Just realized I forgot to include a 1099-NEC on my 2020 taxes - will IRS come after me?

You don't need to panic, but you should address this. Since you received a 1099-NEC, the IRS did get a copy of this income reported under your SSN, so there's a mismatch between what's been reported to them and what you declared. For unreported income of $1,100, the tax amount owed would be relatively small based on your income level. However, it's always best to correct tax return errors rather than ignore them. You should file a Form 1040-X (Amended Return) to report this additional income. The good news is that for small amounts like this with lower overall income, penalties are generally minimal, especially if you voluntarily correct the mistake before receiving any notice from the IRS. The IRS typically focuses their compliance efforts on larger discrepancies, but they do have automated systems that flag mismatches.

I had almost the exact same situation last year with a forgotten 1099 from a side gig. After stressing about it for weeks, I finally tried this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly what to do. You upload your documents and they analyze everything - it showed me the exact tax impact of my missing 1099 and walked me through filing an amended return. The coolest part was that it actually calculated my exact tax liability from the missing income so I knew exactly what I was facing before making any decisions. Way less stressful than imagining worst-case scenarios!

I need to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai - I actually tried it after my last comment and it was shockingly helpful. My situation was that I had forgotten to include some stock sales on my 2021 return and was dreading dealing with it. The system showed me exactly what I needed to do and calculated that I actually was owed a small refund (apparently I had overpaid on other things). I was able to complete my amended return in under an hour, which I honestly thought would take days of stress and probably a paid tax preparer. Would definitely recommend to anyone in a similar situation with past tax issues.

If you've been waiting to hear back from the IRS about this or anything else, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I wasted days trying to get through to a human at the IRS about a similar unreported income situation. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 3+ hour wait times I was getting before. You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone system for you and call you back when there's an actual human on the line. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to ask specific questions about my amended return.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it because I've been trying to reach the IRS for WEEKS about an issue with my dependent claims. I was absolutely shocked when I got a text saying I was being connected to an agent after about 45 minutes (which I didn't spend on the phone - I was out grocery shopping). Talked to a really helpful IRS agent who resolved my issue in one call. Not sure how they do it, but it worked exactly as advertised. Just wanted to follow up since I was so publicly doubtful.

On the original topic - I actually didn't file an amended return for a similar small 1099 issue from a few years back. I got a letter from the IRS about 8 months later with the adjusted amount I owed plus a small penalty. I just paid it and that was the end of it. For small amounts sometimes it's easier to just wait for them to find it and then pay what they say you owe.

Just a heads-up that the 3-year limit for amending 2020 returns is coming up soon if you filed on the regular deadline in 2021. If you're gonna file an amendment, don't wait too much longer!

I was in almost the exact same boat last year with a forgotten 1099-NEC from 2019. I kept putting off dealing with it because I was scared of what might happen, but honestly it turned out to be much less scary than I thought. I ended up filing the amended return (1040-X) myself using the IRS Free File software, and it was actually pretty straightforward. The additional tax I owed was only about $85, plus maybe $15 in interest. No major penalties since it was clearly an honest mistake and the amount was small. The hardest part was just getting over the anxiety of dealing with it. Once I actually sat down and did the paperwork, it took maybe an hour total. Filed it electronically and got confirmation that it was processed about 6 weeks later. My advice would be to just bite the bullet and file the amendment sooner rather than later. The peace of mind is worth it, and you'll probably find the actual financial impact is much smaller than you're imagining.