Under the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (revised 12/2026, data checked 2026-10-10), an Amazon seller generally files Form 1099-NEC for a payment that meets four conditions: it went to someone who is not your employee, it was for services in the course of your business, the payee is an individual, partnership, estate, or in some cases a corporation, and you paid that payee at least $2,000 during the year. The $2,000 floor applies “for tax years beginning after 2025.” Form 1099-NEC is due to the IRS and to the payee by January 31.
A virtual assistant who manages your listings, answers buyer messages, or runs your PPC is the textbook case. This guide maps the IRS rules onto the payments an Amazon seller makes; it gives you the tests to run, not a ruling on any single payment.
What Form 1099-NEC Reports, and What It Does Not
Form 1099-NEC reports nonemployee compensation: money your business pays for services to people who are not on your payroll. It runs in the opposite direction from the tax forms most sellers know. Amazon may send you a Form 1099-K for your sales, which we cover in Amazon seller taxes and Form 1099-K, and the W-9 you complete in Seller Central is covered in our Amazon tax information interview guide. Form 1099-NEC is what you send to the people you pay.
The instructions draw one boundary first: “Report on Form 1099-MISC or Form 1099-NEC only when payments are made in the course of your trade or business. Personal payments are not reportable.” The same section says “You are engaged in a trade or business if you operate for gain or profit.” Paying a VA to run your Amazon store is a business payment. Paying someone to clean your house is not, even if you pay both from the same account.
The Four Conditions for Filing Form 1099-NEC
The IRS instructions put it this way (data checked 2026-10-10): “If the following four conditions are met, you must generally report a payment as NEC.”
- “You made the payment to someone who is not your employee.”
- “You made the payment for services in the course of your trade or business (including government agencies and nonprofit organizations).”
- “You made the payment to an individual, partnership, estate, or, in some cases, a corporation.”
- “You made payments to the payee of at least $2,000 during the year.”
Condition 4 is per payee and per year. Three invoices of $800 to the same freelance designer add up to $2,400 and cross the line; $1,500 each to two different VAs does not, for either of them.
Condition 1 assumes you already know the person is a contractor. The instructions say “Generally, you must report payments to independent contractors on Form 1099-NEC in box 1a” and point to IRS Pub. 15-A for deciding “whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee.” If a worker is really your employee, wages go on Form W-2, not Form 1099-NEC. Our Amazon FBA virtual assistant guide covers how sellers usually structure VA work; the classification call itself sits with Pub. 15-A.
The 1099-NEC Threshold for 2026: $2,000, Not $600
The current instructions state: “For tax years beginning after 2025, the minimum threshold amount for reporting certain payments required to be reported on certain information returns and/or perform backup withholding on those payments increased to $2,000 and may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027.” The box 1a instruction reads: “Enter nonemployee compensation (NEC) of $2,000 or more.”
The $600 figure that older articles repeat comes from earlier years. The IRS General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (2025) list Form 1099-NEC at “$600 or more,” and that edition governs 2025 payments filed in early 2026. For payments you make during 2026, the instructions say to “Use the December 2026 revision of Form 1099-MISC and Form 1099-NEC and these instructions to file 2026 information with the IRS in early 2027.” Check the current revision each year, since the figure may be inflation-adjusted from 2027.
Payment Type and 1099-NEC Treatment at a Glance
Each row below paraphrases the IRS instructions (revised 12/2026, data checked 2026-10-10). It shows what the IRS text says about that payment type, not a ruling on your specific payment.
