Giving Contractors 1099-NEC Copies Electronically

October 17, 2026 · 4 min read

General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. We are not the IRS. Check IRS.gov or a qualified tax professional. Sources read on October 17, 2026. Dates and amounts after 2026 are expected. Examples use made-up numbers. This page contains no affiliate links.

Short answer: The IRS says you may generally furnish a Form 1099-NEC recipient statement electronically instead of on paper, but only if you meet its requirements (IRS Pub. 1099, part M, "Electronic recipient statements"). The recipient must consent in the affirmative, electronically and in a way that shows they can access the statement in the format you will use, and must not have withdrawn consent. Before you furnish it electronically you must give disclosures (paper copy available, scope and duration of consent, how to withdraw, how to get a paper copy). You must post the statement on a website by the due date, keep it available through October 15 of that year, and tell the recipient how to access and print it. The instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC say the recipient copies are available as fillable PDFs at IRS.gov.

What IRS Pub. 1099 says

• Before consent, give clear disclosures: paper delivery is available, scope and duration of consent, how to withdraw it, paper-copy procedures, access requirements and when the statement will be available.
• The electronic statement must contain all required information.
• If posted on a website by the due date, the statement is deemed timely furnished; tell the recipient, electronically or by mail, of the posting and how to access and print it. The page says it must stay available "through October 15 of that year"; which year exactly is not clarified.
• You must notify the recipient of any hardware or software changes before furnishing, and a new consent is required after the new hardware or software is put into service.
• The format must comply with the substitute-statement rules (Pub. 1179).
• The IRS also published a notice requesting comments on electronic furnishing of certain payee statements (Notice 2026-04, title only).

Deadline

Recipient statements are due January 31; for 2026 payments, January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so the next-business-day date of Monday, February 1, 2027 is expected (due date).

What is not an electronic option

The instructions say truncating the recipient TIN on the statement is allowed, but truncation is not allowed on documents filed with the IRS (recipient and state copies).

Made-up example

A business asks a contractor to agree by email, in a way that shows the contractor can open the PDF it will send, tells them how to get a paper copy and how to withdraw consent, then posts the statement on a secure site and emails the link in January. Whether a specific consent flow works depends on the Pub. 1099 requirements; check them.

Related

Late filing penalty · Corrections

FAQ

Can I just email a PDF?

Not just by attaching it without the recipient's affirmative electronic consent and the disclosures above (Pub. 1099). Alternatively, give a paper copy (Copy B) by mail or in person.

Does this apply to the copy filed with the IRS?

No; this concerns recipient statements.

What we could not verify