What is the 1099 reporting threshold for a Memphis landlord in 2026?

For payments made after December 31, 2025, the IRS threshold for Form 1099-NEC (fees paid to independent service providers) and for rents reported on Form 1099-MISC rose from $600 to $2,000. A Shelby County, Tennessee rental owner who pays an individual plumber $2,150 in 2026 would generally report it, while $1,900 paid to a lawn-care sole proprietor would fall below the new line. The IRS says the amount may be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027.

Do I need to send a 1099 for a vendor I paid by credit card on a Memphis rental?

Generally no. The IRS instructions say payments made by credit or debit card are reported by the card processor on Form 1099-K, not by the person who paid on Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. A Memphis, Tennessee owner who pays a $2,600 repair on a card would not issue the vendor a 1099-NEC for that payment, though checks, bank transfers and cash to the same vendor still count toward the $2,000 line.

When is the 1099-NEC due for 2026 vendor payments?

Form 1099-NEC is due to both the vendor and the IRS by January 31 with no automatic 30-day extension. Because January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday, the practical due date for 2026 payments is Monday, February 1, 2027. Rental owners in Shelby County, Tennessee should collect a Form W-9 from each vendor before the first payment so the information is ready.

Do I have to file a 1099 for a company that is a corporation?

Payments to corporations are generally exempt from Form 1099-MISC, and attorneys are the main exception: legal fees of $2,000 or more go on Form 1099-NEC even when the law firm is a corporation. A Memphis, Tennessee landlord should use the vendor's Form W-9 to see how it is classified, and ask a tax professional whether their rental activity counts as a business. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.

Investor Tax & Compliance · October 16, 2026

The $600 Line Just Moved to $2,000: The 1099 Rules Every Memphis Rental Owner Should Re-Check

If you pay a plumber, a lawn crew or a roofer to keep a Shelby County, Tennessee rental running, a number you have probably memorized just changed. For payments made in 2026, the IRS reporting line for vendors and rent moved from $600 to $2,000. That is good news for paperwork, but only if you know which payments still count and what to collect before year-end.

What actually changed

Under the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, the reporting threshold for rents is now $2,000, effective for tax years beginning after 2025, and the same instructions say it may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027. The IRS’s Form 1099-NEC FAQ says the same for fees paid to independent service providers who are not on a payroll: $600 through 2025, and $2,000 for payments made after December 31, 2025. Payments you made during 2025 still follow the old line, and those forms were due last January.

One threshold matters more than it first appears. Before 2026, a handful of small repair invoices to the same handyman could cross $600 by spring. At $2,000, a Memphis, TN owner with one or two houses may now go a whole year without owing a single form, while an owner with a larger portfolio is likely to cross the line with the same vendors every year. The threshold is applied per vendor, per calendar year, not per property and not per invoice.

Is your rental a business for this purpose?

The instructions apply to payments made in the course of a trade or business. As Landlord Studio’s guide for landlords puts it, you send a 1099-NEC only if your rentals count as a business for tax purposes. Where the line falls for a given owner is a question for a tax professional, and it connects to the same question behind the Section 199A hours test we covered in our piece on the 250-hour safe harbor. If you are unsure, ask before January, not after.

A worked example for a Shelby County rental

Here is a hypothetical year for an owner of a single-family rental in Shelby County, Tennessee. These are made-up numbers meant to show the logic, not typical Memphis invoices:

Plumber, sole proprietor, $2,150 across three visits. Over $2,000 and paid by check, so this is reportable on Form 1099-NEC.
Lawn care, sole proprietor, $1,900. Under the new line, so no form. Under the old $600 rule it would have required one.
HVAC company, incorporated, $3,400. Payments to corporations are generally exempt from Form 1099-MISC, so a form is usually not required, but the vendor’s W-9 is how you confirm how it is classified.
Attorney, $2,500 for a lease dispute. Attorneys are the exception. The IRS instructions say attorneys’ fees of $2,000 or more go on Form 1099-NEC even when the firm is a corporation.
Roof repair, $2,600 on a credit card. Not reported by you. The instructions say card payments are reported by the payment processor on Form 1099-K.

That is two forms for an owner who wrote five large checks and swipes. The ones that surprise people are the lawn bill that quietly grows past $2,000 over a year of mowing, and the vendor who is paid half by check and half by card, where only the check portion counts toward your total.

The threshold changed once. The habit that protects you did not: get the W-9 before you pay the first invoice.

The W-9 habit and backup withholding

A Form W-9 is how a vendor gives you a legal name, tax classification and taxpayer identification number. Ask for it at onboarding, not in January when the vendor has already moved on. It matters because of backup withholding: in IRS guidance for businesses, the agency states that the backup withholding rate is 24% and that it applies to reportable nonemployee compensation when a payee has not furnished a taxpayer identification number or the IRS says the number does not match the name. Confirm the current rate with a tax professional before you rely on it, since the IRS tip is dated. A vendor who refuses to provide a W-9 is a vendor to reconsider.

The deadline

The IRS says Form 1099-NEC is due to the IRS and to the payee by January 31, and that there is no automatic 30-day extension. For 2026 payments, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the practical date, as Landlord Studio notes, is Monday, February 1, 2027. If you use the same software for rent roll and vendors, you can generate the totals in December and spot a vendor who is close to the line while there is still time to collect paperwork.

A five-step year-end checklist

Total by vendor, not by property. One plumber working on three houses is one total.
Separate how each bill was paid. Checks, transfers and cash count toward the 1099-NEC line; card payments are reported by the card processor.
Collect a W-9 from every vendor you expect to pay again. File them with your records.
Flag attorneys and unincorporated vendors first. They are the likeliest to trigger a form.
Ask your tax professional about the business question. Do this before December so you know whether the forms apply to you at all.

If you own in Memphis or Germantown, TN and a property manager pays your vendors, ask them in writing who is responsible for issuing the forms, because the rules differ depending on whose account the money comes from. Nothing here is tax or legal advice; it is general information to help you ask better questions.

Sources & further reading: IRS — Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC; IRS — Form 1099-NEC frequently asked questions; IRS — What businesses need to know about reporting nonemployee compensation and backup withholding; Landlord Studio — About IRS Form 1099 for Landlords and Investors.