W-2 and 1099 Deadlines: An Employer's January Checklist
January is filing month for US employers. Forms W-2 for employees and 1099-NEC for contractors are due to recipients and to the government by January 31, and the reporting threshold for contractors changes for payments made in 2026. This checklist walks you through what to do in December and January so you file on time, with the right numbers.
Key takeaways
- Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC are due to recipients and to the SSA or IRS by January 31.
- For payments made in 2026 onward, the 1099-NEC and most 1099-MISC reporting threshold rises from $600 to $2,000.
- Collect a Form W-9 from every contractor, ideally before you pay them, so names and taxpayer ID numbers are ready.
- Late or incorrect forms can bring penalties, so reconcile payroll and contractor totals before you file.
Year-end payroll reporting is one of the few tasks with a hard deadline that lands right after the holidays. If you have even one employee or pay contractors for business services, you probably have forms to file. The good news is that most of the work is gathering information you already have. The bad news is that missing information, such as a contractor's taxpayer ID, can take days to chase.
This checklist covers the federal forms most small employers deal with. It is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules, thresholds and deadlines change, and your state may have its own requirements, so check IRS.gov, the SSA, your state agency, your payroll provider or an accountant.
The forms and deadlines at a glance
| Form | Who it is for | Due to recipient | Due to government |
|---|---|---|---|
| W-2 | Employees you paid wages to in 2026 | January 31 | January 31, to the SSA |
| 1099-NEC | Non-employees, such as independent contractors, paid $2,000 or more for services in 2026 | January 31 | January 31, to the IRS |
| 1099-MISC | Certain other payments, such as rent, above the reporting threshold | Check the IRS instructions | Check the IRS instructions |
| W-9 | Collected from contractors, not filed | Not applicable | Keep in your records |
In 2027, January 31 falls on a Sunday. When a federal deadline falls on a weekend, it generally moves to the next business day, but confirm the exact date on IRS.gov and plan to finish well before it anyway.
December: get ready before the year ends
The more you do in December, the less you have to chase in January, when everyone is back from holiday and busy.
- List every worker you paid. Pull a list of employees from payroll and a list of contractors and other vendors from your accounting software.
- Check employee details. Ask staff to confirm their legal name, address and Social Security number are correct, especially anyone who moved or changed their name.
- Collect missing W-9s. Send a Form W-9 request to any contractor you do not have one for. Going forward, collect it before you make the first payment.
- Review final payroll. Make sure year-end bonuses, holiday pay and any taxable gifts or benefits are processed in the right payroll year.
- Decide how you will file. Confirm whether your payroll provider files W-2s for you, and how you will file 1099s: through your accounting software, a filing service or the IRS online system.
Pro tip
Make a W-9 part of your contractor onboarding. Add it to your new vendor checklist and do not release the first payment until it is on file. It is far easier to ask for a form when someone is waiting to be paid than ten months later.
Early January: reconcile the numbers
Before any form goes out, make sure the totals match your books. Errors are much easier to fix before filing than after.
For W-2s
- Compare total wages and withholding for each employee with your payroll reports and your quarterly payroll tax filings.
- Check that taxable fringe benefits, such as cash or gift card holiday gifts, are included in wages.
- Confirm the totals for Social Security and Medicare wages and taxes.
- Review employees who left during the year, and make sure you have a current address for them.
For 1099-NECs
- Run a report of payments to each contractor for 2026.
- Identify who reached $2,000 or more for services in the course of your business.
- Check how you paid them. Payments made through a card network or a payment app may be reported by the processor on Form 1099-K instead, so check the IRS instructions before you file twice.
- Match each contractor to a W-9 with a name and taxpayer ID number.
Common mistake
Using the old $600 threshold out of habit. For payments made in 2026 onward, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000. Sending forms you did not need to send is less serious than missing one you did, but double-check your contractor list against the new threshold and the current IRS instructions before you file.
Mid to late January: file and deliver
Once the numbers are reconciled, file and deliver in one go so nothing is left half done.
