Still waiting for my 1099-NEC from a business - what should I do now?

Thank you! That's a relief. Just to be clear, I just put the $4,800 on Schedule C even without having the actual 1099 form in hand? And the IRS won't flag my return or delay my refund because the business didn't submit their paperwork properly?

Yes, you report the $4,800 on Schedule C even without having the physical 1099-NEC form. The IRS is concerned that you properly report your income, not whether you have the form itself. Your return won't be flagged or delayed because you reported income without having the corresponding 1099. The IRS might eventually notice if the company never files their 1099-NEC, but that would be an issue for the company, not for you, as long as you've correctly reported your income.

How does it handle situations where you might have multiple missing forms? I'm dealing with a similar situation but I worked for 3 different clients who haven't sent 1099s yet.

Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical. Does it actually connect to your bank or do you have to manually enter all your transactions? Seems like it could be a lot of work either way.

It can handle multiple missing forms without a problem. You can set up separate income sources for each client and the system will help you track and report each one correctly. It's really flexible for people with complicated situations. For your question about bank connectivity - it can connect directly to most major banks through secure APIs to analyze your transactions. Or if you prefer, you can upload statements manually. I was nervous about connecting my accounts too, but their security is solid and it saved me tons of time not having to enter everything by hand.

Wait, how does this actually work? The IRS phone lines are always busy whenever I try to call. How does this service get you through when nobody else can?

This sounds like BS honestly. Nobody can get through the IRS phone lines. And even if you could, the agents probably wouldn't help with something like this. They'd just tell you to report the income anyway.

It works by using a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an actual agent picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to them. It's like having someone wait on hold for you so you don't have to listen to that awful hold music for hours. You're right that the agents typically just tell you to report the income even without the form, but in my case, they also gave me information about how to file a complaint about the missing form and what specific documentation I needed to keep in case of questions later. They were surprisingly helpful once I actually got to speak with someone.

I actually did fill out a W-9 when I first started the project. That's part of why I'm annoyed they haven't sent the 1099-NEC. Do you think I should resend the W-9 as a reminder?

No need to resend the W-9 if you already provided one. That means they have your information and are just dropping the ball on their responsibility to send the 1099-NEC. At this point, I'd send one final email that politely but firmly states that you provided a W-9, the January 31st deadline has passed, and you need the document for your tax records. Maybe mention that you'll be proceeding with filing your taxes based on your own records of payment.

I use TurboTax every year and it's fine for this situation. When you go through the self-employment section, it'll ask if you received any 1099s, but you can just enter the income manually without entering any 1099 information. Just select "I'll enter my income without a 1099" when prompted.