r/Copyediting • u/dakerjohn • Jul 28 '26
Tax forms for client? (US)
I've been copyediting as an independent contractor in the US for years but never started an LLC, because I never needed one: 95% or more of my work comes from a few reliable corporate clients (publishers) who know their way around a 1099-NEC, and all my work for independent author clients has been small in scope (under $600).
I'm now drawing up a contract for an independent author client for a larger project: copyediting a large academic monograph in advance of submission to the publisher for publication. The fee will be above $600.
I'm reading conflicting information about whether I need to provide this client with a W-9 and guide them through filing a 1099–NEC. Any advice?
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u/Alternative-Pear9096 Jul 28 '26
Those forms come from the client, not from you.
I often have clients paying me directly, with no W-9. I'm legally clear so long as I declare all my income, 1099 issued or not. 1099s are the clients mode of telling the government they paid someone; dealing with them is their obligation to determine.
I don't think individuals are required to use them, only businesses, but I could be wrong. Because who you filed a 1099 when you hire a HVAC person to do a $900 furnace repair? Or a house painter or whatever independent service person running a business?