 2026 forms, January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday; the IRS generally treats a deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday as met if the action happens on the next business day.

Important exception: Payments made by credit card or through a third-party payment network (like PayPal goods-and-services or similar platforms) are not reported on 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. The IRS instructions say these "must be reported on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity." So a brand that paid you through a payment platform generally won't also send you a 1099-NEC for that payment.

Form 1099-K: payment apps, marketplaces and card processors

What it reports: Gross payments processed for you by a payment settlement entity, such as a payment app, online marketplace or card processor.

Who sends it: The platform or processor, not the brand.

Threshold for third-party settlement organizations (payment apps and marketplaces): More than $20,000 in payments and more than 200 transactions in a calendar year. The IRS says the One, Big, Beautiful Bill "retroactively reinstated the reporting threshold in effect prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (IRS: Form 1099-K FAQs for third party filers).

If you saw earlier headlines about a $600, $2,500 or $5,000 1099-K threshold, those were from the phase-in schedule that applied before this change. Some IRS pages and third-party articles still mention the older numbers.

Payment cards are different. The IRS states that "there is not a de minimis exception for reporting payment card transactions." If customers pay you directly by card, the IRS says you'll get a 1099-K from your payment card processor "no matter how many payments you got or how much they were for" (Understanding your Form 1099-K).

A platform can send one below the threshold. The same IRS page notes you may receive a 1099-K even when totals are under the threshold.

What's on it isn't automatically income. The IRS says "just because a payment is reported on Form 1099-K doesn't mean it's taxable," and describes fees, refunds, shipping and similar amounts as items that can be subtracted from the gross figure (What to do with Form 1099-K).

State rules: Some states set their own, lower 1099-K reporting thresholds. Those don't change the federal threshold.

Form 1099-MISC: royalties, prizes and other income

What it reports for creators: Most commonly royalties, prizes and awards, and "other income." Rents also go here.

Who sends it: Whoever made the payment, such as a company paying royalties on a licensed photo or video, or a contest sponsor.

Thresholds (per the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC):

• Royalties: at least $10.
• Rents, prizes and awards, other income: at least $2,000 for tax year 2026 (previously $600).

Deadlines: Recipient copies are due January 31. Filing with the IRS is due February 28 on paper or March 31 if filed electronically.

Quick reference: who sends which form

How platform payouts (ad revenue, fan subscriptions, tips) are reported depends on the platform and how it structures payments. Check the tax documents section of each platform's creator dashboard.

What if you don't get a 1099?

The income is still reportable. The IRS Gig Economy Tax Center says income from gig work must be reported on a tax return even if it's "not reported on an information return form — like a Form 1099-K, 1099-MISC, 1099-NEC, W-2 or other income statement." The IRS page on Form 1099-K says the same: "Whether or not you receive a Form 1099-K, you must still report any income on your tax return."

With the 1099-NEC threshold now at $2,000, creators who do several smaller brand deals may receive fewer forms than before, while the underlying income rules haven't changed. That's one reason many creators keep their own record of every payment instead of relying on the forms that arrive in January.

In STAKD, each brand deal's invoices carry a paid status, which gives creators a record of what each brand paid to set beside the forms that show up in January.

What if a 1099 is wrong?

For a 1099-K, the IRS says to "request a corrected form from the issuer" and notes "we can't correct your Form 1099-K" (What to do with Form 1099-K). The issuer's contact information is in the "Filer" box. The same page says not to delay filing while waiting for a corrected form.

For a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC, the form is likewise filed by the payer, so corrections come from the brand or company that issued it.

Getting two forms for the same money

It's possible to see the same payment show up twice, for example if a brand mistakenly issues a 1099-NEC for a payment that also appears on a payment platform's 1099-K. The IRS instructions say card and third-party network payments belong on the 1099-K, not the 1099-NEC. Creators commonly reconcile forms against their own payment records to catch duplicates.

How STAKD handles this

STAKD doesn't file 1099s or tax returns, and it doesn't tell anyone how to report their income. It's where creators keep the records that 1099 season depends on:

• W-9s. The W-9 generator produces the form brands ask for before they pay.
• Payments by brand. Each campaign links to its invoices, with draft, sent, paid and overdue statuses, so there's a record of what each brand paid and when, whether or not a 1099 arrives.
• All income in one place. Income and expense tracking with bank sync through Plaid brings in payments that land in a connected bank account, alongside receipts captured with AI receipt scanning.
• People you pay. Contractor and 1099 tracking covers the editors, designers and other contractors a creator pays.
• Reports for an accountant. P&L reports for the month, quarter or year to date export to CSV for whoever prepares the return.

STAKD is free to start on the Starter plan with no card, with a 14-day free trial of Pro features. Some features are on paid plans.

Related guides

• Quarterly estimated taxes for content creators
• Do influencers pay taxes on free products?
• How much to charge for a brand deal

This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Tax rules change and depend on your situation; for advice about your own taxes, talk to a qualified tax professional.

Last reviewed: October 2026