# Tax question: Employer doesn't give 1099 form, what happens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2007, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660 "2007-02-10T21:53:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SweetHomeColorado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@SweetHomeColorado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetHomeColorado)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/21 "2007-02-12T02:53:10Z")
I guess I’m getting confused now. Can someone break this down into the bottom-line consensus? I appreciate the discussion but some is a bit hard to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/22 "2007-02-12T03:00:11Z")
[QUOTE=SweetHomeColorado] I guess I’m getting confused now. Can someone break this down into the bottom-line consensus? I appreciate the discussion but some is a bit hard to follow. [/QUOTE] You owe the taxes on your income regardless of what forms you did or didn’t receive from the people that paid you. You can make your own 1099’s if you need to based on income that you received throughout the year. ---
**Author:** ![SweetHomeColorado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@SweetHomeColorado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetHomeColorado)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/23 "2007-02-12T05:25:22Z")
okay got it, thank you. What about Schedule C or C-EZ Should I bother with those? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/24 "2007-02-12T06:10:38Z")
[QUOTE=SweetHomeColorado] okay got it, thank you. What about Schedule C or C-EZ Should I bother with those? [/QUOTE] Yes. You have expenses. Deduct them. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/25 "2007-02-12T12:02:54Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] You owe the taxes on your income regardless of what forms you did or didn’t receive from the people that paid you. You can make your own 1099’s if you need to based on income that you received throughout the year. [/QUOTE] There is no need, in fact there is no purpose whatsoever, in “making your own 1099”. You simply report the gross income that you received whether or not it was reported to you and the IRS on a 1099. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/26 "2007-02-12T12:23:58Z")
[QUOTE=SweetHomeColorado] okay got it, thank you. What about Schedule C or C-EZ Should I bother with those? [/QUOTE] In general, if you have business income (1099 or otherwise) you must reflect it on Schedule C/C-EZ and, the Schedule C/C-EZ income on Schedule SE, though there may be exceptions and variations (for instance, farm income is reported differently). When someone has self-employment income, his or her return becomes more complexand consultation with a tax professional may be called for. If you are having questions of this type on the process, it may save you quite a bit of trouble down the road to discuss your particular situation with someone familiar with these issues. Once more, I am not your lawyer or tax professional, and this discussion does not and cannot address the particulars of your issues. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/27 "2007-02-12T14:22:30Z")
[QUOTE=What the … !!!] There is no need, in fact there is no purpose whatsoever, in “making your own 1099”. You simply report the gross income that you received whether or not it was reported to you and the IRS on a 1099. [/QUOTE] So what happens if an employer files a 1099 with the IRS claiming you were paid $1000, but you don’t file a 1099 that matches up with it? Even if you included it as income, the IRS is still going to think you didn’t because they never got the paperwork to match up. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/28 "2007-02-12T16:00:38Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] So what happens if an employer files a 1099 with the IRS claiming you were paid $1000, but you don’t file a 1099 that matches up with it? Even if you included it as income, the IRS is still going to think you didn’t because they never got the paperwork to match up. [/QUOTE] Unlike W-2s, you don’t file 1099s with your tax return. You must simply reflect all business income you receive on your Schedule C or other appropriate place on your tax return. If your total 1099-Misc income is greater than the self-employment or other business income you record on your tax return, the IRS may flag you for investigation. Otherwise, there is nothing to match up. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/29 "2007-02-12T16:01:33Z")
[QUOTE=SweetHomeColorado] I guess I’m getting confused now. Can someone break this down into the bottom-line consensus? I appreciate the discussion but some is a bit hard to follow. [/QUOTE] Let me see if I can try to clear up the forms mumbo-jumbo. Form 1099 is the form you receive from the company you contracted with. If they paid you more than $600 they are required to give you this form. The reason you need this is so that you know what amount to put on your Schedule C (or C-EZ) as income. If you already know the amount, you don’t need the 1099 form. Schedule C (or C-EZ) is the form you use as a self-employed individual to report your business income and expenses. You report the amount paid to you as income, and any legitimate expenses to offset the income. Schedule SE is for computing Self Employment Tax. If you were working as a regular employee and got income reported on a W-2 form, your employer would pay half of the Social Security and Medicare taxes, and you would pay the other half. As a self employed individual, you must pay 100% of these taxes. If you are using a tax program like Turbo Tax, you can enter your income and expenses and the program will take care of the details for you. If you are still confused, this may be the year to consult a professional tax preparer. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/30 "2007-02-12T18:29:47Z")
In some rare cases, a 1099 includes Witholding. This is the only time you need to include a copy of it with your 1040.However, my Bro suggests that if they issued you a _corrected_ 1099, you include copies of both. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2007, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660/31 "2007-02-14T06:09:38Z")
YOU NEVER FILE A 1099 FOR YOURSELF! 1099s are for companies to show your services were a business expense and therefore tax deductible. Please ignore any advice that suggests you should file a 1099. It is simply WRONG. Just file whatever return you file (probably a 1040 schedule C as suggested by others) and list your income. You don’t have to worry about the 1099, especially if the company didn’t file one. If they did, and the amount is greater than what you report, the IRS will let you know and probably ask you to clarify. It’s really not a big deal if there’s a mistake, you can always fix it. Here’s more on 1099s: [http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw5.html](http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw5.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tax-question-employer-doesnt-give-1099-form-what-happens/391660.md?page=1)