If you pay someone more than $600 in a calendar year to help your business with something and you didn’t pay them by credit card or other payment processor (like venmo, paypal, square etc), you are responsible for filing a 1099-NEC for them.
Any payments over $600 not reported via the 1099-NEC will be considered under-the-table transactions, and that can result in big trouble for your business.
This form is the IRS way to catch all income and prevent people from not reporting it. While you are not responsible for any of your independent contractors’ taxes, you are required to report how much you paid them. Your contractor will receive a copy of that form and will submit for taxes.
You must collect this person’s EIN (employer identification number) or TIN (tax payer identification number). This is done via the W9 form found in the IRS website.
You can download the W9 form here: