1099s - Quick Start

NOTE: Check with your conference to see if they will send your Forms 1099, or if you are responsible for doing it. If the conference will send them, ask what information they need from you.

NOTE 2: Jewel does not prepare or print the Form 1099 for you. Jewel will give you a list of possible candidates, which you must use to figure out the actual recipients and fill out the forms.

Form 1099

The Form 1099 is an IRS form that must be filled out and given to each person or non-incorporated business who received over a certain amount from your church in any calendar year, as payment for a service as an Independent Contractor (this doesn’t apply to employees). The reporting threshold for 2025 (filed in early 2026) is $600.

1099s must be postmarked or e-filed by January 31 at the latest.

Ignoring 1099s is not a good option. There are penalties both for failure to file and for filing late.

The following steps give basic info regarding who to send a 1099 to. For more detailed instructions, see 1099s - Who, What, When, and Why and 1099s - Report Generation Details.

1. Go to Reports & Graphs, and at the VERY BOTTOM of the list, select "Form 1099 Payments", or click on Choose Form 1099 Payments on the NextStep button.
2. Select the "Choose Form 1099 Payments" at the center top of the next window. What you are looking at now is a list (in descending $ amount order) of all the people / organizations / businesses that your church has paid money to in the current year. The Conference usually tops the list, and it goes down from there.
3. Look at each name, one by one. Pass over utility companies, mortgage companies, credit card companies, insurance providers and businesses from which you purchased items but not services. They do not require a 1099. In fact, any business that is incorporated in your state does NOT need a 1099.

   To find out if a business you have used is incorporated, do a Google search for “(Your state) secretary of state business search”. Double-check the address, and make sure their filing is current. If you can't find a company in the database, it is better to send a 1099 that they don't need than to miss one that should have been sent.

4. Click on each name that provided you a service, which you did not pass over in step 3. Once you click on the name, you will see below it a list of all the checks that you wrote to that person/business.

   Hopefully, you wrote strong memos so you can tell what each payment was for (if you didn’t, note how much easier this would be if you had, and work on that for next year). Look at the checks. Were you paying for a product or a service? Was it a reimbursement? If so, products or reimbursements do not require a 1099.

5. Click on each check that was payment for a service. Click on “Select All” if they all were. If the job required parts and labor, but the vendor didn’t give you a separate invoice for each, you should give a 1099 for the total amount.
6. Move on down the list. Consider each vendor. When you get down to where you paid less than the reporting threshold, you can stop.
7. Now look to see if you paid your pastor or anyone else on Conference payroll a financial gift of any amount. If so, check with your conference to ask how you should handle those payments. Click on them to add them to the list if the conference wishes you to send your own 1099 to those individuals.
8. Now you can click on the green OK in the top right corner. Jewel will generate a list that tells you how many vendors you have chosen as possible 1099 recipients.

Forms W-9

In order to get the information needed to file a 1099 for a person or business, you need them to fill out Form W-9. You will keep this form in your permanent files, locked securely with your other church records. DO NOT LEAVE ANY COMPLETED Form W-9 LYING AROUND UNSECURED.

NOTE: If you already have a Form W-9 that was filled out by them in a previous year, they do not need to fill out another one. And it is your responsibility to send out Forms 1099 regardless of whether or not you can obtain the W-9, SSN, or EIN.

You can download Form W-9 from the IRS here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf

You need to hand deliver or mail Form W-9 to every person and unincorporated business that is on your list. Timing is crucial, as you are responsible for sending out the 1099s by January 31. Ideally, you would ask them to fill out Form W-9 while they are doing the work for the church. But if you did not do it then, do it now. Be sure to fill out a 1099 for yourself, if needed.

Most of the businesses will be accustomed to filling this out. Some of the other individuals may ask what it is for. Just tell them it is a requirement for the IRS and you are following your auditor’s instructions. If you have a person who refuses to fill it out, contact your conference office.

TIP FOR NEXT YEAR: It is much easier to get a person/business to fill out Form W-9 while they are doing the work. In fact, before you write them a check that would bring them up over the reporting threshold for the year, hand them the W-9 and say “I will give you this check, but I need this from you first.” Then you won’t have to be scrambling when December comes!

Your Church's EIN or TIN

In order to fill out your 1099s, you also need your church’s EIN or TIN if your conference requires that churches have their own, or the conference may have you use their EIN. This is a federal number (not your state tax exempt #). You should have, in your permanent files, your IRS Notice from when they issued this number (or LTR147C if you had lost it and requested a copy). If you cannot find one of those documents, you may be able to find it on a previous year 1099. It is a 9-digit number that is configured like this: XX–XXXXXXX. If you cannot find it in your records, ask your conference office if they have it.

Filing Forms 1099

There are two ways to file: electronically or on paper.

Electronic Filing

If you have more than ten 1099s to file, you are required by the IRS to file them electronically. If you have used a certain 1099 efile service in the past and want to use the same one again, that is fine. Or you can look at these websites:

• https://www.efile1099now.com/
• https://www.tax1099.com/1099-forms/efile-1099-misc-form
• https://www.1099online.com/

The charge is small for each form filed, and is more than worth it to avoid the hassle of obtaining paper forms and filling them out and mailing them.

Paper Filing

You can order 1099-NEC's (Non-employee Compensation), 1096's and instructions for completing both at https://apps.irs.gov/app/taxmat/information-employer-returns/. If you paper file, you will need to complete a Form 1096 as a summary form to send with the 1099's that go to the IRS. You will want to order the forms as soon as possible as it takes several weeks for them to arrive. It is recommended to get a few extras of each form in case any errors are made.

If you don't get the forms in time, or want to purchase locally, you can get them from an office supply store. However, the forms are typically sold in packages of 25 or 50.

Remember, every form for the current year must be post-marked or electronically filed by January 31 of the next year. This includes the 1099-NEC's to individuals as well as the 1096 and IRS copies of the 1099-NEC's to the government.  Don’t leave it until the last minute and risk penalties for not filing!

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