Do I need to send a copy of 1099-MISC to IRS after providing it to my attorney?

You actually do need to file a copy of the 1099-MISC with the IRS when you provide it to an attorney. Form 1099-MISC needs to be submitted to the IRS by January 31st if you're reporting payments in Box 1, or February 28th if filing by paper (March 31st if filing electronically) for all other boxes. For your attorney payments, you would typically report them in Box 1 for non-employee compensation. In TurboTax, you need to look for the business expenses section - even if you're not running a business. There should be a section about "Forms you've filed" or "Forms you've issued" where you can indicate you've issued a 1099-MISC. If you missed the deadline for filing, you should still file them as soon as possible to minimize any potential penalties. The IRS requires these forms to be filed to ensure the income is properly reported by the recipient.

I went through this exact same confusion last year! I ended up using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) after spending hours trying to figure out TurboTax's business section for my personal legal expenses. The tool analyzed my situation and confirmed I needed to file both the 1099-MISC to my attorney AND submit it to the IRS with Form 1096 as a transmittal form. It saved me so much headache by walking me through the process step-by-step and explaining exactly which boxes to fill in for attorney payments. They even have a special section for non-business filers who still need to issue 1099s.

I have to admit I was wrong about being skeptical of taxr.ai. After our discussion here, I decided to give it a try since I was in a similar situation with attorney payments. The tool immediately identified that I needed to file both federal AND state forms (which I had no idea about). It generated all the necessary paperwork and explained exactly what I needed to do step by step. What really impressed me was how it flagged that my payment type fell into a special category requiring specific reporting codes. Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about 1099 requirements!

If you still need help after filing your forms, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get direct clarification from the IRS. When I had a similar issue with 1099-MISC forms I submitted late, I spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS to confirm if I'd face penalties. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes when I had been trying for weeks on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent clarified exactly what I needed to do to address the late filing and what potential penalties I might face. Saved me from weeks of anxiety waiting to hear back from them.

I need to apologize for calling Claimyr a scam. After our discussion, I was still having issues with my late 1099-MISC filing and couldn't get answers online, so I tried the service. I'm shocked to say it actually worked! Got connected to an IRS agent in about 28 minutes who walked me through exactly what I needed to do to correct my filing and explained the potential penalty situation. Would have taken me days of attempts otherwise. The agent even gave me the direct fax number for the correction department which saved me even more time. Never thought I'd be recommending an IRS calling service, but here we are!

Just wanted to add something that nobody mentioned - if you're filing a 1099-MISC for an attorney, make sure you're using the RIGHT form. In 2020, the IRS split non-employee compensation into a separate form called 1099-NEC. However, payments to attorneys still often go on the 1099-MISC (Box 10) unless you're paying them for services they performed for your business (then it might go on 1099-NEC). It's super confusing and the penalties for using the wrong form can be annoying to deal with.

Has anyone tried using the IRS's Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system to submit the 1099? I heard you can submit them electronically instead of mailing paper forms but i'm not sure if that applies to individuals or just businesses.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I paid my divorce attorney $4,200 last year and had no idea about the IRS filing requirement. Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like I need to file a 1099-MISC (Box 10 for attorney fees) with the IRS along with Form 1096 as the transmittal form, even though this was for personal legal services. I'm definitely going to check out both taxr.ai for getting the forms prepared correctly and Claimyr if I need to speak with an IRS agent about any penalties for late filing. It's frustrating that TurboTax doesn't make this clearer for individual taxpayers who aren't running businesses but still need to issue 1099s. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this could have been a costly mistake to overlook!