Do I still need to pay taxes if my employer refuses to send me a 1099 form?

Yes, you absolutely need to report this income regardless of whether your employer provides a 1099 or not. The IRS requires all income to be reported, even if it's not documented on an official form. What your employer is doing is actually illegal - businesses are required to issue 1099-NEC forms to independent contractors who earned $600 or more during the tax year. They're trying to avoid their tax obligations, which could get them in trouble. As for your situation, you should still report this income on your tax return. You can estimate the amount if you don't have exact records - check your bank deposits or any payment apps you used. Report it on Schedule C if you were an independent contractor. Keep records of any communications where they refused to provide the 1099 in case questions come up later.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year! After stressing about it for weeks, I finally found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer for dealing with my unreported income. Their AI actually analyzed my situation and gave me specific guidance for reporting income without a 1099. It helped me figure out exactly how to document everything and fill out the right forms. The tool even helped me identify some deductions I could take as an independent contractor that I had no idea about! Way more helpful than the generic advice I was finding online that didn't really apply to my specific situation.

Update: I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and wow - it really did help! I uploaded screenshots of my payment records and bank statements, and it gave me step-by-step instructions for reporting everything correctly. It even generated a statement I could attach to my return explaining the missing 1099 situation. The best part was the peace of mind knowing I was handling everything legally. Definitely worth checking out if you're in this situation!

If you're really worried about this situation, you might want to try calling the IRS directly to get official guidance. I had a similar issue and tried calling them for weeks with no luck - always on hold forever. Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that I needed to report the income and gave me specific instructions for my situation. They even noted in my file that I had attempted to get proper documentation from my employer but was refused. Gave me a lot more confidence that I was handling things correctly.

I need to eat my words from yesterday. I was so suspicious about that Claimyr service that I decided to try it myself just to prove it was a scam. Well, I was wrong - it actually worked exactly as described. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed that yes, employers must provide 1099s for payments over $600, and yes, I still need to report income even without one. The agent suggested keeping detailed records of all payments received and any communication with the employer about the missing form. They also said I should file Form 8919 if I believe I was misclassified as a contractor when I should have been an employee. Definitely worth the call to get the official word directly from the IRS!

Honestly this happened to me too and I just didn't report it 🤷‍♀️ Nothing happened to me but that was like 3 years ago. Probably not the best advice but the IRS is so underfunded they usually don't come after small fish unless there's a huge discrepancy.

Has anyone tried just asking your employer for a simple letter stating how much you earned? I did this once when my employer "forgot" to send a 1099. I still reported the income correctly, attached the letter as documentation, and never had any issues. Sometimes a simple solution works best!

This is exactly why I keep meticulous records of all my side work - bank deposits, payment app screenshots, even text messages about payment amounts. Your employer is definitely breaking the law by not issuing a 1099 for $2,700, but that doesn't get you off the hook for reporting it. I'd suggest gathering whatever documentation you do have (bank statements showing deposits, any written communication about payments, etc.) and reporting the income on Schedule C. The IRS actually prefers when taxpayers are proactive about reporting income, even without official forms. You might also want to file Form SS-8 to get an official determination of whether you were actually an employee (in which case they should have been withholding taxes) or truly an independent contractor. Don't let your anxiety paralyze you - unreported income is way riskier than reporting income without perfect documentation. The IRS has gotten much better at tracking electronic payments in recent years, so there's a good chance they already know about this income anyway.