Can I file my W-2 taxes first and 1099 contractor income later? Filing separately for different income sources

You technically can file your W-2 income now and amend later, but it's really not the best approach. When you amend later to add the 1099 income, you'll have to pay additional taxes on that income, plus you might face underpayment penalties since you should have been making quarterly estimated tax payments on your self-employment income. The better approach is to just wait a little longer. Companies are required to send 1099-NEC forms by January 31st. If you haven't received it by mid-February, contact your client directly. Even if they never send you a 1099, you're still legally required to report all income you earned. You can actually file without the physical 1099 form as long as you know exactly how much you were paid. Just gather all your payment records, invoices, or check your bank deposits to calculate your total earnings from the startup. TurboTax will walk you through reporting this income on Schedule C.

I went through this exact situation last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved me hours of stress! I had W-2 income from my main job but was also doing freelance design work with missing 1099s. Instead of waiting or filing separately, I uploaded all my bank statements and invoices to their system, and it automatically identified and categorized all my contractor income. The tool showed me exactly what I needed to report on my Schedule C even without having the official 1099 forms in hand. It even calculated my quarterly estimated payments I should have been making so I could avoid penalties going forward. Super helpful for mixed income situations like yours!

I actually tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was exactly what I needed! I was in almost the identical situation - had W-2 from my teaching job but did consulting work with delayed 1099s. I uploaded my bank statements and it identified all my contractor deposits automatically. What impressed me most was how it separated my personal transactions from business ones, then suggested which expenses were deductible for my consulting work. The final report made it super easy to complete Schedule C in TurboTax without waiting for my 1099s to arrive. Ended up finding about $2,800 in deductions I would have missed! Definitely using it again this year since I'm still doing both W-2 and 1099 work.

If you're dealing with missing tax forms, Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) can be incredibly helpful. I was in your exact situation last year - waiting on a stubborn client who wouldn't send my 1099. After weeks of unanswered emails, I used Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to do to file without the official form and explained how to document my attempts to get the 1099 from the company. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Getting direct answers from the IRS gave me confidence to file correctly even without all my forms.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment last week, I was still struggling to reach the IRS about a similar 1099 issue, so I figured I'd try it with low expectations. It actually worked exactly as described! Got a call back in about 25 minutes with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent confirmed I can file without waiting for my 1099-NEC by using my own records of payments received. They also sent me information about how to report missing 1099s from companies that should be sending them. Just filed my complete return yesterday using both my W-2 and my contractor income based on my own records. Huge relief to have it done instead of waiting around for forms that might never come.

Another option nobody mentioned - you can download your wage and income transcript directly from the IRS website, which might show your 1099 info even if the company hasn't sent it to you yet! Go to irs.gov and search for "Get Transcript Online." It doesn't always have everything right away, but it's worth checking. The transcript shows all information returns reported to the IRS under your SSN, including W-2s and 1099s. Saved me last year when a client claimed they mailed my 1099 but it never arrived.

I'm a bookkeeper for several small businesses and just want to add - you absolutely do NOT need the physical 1099 form to file your taxes! Many of my clients panic about this. Here's what you need to do: 1. Add up all payments you received from the startup during 2024 2. Report the total on Schedule C as income 3. Deduct any legitimate business expenses 4. File your complete return with both W-2 and 1099 income TurboTax walks you through this really easily. The physical 1099 form is just an information document - the IRS actually gets their own copy. They care that you report ALL income, not that you have the paper form.