As the recipient of Form 1099-NEC, you get two of the five copies: Copy B, which you use to prepare your federal income tax return, and Copy 2, which you use for your state income tax return if your state requires one. Both must reach you by January 31 of the year after the payments were made, whether the payer mails them or delivers them electronically.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
What Copy B and Copy 2 Are For
Copy B is your federal copy. The dollar amount in Box 1 is your nonemployee compensation from that payer, and it is the figure you carry onto your federal return.
Copy 2 is your state copy. You attach or reference it when filing your state income tax return. The two copies look nearly identical; the label at the top is what tells you which filing each one supports. If you live in a state with no income tax, Copy 2 has no practical use, but payers typically send it anyway as part of the standard form set.
The other three copies never come to you. Copy A goes to the IRS from the payer, Copy 1 goes to your state tax department from the payer, and Copy C stays in the payer’s files. By the time you open your envelope, the IRS already has the same numbers you do, because the payer’s January 31 deadline to file Copy A with the IRS is the same date your copies are due to you.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (04/2025)
How You Should Receive Them
A payer can send your copies by mail or electronically, but the rules differ.
For paper delivery, the payer sends your copies to the last address you gave them. A form mailed to an outdated address still counts as furnished, so if you moved during the year, reach out to every client who paid you $600 or more and update your address before January.2Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025) – Section: Statements to Recipients
For electronic delivery, the payer needs your written consent first. Before you agree, the payer has to tell you how to withdraw consent later, what hardware and software you need to view the form, how long the form will stay available online, and how to request a paper copy if you change your mind.2Internal Revenue Service. General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025) – Section: Statements to Recipients A payer who simply emails you a PDF without going through that consent process has not properly furnished the form, and you can insist on a paper copy.
Using Copy B to File
You report the Box 1 amount on Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business), which flows into your Form 1040.3Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship) That is true even if the work was a side gig rather than a full-time business.
Unlike W-2 wages, no taxes were withheld from the payments shown on your 1099-NEC. You owe income tax and self-employment tax on this income. Self-employment tax covers Social Security and Medicare at a combined 15.3% on net earnings up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500 for 2026, with the 2.9% Medicare portion continuing on all earnings above that.4Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base You calculate self-employment tax on Schedule SE, which files with your 1040.
Because nothing was withheld during the year, the IRS expects you to pay as you earn through quarterly estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES. You generally need to make these payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file.5Internal Revenue Service. Estimated Taxes Missing a quarterly deadline can trigger an underpayment penalty even if you eventually pay everything by April 15.
Check Box 4 before you set the form aside. If the payer applied backup withholding at 24% because you did not provide a valid taxpayer identification number, that amount appears in Box 4.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide You claim it as a credit on your return, which reduces what you owe.
If Your Copies Are Missing or Wrong
If January 31 comes and goes and your copies have not arrived, contact the payer directly. That is the fastest fix. If the payer does not respond or cannot be reached by the end of February, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Have the payer’s name, address, and phone number ready, along with your own Social Security number, and the IRS will reach out to the payer on your behalf.7Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect
Do not wait for the form to file your return. You have to report the income whether or not a 1099-NEC arrives. If the form still has not shown up by your filing deadline, use your own records (invoices, bank deposits, payment app history) to report the correct amount on Schedule C. If the form eventually arrives and the amount differs from what you reported, file an amended return using Form 1040-X.7Internal Revenue Service. What to Do When a W-2 or Form 1099 Is Missing or Incorrect
If a copy arrives but Box 1 is wrong, the process starts the same way: ask the payer for a corrected form. When the payer agrees, they issue a new 1099-NEC with a checkmark in the “CORRECTED” box at the top. If you cannot get the payer to cooperate and the amount is clearly incorrect, report the accurate figure based on your records and keep documentation showing what you actually received.
How Long to Keep Copy B and Copy 2
Hold onto both copies for at least three years from the date you filed the return reporting that income, or three years from the return’s due date, whichever is later.8Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records? That window matches the IRS’s standard audit period. If you underreported income by more than 25%, the IRS has six years to come back, so keeping records longer is prudent when there is any ambiguity about your total earnings for the year.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 583 (12/2024), Starting a Business and Keeping Records
If you received your forms electronically, download the PDF and save it somewhere you control instead of relying on the payer’s portal. Payers are not required to keep electronic statements available to you indefinitely, and the consent disclosure you signed should have told you the date each statement would come down.