Can I Give Someone a 1099 if I Paid Them Cash (2024)

FAQs

Can I Give Someone a 1099 if I Paid Them Cash? ›

A person or business that pays $600 or more to an independent contractor should issue a 1099 form regardless of the payment method, including cash. Overlooking this could result in significant tax implications of cash payments.

Businesses are typically required to issue a 1099 form to a taxpayer other than a corporation who has received at least $600 or more in non-employment income during the tax year. A taxpayer might receive a 1099 form if they received cash payments or dividends for owning a company's stock.

Generally, if you've paid an individual or entity $600 or more in a year for services, rents, royalties, or other types of income, you're required to issue a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. You should review the specifics for other form types to be certain.

For the 2022 tax year, taxpayers will follow guidelines set forth by the old IRS rule — you should receive a 1099-K form if you earned at least $20,000 or received at least 200 transactions. You won't receive tax forms triggered by the ”$600 rule” until next year.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 changed the minimum reporting threshold for certain transactions. The IRS planned to require services like Cash App for Business to report payments for goods and services on Form 1099-K when those transactions total $600 or more in a year, starting January 2022.

Your Tax Responsibilities to Workers in Your Home

In fact, you don't even need to fill out the IRS form (1099-MISC) usually required when hiring independent contractors, because an exception excludes household workers.

While it's not illegal to pay your independent contractors in cash, it might end up being more hassle for you. That's because if your company is audited by the IRS, you have to be able to prove that there wasn't a suspicious reason for paying your workforce in cash. Why?

The form is required among other things, when payments of $10 or more in gross royalties or $600 or more in rents or compensation are paid. The form is provided by the payer to the IRS and the person or business that received the payment. I received a Form 1099-MISC instead of a Form W-2.

In general terms, Form 1099-MISC is issued to everyone but corporations. This includes individuals, partnerships and most professional business entities. An LLC is only considered to be a corporation if it has elected to be taxed as a corporation. If it has not, the LLC should receive a 1099-MISC.

If payment for services you provided is listed on Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation, the payer is treating you as a self-employed worker, also referred to as an independent contractor. You don't necessarily have to have a business for payments for your services to be reported on Form 1099-NEC.

How to prove income if paid in cash? ›

Form 1099-K tax reporting: $600 rule

In the last year or so, you may have heard about the “$600 rule.” This refers to situations where payments you receive for goods or services through third-party payment networks and online marketplaces like Venmo, PayPal, Amazon, Square, eBay, Etsy, etc. exceed $600.

You should receive a Form 1099-NEC if you earned $600 or more in nonemployee compensation from a person or business who isn't typically your employer. You should receive Form 1099-MISC if you earned $600 or more in rent or royalty payments.

Cash payments of $600 or more to an independent contractor should be reported on a 1099 form, regardless of the payment method. Neglecting to issue the appropriate tax forms for cash payments can lead to tax implications and penalties.

The IRS has emphasized in news releases and FAQs that personal payments received through payment apps are not taxable. For example, if you used your business account to receive both business and personal payments, many of those personal payments (such as gifts, reimbursem*nts for cab rides or dinners, etc.)

Cash App will automatically deduct a 2.75% processing fee on each payment you receive to your Cash App for Business account. When you receive a payment from a customer on your Cash App for Business account, the amount you receive in your balance will not include the deducted fees.

Some contractors may also request payments in cash to avoid their tax liabilities, which means they will likely avoid providing appropriate tax documentation.

Protect yourself with proof of payment

If you pay a bill in cash, ask the party receiving payment to record it in their records and give you a sales receipt. The receipt should show your name, a short description of the product or service purchased, the transaction date, and the amount paid.

Reporting cash income

All you'll need to do is include it when you fill out your Schedule C, which shows your business income and business expenses (and, as a result, your net income from self-employment). To report your cash income, just include it with your "gross receipts" on line 1 of the form.

The reason is IRS Form 1099 provides the means of reporting very specific types of income from non-employment related sources that might not be reported elsewhere. If you paid someone for services (other than employees) you must issue them a 1099 by January 31 of the following year.