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1099-NEC vs 1099-MISC Decision Tree

Answer up to four quick questions and get the right form, the right box, and the threshold you need to hit.

Free. No signup. Each result has a shareable URL.

How the decision tree works

The tree walks through the four questions that determine which 1099 form (if any) is required and which box the payment goes into:

  1. Was the payment a business expense? Personal payments are never 1099-reportable.
  2. What kind of payment was it? Services rendered by a non-employee → 1099-NEC, Box 1. Rent, royalties, prizes, gross proceeds paid to an attorney, and medical/health care payments → 1099-MISC (in the applicable box: 1, 2, 3, 10, or 6).
  3. Is the recipient a corporation? Most corporations are exempt from 1099 reporting. Attorneys and medical/health-care providers are exceptions — they receive 1099s even when incorporated.
  4. Did the amount cross the threshold? $2,000 per payee per year for services (1099-NEC) in tax year 2026 and beyond under OBBBA Pub. L. 119-21; $600 for tax year 2025 and earlier. Royalties keep their own $10 floor. Attorney gross proceeds and medical payments follow their own thresholds.

Why we built this

The IRS split the old "everything goes here" 1099-MISC into two forms in 2020. Five years later, half of all small-business 1099 mistakes still come from filing the wrong form or putting the right amount in the wrong box. This tree walks you to the answer in under a minute and links to the IRS source for every edge case (attorney corporate exception, medical-provider exception, royalty $10 floor, etc.).

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Informational only. Not tax, legal, or financial advice. Edge cases (state-specific rules, multi-state contractors, mixed-payment vendors) may require professional guidance.