| Who or what you paid | What the IRS instructions say | Form 1099-NEC? |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. freelance VA, designer, copywriter, PPC manager (individual) paid $2,000+ in the year by bank transfer or check | Payments to independent contractors for services in your business | Generally yes, box 1a |
| Same contractor, under $2,000 in the year | Fails the “at least $2,000” condition | Generally no, unless you withheld backup withholding |
| Contractor paid by credit card or through a third-party network | Reported “on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity” | No, not on 1099-NEC |
| Agency or LLC taxed as a C or S corporation | Payments to a corporation are generally exempt | Generally no |
| Single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity | Not a C or S corporation; W-9 names the owner | Generally yes, if the other conditions are met |
| Attorney or law firm, including a corporation, $2,000+ in fees | “The exemption from reporting payments made to corporations does not apply to payments for legal services” | Yes, box 1a |
| Supplier for inventory, freight forwarder for shipping, a 3PL for storage | “Payments for merchandise, telegrams, telephone, freight, storage, and similar items” are excluded | No |
| Your own employee | Wages go on Form W-2 | No |
| Personal (non-business) help | “Personal payments are not reportable” | No |
| Nonresident alien contractor | “Use Form 1042-S” for payments to nonresident aliens | Not 1099-NEC; see the foreign section below |
The inventory row matters most for Amazon sellers: payments to manufacturers, freight forwarders, and storage providers are mostly for goods, freight, or storage, which the exceptions list carves out. Your 1099-NEC list is usually short.
Card and Payment-Network Payments Go on Form 1099-K Instead
The instructions are direct on this: “Payments made with a credit card or payment card and certain other types of payments, including third-party network transactions, must be reported on Form 1099-K by the payment settlement entity under section 6050W and are not subject to reporting on Form 1099-MISC or Form 1099-NEC.”
So the payment method changes who reports. If you pay a VA with a business credit card, the card network side handles the information return, and you do not add that payment to a 1099-NEC. If you pay by bank transfer, check, or a method that is not a payment card or third-party network transaction, the reporting stays with you. Whether a specific app or freelance platform counts as a third-party network is a question about that platform’s setup; check its own tax documentation rather than assuming.
Why You Collect a Form W-9 First
Form 1099-NEC needs the payee’s taxpayer identification number (TIN). The Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9 (revised 03/2024, data checked 2026-10-10) say: “Use Form W-9 to request the taxpayer identification number (TIN) of a U.S. person (including a resident alien) and to request certain certifications and claims for exemption.” The General Instructions add: “If the recipient is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien), the IRS suggests that you request the recipient complete Form W-9.”
The W-9 also answers the corporation question from the table. It has a tax classification line, and the requester instructions say an LLC that is a disregarded entity checks “the tax classification of its owner,” while an LLC that is not disregarded enters “corporation, S corporation, or partnership (C, S, or P).” The form also has space for an exempt payee code. Per those instructions, you “may rely on the payee’s claim of exemption unless you have actual knowledge” that it is not valid. If you run your own store through an LLC, our LLC for Amazon FBA guide explains the classification choices from the other side.
The timing matters because of backup withholding. The General Instructions list “nonemployee compensation” among payments that “may be subject to backup withholding,” which applies when, among other triggers, “The payee fails to furnish his or her TIN to you.” The rate in the General Instructions is 24%, and the IRS adds that nonemployee compensation “is subject to backup withholding even if the payee has applied for and is awaiting a TIN.” If backup withholding was required and not done, “you may become liable for any uncollected amount.” Asking for the W-9 before the first invoice is paid avoids that situation entirely.
Virtual Assistants Outside the United States
Many Amazon sellers hire VAs who live and work abroad. Form W-9 is for U.S. persons, so it is the wrong form for them. The General Instructions (2025 edition, data checked 2026-10-10) say: “If the recipient is a foreign person, the IRS suggests that you request the recipient complete the appropriate Form W-8.” For an individual, that is usually Form W-8BEN.
The 1099-NEC instructions route payments to nonresident aliens away from Form 1099-NEC: “Use Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, for payments to nonresident aliens.” Whether any U.S. withholding or Form 1042-S reporting applies depends on the source of the income. IRS Publication 515 (2026) states the rule for personal services: “If the income is for personal services performed in the United States, it is from U.S. sources. The place where the services are performed determines the source of the income, regardless of where the contract was made, the place of payment, or the residence of the payer.”
