1099-K and 1099-NEC: reporting gig income once
By GigWorkerTax · Updated
Rideshare and delivery apps, payment apps and clients can each send you a tax form, and sometimes two forms describe the same money. The IRS matches every form to your return, so the total you report has to account for all of them, but no dollar should be taxed twice. Here is how the two forms differ and how to put them on Schedule C.
What each form reports
| Form 1099-NEC | Form 1099-K | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sends it | A business that paid you directly for your work | A payment processor or platform that handled payments for you |
| What it shows | What the business paid you | The gross amount of payments processed, before fees, refunds or chargebacks |
| When it is required for 2026 | $2,000 or more in the year (it was $600 through 2025) | Over $20,000 in more than 200 payments, for apps and payment platforms; card processors report any amount |
| Due to you by | January 31 | January 31 |
Some states require a 1099-K at lower amounts, so you may receive one below the federal threshold. And below every threshold the income is still taxable: a form is a report, not the trigger for tax.
Why gig workers get one, the other, or both
It depends on how the app pays you. An app that pays your trip or delivery earnings through its payment processing often reports them on a 1099-K and reports other payments, such as referral bonuses or promotions, on a 1099-NEC. An app that pays you directly as a contractor sends a 1099-NEC only. Freelancers paid by clients through a payment app can get a 1099-NEC from the client and a 1099-K from the payment app for the same invoice. Each app's tax section says which forms it sends; the app pages for Lyft, Uber Eats and Amazon Flex describe theirs.
The fees inside a 1099-K
A 1099-K shows what customers paid, not what reached you. For rideshare that gross often includes the service fee and booking fees the app kept. Report the gross as income and the fees as a business expense, so your profit ends up right and the income still matches the form the IRS has. Do not enter only your net payout as income: the IRS sees the larger figure on the 1099-K and may send a notice asking about the difference.
The app's annual tax summary usually breaks the gross into fares, fees, tips and other items. Keep it with your records; it is the bridge between the form and your Schedule C.
An example
Example. A rideshare driver receives a 1099-K for $31,400 of gross fares, of which the app's tax summary shows $6,900 in service and booking fees. A 1099-NEC from the same app reports $1,250 of promotions and referrals. Cash tips came to $300, with no form.
Schedule C line 1 (gross receipts): $31,400 + $1,250 + $300 = $32,950. Line 10 (commissions and fees): $6,900. Before mileage and other costs the profit is $26,050.
Mileage, phone and other costs then come off on their own lines. Every form is accounted for, and the fees are not taxed.
When the same payment is on two forms
If a client pays you through a payment app and also sends a 1099-NEC, the same invoice can appear on both forms. Report the income once. Keep a short reconciliation with your records: the forms, the payments they share, and how you arrived at line 1. If the IRS asks, that page answers the question.
The same applies to an amount that is not business income at all, such as a friend paying you back through an app that then reports it on a 1099-K. Ask the sender of the form to correct it. If it is not corrected, the Form 1040 instructions explain how to report the amount and back it out so it is not taxed.
Checks before you file
- List every form you received: payer, form type and amount.
- Compare each with the app's own summary and your bank deposits.
- Make sure line 1 is at least the total of the forms, after removing any payment counted twice.
- Put fees the forms include on line 10 and refunds to customers on line 2.
- Add income that came without a form: cash tips, small clients, apps that paid you less than the threshold.
- Check box 4 of each form. If federal tax was withheld (backup withholding, usually because the payer had no taxpayer ID for you), it counts as tax paid on your return.
If a form is wrong or missing
Ask the payer for a corrected form first. If a form never arrives, report the income anyway from your own records; the deadline does not move. If an amount on a form is simply wrong and the payer will not fix it, report what you actually received and keep the evidence: statements, the app summary and your correspondence.
Making next year easier
- Have every app and client pay into one account used only for the work, so deposits are your income record.
- Download each app's monthly or weekly statements as you go; some keep them for a limited time.
- Write down which app sends which form, and whether its 1099-K includes fees. The answer rarely changes from year to year.
- Keep cash tips in a simple note with the date and amount. They are income even though no form will ever show them.
The Schedule C and SE example takes a driver from these forms to the finished return, and the first-time filing guide lists the steps in order.
Before you rely on it
This page is general information for the 2026 tax year, not tax advice. GigWorkerTax is an independent site, not connected to the IRS or to any gig platform. Every figure the calculators use and its source is on the methodology page; see also the disclaimer, and talk to a licensed tax professional about your own return.
Sources: Understanding your Form 1099-K · Form 1099-NEC · Schedule C · IRS Gig Economy Tax Center