- Send copies to recipients. Give each employee their W-2 and each contractor their 1099-NEC by January 31, by mail or electronically if they have agreed to receive it that way.
- File with the government. File W-2s with the SSA and 1099-NECs with the IRS by the same deadline. Electronic filing is required for many filers and is usually easier, so check the current IRS rules.
- Check state requirements. Many states require copies of W-2s or 1099s, sometimes with different deadlines or systems. Your payroll provider or state tax agency can confirm.
- Save proof. Keep filing confirmations and copies of every form with your year-end records.
Example
Imagine a small marketing agency with four employees and six freelancers. In early December the owner sends W-9 requests to two freelancers who never returned one, and asks staff to confirm their addresses. In the first week of January she reconciles payroll and finds that a December holiday gift card was left out of one employee's wages, which her payroll provider corrects. Four freelancers were paid $2,000 or more by bank transfer, so they get a 1099-NEC. Everything is filed by mid-January, with no last-minute scramble.
If something goes wrong
Mistakes happen. What matters is fixing them quickly.
You find an error after filing
File a corrected form as soon as possible and send a corrected copy to the employee or contractor. Corrections for W-2s and 1099s each have their own process, so follow the IRS and SSA instructions or ask your payroll provider.
A contractor will not provide a W-9
Keep a record of your requests. In some cases, you may be required to apply backup withholding to future payments. Check the IRS guidance and talk to your accountant before you make further payments to someone who refuses.
You are going to miss the deadline
File as soon as you can. Late or incorrect forms can bring penalties, and they usually increase the longer the delay. Some extensions exist, but they are limited and do not always cover the copies you send to recipients, so check IRS.gov early rather than assuming you can extend.
Using a payroll or filing service
- Files W-2s and often 1099s for you
- Handles many state filings automatically
- Reduces manual entry errors
Doing it yourself
- More room for typos and missed deadlines
- You must track federal and state rules
- Can still work well for very few forms
Remind your contractors and team
A short note in January helps everyone. Tell employees when to expect their W-2 and how it will arrive. Remind contractors that all income is taxable even if they do not receive a form, for example if you paid them less than $2,000 or paid them through a platform that reports separately. It saves you questions later and keeps relationships friendly.
If you are a freelancer yourself, the same deadline applies to the clients who pay you, so expect forms to arrive in early February at the latest and compare them with your own records.
Your January W-2 and 1099 checklist
- List all employees and contractors paid in 2026
- Confirm employee names, addresses and Social Security numbers
- Collect any missing W-9s from contractors
- Process bonuses and taxable gifts in the correct payroll year
- Reconcile W-2 totals with payroll reports and quarterly filings
- Identify contractors paid $2,000 or more for services in 2026
- Exclude payments that a processor reports on Form 1099-K, after checking the IRS rules
- Deliver forms to recipients and file with the SSA and IRS by the January 31 deadline
- Check and complete any state filing requirements
- Save confirmations and copies with your records
Frequently asked questions
When are W-2s and 1099-NECs due in 2027?
Both are due to recipients and to the government (the SSA for W-2s, the IRS for 1099-NECs) by January 31. Because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, check IRS.gov for whether the deadline moves to the next business day.
What is the 1099-NEC threshold for 2026 payments?
For payments made in 2026 onward, you generally need to issue a 1099-NEC when you pay a non-employee $2,000 or more for services in the course of your business. The old threshold was $600.
Do I send a 1099 to someone I paid through a payment app?
Often not. Payments made through card networks or payment apps may be reported by the processor on Form 1099-K, which has a threshold of $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. Check the current IRS instructions for how you paid each person.
Related reading
The bottom line
W-2 and 1099 filing is mostly a data job. Collect W-9s and confirm employee details in December, reconcile payroll and contractor totals in early January, and file and deliver every form by the January 31 deadline. Remember the new $2,000 threshold for 1099-NEC on 2026 payments, and check your state's rules too.
Forms, thresholds and penalties change, so confirm the current instructions on IRS.gov and with the SSA, or ask your payroll provider or accountant if anything looks unclear.
