If your business pays an attorney or law firm $2,000 or more during 2026, yes, you need a completed Form W-9 from that attorney before you pay them. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the longstanding $600 reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC payments to $2,000 starting in 2026, the first increase since 1954, and that new floor is indexed for inflation going forward.1Internal Revenue Service. FS-2025-08, Oct. 2025 The W-9 gives you the attorney’s legal name, taxpayer identification number, and tax classification, all of which you need to file an accurate information return at year-end.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (03/2024)
Ask for it before you cut the first check. Waiting until January creates a scramble, and it gives the attorney less reason to respond quickly.
When the Rule Applies
The W-9 requirement is triggered by payments made in the course of your trade or business. A company hiring counsel for a contract dispute, a commercial lease, or litigation defense is squarely inside the rule once annual payments reach $2,000.3Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 (Draft)
An individual paying a lawyer for personal matters — a divorce, a will, a residential closing — is not required to collect a W-9 or file any information return. The line is drawn by whether the legal expense is a business expense or a personal one.
Why Attorneys Don’t Get the Corporate Exemption
For most vendors, you can skip the 1099 if the payee is a corporation. Attorneys are the well-known exception. Payments for legal services must be reported regardless of whether the firm is a sole practice, partnership, LLC, S corporation, or C corporation.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025)
This is where business owners often go wrong. A firm organized as a professional corporation still requires a W-9 and still generates a 1099 once you clear the threshold. Assume every attorney your business pays needs one until you have specific reason to think otherwise.
Single-Member LLCs
If the attorney operates as a single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity, the W-9 should show the individual owner’s name and SSN or EIN, not the LLC’s own EIN.5Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies Multi-member LLCs typically file as partnerships and will provide the firm’s EIN. Line 3 of the W-9 identifies the tax classification, and a properly completed form spells it out. Using the wrong identifier on the 1099 is a common cause of IRS mismatch notices.
Fees vs. Settlement Proceeds
Payments to attorneys don’t all get reported the same way, and in 2026 the two categories carry different dollar thresholds.
Fees your business pays for legal services — hourly billings, flat fees, retainers — go on Form 1099-NEC once total payments to that attorney reach $2,000 for the year.1Internal Revenue Service. FS-2025-08, Oct. 2025
Settlement checks paid to an attorney on behalf of a claimant are different. Those are reported as gross proceeds on Form 1099-MISC, Box 10, and the threshold there stays at $600, not the new $2,000 figure.3Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 (Draft) You report the full amount of the check made payable to the attorney, even if the lawyer takes a contingency fee and forwards the rest to the client.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025)
Either way, the W-9 you collected supplies the name and TIN you’ll put on the form.
Payments Made by Credit Card or Payment App
Payments to an attorney made by credit card, debit card, or through a third-party payment network like PayPal are not reported by you on a 1099. The payment processor handles those on Form 1099-K, and the IRS instructions explicitly exclude card and network payments from 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC reporting.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (Rev. April 2025)
If every payment to the attorney during the year went through a card, you have no 1099 filing obligation for those amounts. If you paid partly by card and partly by check or wire, only the non-card portion counts toward the reporting threshold. Still collect the W-9 anyway. Payment methods change, and you may need to verify the tax information for other reasons.
If the Attorney Won’t Provide One
Most law firms send a W-9 the same day you ask. If one refuses or stalls, you must begin backup withholding at 24% of every reportable payment and remit that to the IRS until the attorney provides a valid TIN.6Internal Revenue Service. Fast Facts to Help Taxpayers Understand Backup Withholding
In practice, backup withholding creates enough pressure that compliance follows quickly; no firm wants a quarter of its invoices routed to the Treasury. Document the date you first requested the form and any follow-ups. That record shows you met your obligations if the IRS ever asks about a missing return.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (03/2024)
How Long to Keep the Form
Keep each completed W-9 for at least three years after you file the last return that relied on it, matching the general recordkeeping rule for items supporting a tax return.7Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records Because the IRS can look back six years when income is understated by more than 25%, holding W-9s for four or more years after the last filing that used them is the safer practice.
Store the forms securely — they contain taxpayer identification numbers. If an attorney later changes entity structure or TIN, request a fresh W-9 and keep both. The older form supports the returns you already filed; the newer one covers what comes next.