Do Landlords Get 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC for Rent?

When a business pays rent to a landlord, the right form is almost always the 1099-MISC, not the 1099-NEC. Rent is passive income and belongs in Box 1 of Form 1099-MISC. The 1099-NEC enters the picture only when the landlord is also paid for performing services, such as janitorial work, landscaping, or repairs. Starting with payments made in 2026, the reporting threshold for both forms rose from $600 to $2,000 per year, so many smaller rent arrangements no longer require any 1099 at all.¹

Rent Goes on Form 1099-MISC

Any business that pays a landlord for the use of property reports those payments in Box 1 of Form 1099-MISC.² The IRS reads “rent” broadly. Office space, retail space, warehouse, land, machinery, and equipment rentals all qualify, and so does a residential unit rented for business use.

The 1099-NEC, by contrast, exists for one thing: nonemployee compensation paid to independent contractors for services performed for your business.³ Renting property is not a service, so straight rent payments never go on a 1099-NEC.

When a Landlord Also Gets a 1099-NEC

A landlord receives a 1099-NEC only when you pay them for work, separate from the use of the property. If your commercial landlord also handles snow removal, painting, or janitorial duties for a separate fee, that fee is nonemployee compensation and goes in Box 1 of the 1099-NEC.²

Say your business pays a landlord $2,500 a month in rent plus $200 a month for janitorial work. The $30,000 in annual rent goes on a 1099-MISC. The $2,400 in janitorial fees goes on a 1099-NEC. Both forms are required because each payment stream on its own clears the $2,000 threshold.

Rolling the service fee into the rent figure on a single 1099-MISC is a common mistake. It leaves the landlord’s return out of sync with what the IRS expects and can trigger a notice. Keep the two streams separate on the two forms.

The $2,000 Threshold and How It Works

For payments made after December 31, 2025, the reporting threshold for both the 1099-MISC and the 1099-NEC is $2,000, up from the $600 figure that stood for decades. Inflation adjustments begin in 2027.¹

The threshold is tracked separately per form and per landlord. Pay one landlord $1,800 in rent for all of 2026, and no 1099-MISC is required. Pay a landlord $1,900 in rent and $1,900 in maintenance fees, and neither $2,000 line is crossed, so neither form is required.

The landlord still owes tax on every dollar of rent, whether or not a 1099 is issued. The form reports income; it doesn’t create it.

Who Has to File

Only businesses and individuals acting in the course of a trade or business have a 1099 filing obligation.⁴ If you rent an apartment purely as your personal residence, you never file a 1099 for your landlord, no matter how much rent you pay.

Commercial tenants, business owners renting office or retail space, and self-employed people deducting rent as a business expense do have to file. Nonprofits and government agencies count as businesses for this purpose.⁵

Corporate and LLC Exemptions

Rent paid to a landlord that is a C-corporation or S-corporation is generally exempt from 1099 reporting. An LLC that has elected to be taxed as a C or S corporation gets the same exemption.²

Single-member LLCs are the trap. Without a corporate election, a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity, meaning the IRS treats it as the owner personally. Rent to that LLC is reportable on a 1099-MISC just as if you paid the owner directly.⁶ You cannot tell an LLC’s tax classification from its name, which is why the W-9 matters.

Get a W-9 Before the First Rent Check

Before issuing any 1099, you need the landlord’s legal name, taxpayer identification number, and entity classification. Form W-9 collects all three. Request it before or at the time of the first payment, not in January when filing is due.⁶

If a landlord refuses to provide a W-9 or supplies an invalid TIN, you are required to withhold 24% of each payment as backup withholding and remit it to the IRS.⁷ Mentioning that requirement usually gets the W-9 back quickly.

Property Managers and Card Payments Change Who Files

When rent flows through a property management company, the tenant does not file a 1099-MISC. The management company issues the 1099-MISC to the property owner for the rent it passes along.² If you use a property manager, expect the 1099-MISC to come from them, not from your tenants.

Rent paid by credit card, debit card, or a third-party payment platform is also off your plate. The payment processor reports the transactions on Form 1099-K, and federal rules block duplicate reporting by giving the settlement entity priority.² Rent paid by check, cash, ACH, or wire still follows the normal 1099-MISC rules.

Filing Deadlines

Both forms must be furnished to the landlord by January 31 of the year after payment. For 2026 payments, that is January 31, 2027.²

Filing with the IRS follows a separate calendar:

Paper filing is due February 28, with the summary transmittal Form 1096.
Electronic filing is due March 31, and no Form 1096 is needed.

These deadlines come from the IRS draft Publication 1099 for 2026 returns.⁸ If you file 10 or more information returns of any type during the year, electronic filing is mandatory. The IRS runs a free portal called IRIS that handles up to 100 returns at a time.⁹

Penalties for Filing Late or Wrong

Per-form penalties for returns due in 2026 escalate with how late you are:¹⁰

Up to 30 days late: $60 per form.
31 days late through August 1: $130 per form.
After August 1 or never filed: $340 per form.
Intentional disregard: $680 per form, with no cap.

Annual caps apply for the tiered late penalties: $4,098,500 for businesses with gross receipts over $5 million, and $1,366,000 for businesses at or below that threshold.¹¹ The intentional disregard penalty has no ceiling.

Penalties apply separately to the copy you send the IRS and the copy you furnish the landlord. Miss both, and you owe two penalties per payment. If January 31 has already passed, file as soon as you can. Late is cheaper than never.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 1099 NEC and Independent Contractors
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
3
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-NEC, Nonemployee Compensation
4
Internal Revenue Service. Reporting Payments to Independent Contractors
5
Internal Revenue Service. Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
7
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 1099 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
9
Internal Revenue Service. E-File Information Returns With IRIS
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Internal Revenue Service. Information Return Penalties
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Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.7 Information Return Penalties