Why did I receive a 1099-MISC for 2025 taxes from a company I haven't worked for in 2025?

This actually happens fairly often and there are a few possible explanations. The most common reason is delayed payment - the company might have paid you in 2024 for work you did in 2023. Tax forms like 1099-MISC report when the money was paid to you, not when you performed the work. Another possibility is that it could be an accounting correction, like they found they owed you additional money from your previous work. Or it might be some kind of administrative error where they issued you a form by mistake. The important thing is that you need to report this income on your 2024 tax return (filed in 2025) regardless of when you actually did the work. The IRS receives a copy of this form too, so they'll be expecting to see this income reported.

I had almost the exact same situation last year and it was driving me crazy trying to figure it out. I used this AI tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand what was going on with my 1099 situation. I uploaded the form and some of my previous tax docs, and it explained that in my case, it was a royalty payment that got delayed from previous work. The tool was really helpful because it showed exactly how to report it on my return and explained how it would affect my taxes overall. It also preserved my documentation in case I ever needed to prove when I actually did the work vs when I got paid.

Coming back to share my experience - I tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and it cleared up my whole tax form confusion. I had a similar random 1099-MISC show up but in my case it was for some focus group I did in January 2024 that I completely forgot about! The AI recognized it was a small independent contractor payment and showed me exactly where to report it on Schedule C. Saved me from having to pay for an hour with a tax professional just to ask about one form. Plus it flagged some deductions I would have missed that offset most of the tax impact anyway. Definitely worth checking out if you get surprise forms like this.

I had the same issue with unexpected tax forms and also had trouble reaching the company that sent them. After spending HOURS on hold trying to call their accounting dept, I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to the IRS to confirm what I should do. If you haven't tried getting through to the IRS lately, it's basically impossible unless you call at exactly the right time or have a service hold your place in line. There's a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically wait on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. The IRS agent confirmed I needed to report the income but also told me how to document my situation in case of any discrepancies. They also explained how to file a complaint if the company refused to correct an erroneous form.

I take back what I said about Claimyr being sketchy. I was definitely wrong about that! After struggling to get through to the IRS for 3 days straight (kept getting disconnected after waiting 40+ minutes), I finally tried the service. Got a callback in about 2 hours while I was at work and was connected directly to an IRS representative who helped sort out my 1099 issue. In my case, it turned out that I needed to file a Form 8919 because the company had misclassified me as an independent contractor when I should have been an employee. The IRS agent walked me through the whole process and even helped me understand how to address the situation with the company that issued the incorrect 1099. Saved me from potentially overpaying self-employment tax!

Have you checked your bank statements from 2024? Maybe they paid you something last year that you forgot about or didn't notice? $205 isn't a huge amount - could have been a final commission payment or something small that slipped through.

Anyone have experience with using TurboTax for reporting a small 1099-MISC like this? I'm wondering if it's worth paying for the upgraded version just for one small form.

Just want to add that you should also check if the company issued any corrected versions of the 1099-MISC. Sometimes companies realize they made errors and send out corrected forms (1099-MISC-C) but people miss them or they get lost in the mail. Since you found the payment in your bank statements, you're all set to report it normally. But if you're still unsure about anything, the IRS has a pretty good FAQ section on their website about 1099-MISC reporting that covers most common scenarios like delayed payments and corrections. Way easier than trying to get them on the phone during tax season!