If you've ever scrambled at year-end to figure out which contractors got paid over $600 — and whether you remembered to get their W-9 on file — you're going to like what just changed. For tax year 2026, the IRS reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC jumped from $600 to $2,000. That means if you paid a contractor, vendor, or freelancer less than $2,000 over the course of the year, you don't have to issue them a 1099. That's the good news. But there's a catch