Under that rule, the place the VA works decides the source, not where you sit. Publication 515 carries the rest of the analysis, including the presumption rules that apply if you have no W-8 on file. A VA who becomes a U.S. resident alien falls back under the W-9 rules.
The 1099-NEC Due Date: January 31, With No Automatic Extension
The instructions state: “Section 6071(c) requires you to file Form 1099-NEC on or before January 31, using either paper or electronic filing procedures.” The payee copy has the same date. For 2025 payments, the General Instructions set it as “File and furnish a copy of Form 1099-NEC on paper or electronically by February 2, 2026,” because January 31, 2026 fell on a Saturday.
The same document says: “If the regular due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday in the District of Columbia or where the return is to be filed, file by the next business day.” January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so for 2026 payments that rule points to Monday, February 1, 2027. Confirm the date against the 2026 General Instructions when the IRS publishes them.
Three filing details from the IRS text:
- No automatic extension. “For Forms W-2 and 1099-NEC, no automatic extension is available.” An extension requires Form 8809 and the conditions it lists.
- The e-file threshold is 10. The instructions say T.D. 9972 “lowered the e-file threshold to 10 (calculated by aggregating all information returns),” effective for returns due on or after January 1, 2024. A seller with eight VA forms plus a few other information returns can reach 10.
- IRIS is the IRS portal. “The IRS has developed IRIS, an online portal for e-filing information returns.” Go to IRS.gov/IRIS.
Penalties for late, missing, or incorrect returns, including a wrong or missing TIN, are set out in the General Instructions and change by year.
A Year-End 1099-NEC Workflow for Amazon Sellers
- When you hire. Collect a Form W-9 from each U.S. contractor, or a Form W-8BEN from each foreign individual, before the first payment.
- When you pay. Record the payee, amount, date, and payment method (bank transfer, check, card, or network); our Amazon FBA bookkeeping guide covers setting up those records.
- In early January. Total business payments per payee. Drop card and third-party network payments, goods, freight, and storage. Drop payees whose W-9 shows C or S corporation status, except lawyers.
- Check the threshold. Anyone left at $2,000 or more for 2026 payments gets a Form 1099-NEC, box 1a.
- By the due date. Furnish the payee copy and file with the IRS, on IRIS or by paper with Form 1096, if you are under the e-file threshold.
- Keep the file. Store the W-9s and payment records with your tax records.
If you hand this to a bookkeeper or CPA, the list from steps 1-3 is what they need from you. Our roundup of ecommerce accountants for Amazon sellers covers firms that handle contractor reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to file a 1099 for a virtual assistant I paid $1,800 in 2026?
Not on that payment alone. Form 1099-NEC applies when you paid the payee “at least $2,000 during the year,” per the IRS instructions (revised 12/2026). Add up every business payment to that VA for the year first, and note that backup withholding has its own reporting rule regardless of amount.
Is the 1099-NEC threshold $600 or $2,000?
For tax years beginning after 2025, it is $2,000, per the IRS instructions (revised 12/2026). The $600 figure applied to earlier years, including 2025 payments filed in early 2026. The $2,000 figure may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027.
Do I send a 1099-NEC to a VA in the Philippines or another country?
Form 1099-NEC is not the form for nonresident aliens; the instructions point those payments to Form 1042-S. The IRS suggests collecting the appropriate Form W-8, and Publication 515 says personal-service income is sourced where the work is performed.
Bottom Line
For Amazon sellers, Form 1099-NEC comes down to a short list: U.S. contractors who performed services for the business, were paid by bank transfer or check, are not C or S corporations (lawyers excepted), and received $2,000 or more for 2026 work. Collect the W-9 before the first payment, record how you paid, and file and furnish by the January 31 date, which moves to the next business day on a weekend.