Does an LLC get a 1099?

An LLC is a state-law business form. For federal tax, the IRS classifies it by its members and its elections: a domestic LLC with one member is treated as disregarded as separate from its owner, and one with two or more members is classified as a partnership, unless it files Form 8832 and elects to be treated as a corporation.^[3] An LLC can also file Form 2553 to be taxed as an S corporation.^[4] The 1099 answer follows that classification.

The rule behind the table: you report nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC when you pay someone who is not your employee, for services in the course of your trade or business, and the payee is an individual, partnership, estate or, in some cases, a corporation, with payments of at least $2,000 in the year.^[1] The IRS instructions say that payments to a corporation, including an LLC treated as a C or S corporation, are generally not reportable.^[1]

You find out how a contractor's LLC is taxed by asking for a Form W-9 before you pay them. The IRS describes the W-9 as the way a business that files information returns gets the payee's correct name and taxpayer identification number (TIN).^[2] Three parts of the form answer the 1099 question:

• Line 1 and line 2. A disregarded LLC puts its owner's name on line 1 and the LLC's name on line 2.^[4] That tells you the 1099 goes to the owner.
• Line 3a. A single-member LLC that is disregarded checks the box for its owner's classification, so an LLC owned by one person checks Individual/sole proprietor. An LLC taxed as a partnership, or one that has filed Form 8832 or 2553 to be taxed as a corporation, checks the LLC box and enters P, C or S.^[4]
• The TIN. A disregarded single-member LLC gives the owner's SSN, or the owner's EIN if the owner has one; an LLC classified as a corporation or partnership gives the entity's EIN.^[4]

Line 4 is for exemption codes. The W-9 instructions list a corporation as an exempt payee, and note that some payments to corporations reportable on Form 1099-MISC are still not exempt, including medical and health care payments and attorneys' fees.^[2] Keeping a current W-9 on file for every contractor is what makes January quick: the classification and TIN are already there.

The corporation rule has exceptions, so an LLC taxed as an S or C corporation still gets a form for some payments. The IRS instructions list these:^[1]

• Attorneys' fees for legal services are reported on Form 1099-NEC, and the corporate exemption does not cover legal services. A trademark attorney's firm is the common case for sellers.
• Medical and health care payments are reported on Form 1099-MISC.
• Gross proceeds paid to an attorney, cash fish purchases and certain substitute payments are also reported on Form 1099-MISC.

The same questions answer the partnership and S corporation searches. Do partnerships get a 1099? Generally yes for services, since a partnership is one of the payee types the 1099-NEC rule names.^[1] Does an S corp get a 1099? Generally no, unless the payment is one of the exceptions above.^[1]

Online sellers meet all three forms, and each covers a different kind of payment:^[1]

• Form 1099-NEC is for nonemployee compensation: designers, copywriters, photographers, virtual assistants, ad managers and other contractors paid for services. For payments made in 2026 the threshold is $2,000 per payee for the year, and the IRS instructions say it may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027.^[1] Our news post covers the rise from $600 to $2,000. The form is due on or before January 31.^[1]
• Form 1099-MISC is for other payments such as rents, medical and health care payments and other income, at $2,000 for those categories under the December 2026 instructions; royalties stay at $10 and gross proceeds paid to an attorney at $600.^[1] A seller renting storage space from an individual landlord is the usual case.
• Form 1099-K is filed by the payment settlement entity. Payments you make by credit card or through a payment network are reported on Form 1099-K by that entity, and the IRS instructions say they are not subject to reporting on Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC.^[1] If you pay a freelancer by card or through a payment app's goods and services option, that payment belongs to the processor's reporting. The seller side of that form is in why your 1099-K doesn't match your sales.

Two more rules keep the list short. Payments for merchandise, freight and storage are excluded, so paying a supplier for inventory is generally not a 1099 payment.^[1] And only payments made in the course of your trade or business count; personal payments are not reportable.^[1]

The demo store paid four outside businesses in 2026. Each W-9 decides the answer.

1. 01

   Freelance designer, single-member LLC: 1099-NEC

   Paid 3,200.00 by bank transfer for product photos and listing graphics. Line 3a shows Individual/sole proprietor, the owner's name is on line 1, and 3,200.00 is over the $2,000 line, so the designer generally gets a 1099-NEC in the owner's name.

2. 02

   Marketing agency, LLC taxed as an S corp: no 1099

   Paid 8,500.00 for ad management. Line 3a shows LLC with code S, so the corporation exemption generally applies even though the amount is larger.

3. 03

   Trademark law firm, LLC taxed as an S corp: 1099-NEC

   Paid 2,400.00 for a trademark filing. Attorneys' fees for legal services are reported on a 1099-NEC even when the firm is taxed as a corporation.

4. 04

   Packaging supplier, partnership: no 1099

   Paid 14,000.00 for boxes and mailers. These are payments for merchandise, so no 1099 is generally needed, whatever the supplier's classification.

Four LLCs, two forms. The one that most often gets missed is the law firm, because the S corp box suggests no form is needed.

Treating every LLC the same way goes wrong in both directions. Skipping forms for single-member and partnership LLCs leaves contractors you paid over the line without the 1099-NEC the rules call for. Sending forms to every S corp agency adds work in January and confuses vendors who are generally exempt. And sending a 1099-NEC for a contractor you paid by card reports a payment that belongs on the processor's Form 1099-K.^[1]

The fix starts in the books: each contractor tagged with their W-9 classification and TIN, and each payment tagged with how it was paid, so the year-end list shows who needs a form and who does not. For a single-member contractor's own side of the form, see what a disregarded entity is and self-employment tax for online sellers.

If you pay a mix of freelancers, agencies and suppliers and are not sure which of them need a form, our 1099 preparation for contractors collects W-9s through the year, reads each tax classification, splits payments by how they were made, and prepares the 1099-NECs and 1099-MISCs your contractors need before the January 31 deadline.