1099 and W-2 Document Checklist to Send Your Bookkeeping Clients (2026 Forms)

If you build this year's W-9 list from last year's 1099 report, it will be too long. For payments made in 2026, the reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC jumped from $600 to $2,000. That is good news: fewer forms, fewer W-9s to chase. It also means the habits that worked last January need adjusting before you send a single request.

This checklist is the bookkeeper-to-client version. It is not the list an individual hands their tax preparer, and it is not about the 1099s your client receives. It covers what you need from each business client so that you, or whoever files their information returns, can issue 1099s and W-2s on time.

What changed for 2026 forms

Three dates and numbers to get right before you ask clients for anything. All of them come from the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC.

• $2,000 threshold. Nonemployee compensation of $2,000 or more goes on Form 1099-NEC. Rents and other income on Form 1099-MISC also start at $2,000. Payments made in 2025 or earlier used $600. The date the payment was made is what counts, so a December 2025 invoice paid in January 2026 is tested at $2,000.
• Some thresholds did not move. Gross proceeds paid to an attorney (Form 1099-MISC, box 10) are still reported at $600, and royalties at $10.
• The deadline is February 1, 2027. Forms 1099-NEC, and W-2s for employees, are due by January 31. In 2027 that is a Sunday, so the due date is the next business day. Plan for the end of January anyway, because there is no automatic extension for 1099-NEC.

The IRS also says the $2,000 amount may be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027, so check the number again next fall instead of carrying this one forward.

The 1099 side: what to request from each client

A contractor and vendor list with payment method

Ask for every person or business the client paid for services this year who is not on payroll, with what they did, roughly how much they were paid, and how. You can pull most of this from the books yourself, but the client knows things the ledger does not: that "Mike" in the check memo is a sole proprietor, or that the cleaning company is two people with an LLC.

The payment method matters. Payments made by credit card, or through a payment app as a business payment, are reported by the card processor or app on Form 1099-K, so they stay off the 1099-NEC. Checks, cash, Zelle, and direct bank transfers are the client's to report.

A signed W-9 from each contractor

This is the item that ruins Januarys. The W-9 gives you the legal name, tax classification, address, and taxpayer ID the 1099 needs. Ask for one from everyone on the list who might cross $2,000, and make it a standing rule that new contractors fill one out before their first payment.

Check that the client is using the current form (Rev. March 2024) from the IRS W-9 page, and that it is signed.

Attorney and law firm payments

Lawyers are the classic exception. Payments to a law firm for legal services are reported even when the firm is a corporation, so ask about legal fees separately. Clients rarely think of their lawyer as a contractor.

Rent paid to a landlord

If the client rents an office, shop, storage unit, or equipment and paid $2,000 or more in rent, that is a Form 1099-MISC, unless the landlord is a corporation or the rent was paid to a real estate agent or property manager. Ask for the lease or a payment summary and a W-9 from the landlord.

Last year's 1099s, for new clients

If someone else filed last year, ask for copies or the filing summary. It tells you which vendors were treated as reportable and catches the contractor everyone forgot about.

The W-2 side: what to request for payroll

If the client runs payroll through a provider, the provider prepares the W-2s. Your job is making sure what goes into them is complete before the provider's year-end cutoff. Ask for:

• The year-end payroll register or summary, so you can tie wages and withholding to the books
• Any payments to employees made outside payroll, like a cash bonus or a gift card, which belong on the W-2
• Health insurance paid for S corporation owners who hold more than 2% of the company, which must be added to their W-2 wages
• Personal use of a company vehicle, if any employee has one
• Address changes for current and former employees, so the forms reach them

Then confirm with the client that December bonuses run through payroll, not as a separate check.

Common gaps that delay January filing

• A missing W-9 from a contractor who has stopped working with the client. Former contractors have no reason to answer. This is why the request goes out in November.
• Contractors coded to the wrong accounts. A contractor paid from "Supplies" or "Miscellaneous" will not show up when you run the report for contract labor. Run it by vendor, not by account.
• LLCs assumed to be exempt. Many LLCs are taxed as sole proprietors or partnerships and do need a 1099. Only the W-9 tells you.
• A contractor paid both ways. If part of the year was paid by card and part by check, only the check payments count toward the $2,000.
• Workers who look like employees. If a "contractor" works set hours with the client's equipment, flag it for the client's tax preparer instead of quietly issuing a 1099.

How to request it without waiting until January

Ask once, in November, with everything in one request: the vendor list, the W-9s, attorney and rent details, and the payroll items. A single checklist gets answered. Five separate emails get lost.

Then follow a cadence. A good rhythm is the kickoff request, a gentle nudge on day 3, and a firmer follow-up on day 7 (the reasoning is in how many times to remind a client). Check in again in early December before contractors disappear for the holidays, and send a final call in the first week of January.

Give your client a note they can forward to each contractor asking for a W-9, so the ask does not die on their desk. And give everyone an upload link instead of an email address. A contractor is more likely to snap a photo of a signed W-9 and upload it than to scan it and find the right email thread.

This is the 1099 slice of the bigger year-end picture. For bank statements, fixed assets, inventory counts, and the handoff to the tax preparer, see the year-end document collection checklist.

Get the W-9 and 1099 chase kit

The free kit has the full timeline, a vendor-sorting cheat sheet, and seven copy-and-paste scripts: kickoff, day 3, day 7, the December checkpoint, the January final call, the W-9 request your client forwards to contractors, and what to say when a contractor never sends one. Get it by email from the chase kit page or the form at the end of this post.

FAQ

What is the 1099-NEC threshold for 2026?

For payments made in 2026, you file Form 1099-NEC for nonemployee compensation of $2,000 or more, up from $600 for payments made in 2025 and earlier. The IRS says the amount may be adjusted for inflation starting in 2027.

When are 1099s and W-2s due for 2026?

Both Form 1099-NEC and Form W-2 are due by January 31. Because January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday, the due date for 2026 forms is Monday, February 1, 2027. There is no automatic extension for 1099-NEC.

What documents does a bookkeeper need from a client to file 1099s?

A list of everyone the client paid for services who is not on payroll, with amounts and payment method, a signed W-9 from each contractor, details of any payments to attorneys and rent paid to landlords, and, for new clients, last year's 1099 filing.

Do I need a 1099 for a contractor paid by credit card?

No. Payments made by credit card, or through a payment app as a business payment, are reported by the card processor or app on Form 1099-K. Only count the contractor's check, cash, and bank transfer payments toward the $2,000 threshold.

Send the 1099 request once and let reminders do the rest

BookkeeperCollect has a built-in 1099 Prep template with the contractor list, W-9s, attorney payments, rent, and last year's filing already set up. Send each client a branded upload link with no login, in English or Spanish, and automatic reminders follow up until everything is in. You can try it free for 14 days.