How to Prepare and File 1099s in QuickBooks Online

The deadline to file 1099 MISC box 7 forms is January 31st for all service-based vendors or contractors that you paid $600 or more in the prior calendar year.

I recommend reading the IRS guidelines on which persons you should collect form W-9 from, what happens if you don’t, and detailed instructions on how to file.

For the purpose of this tutorial, I am assuming you have followed the IRS guidelines and are now ready to file your 1099s using QuickBooks Online.

In this tutorial, I will be using the sample Craig’s Landscaping and Design company file. To get started, follow the below steps.

Log into your QuickBooks Online account.

Click on the Expenses tab on the left-side navigation bar then select Vendor.

Review each service-based vendor that you made a payment to throughout the prior year. You need to make sure you have a completed Form W-9 from the vendor on file and the track payments for 1099 box is checked below their tax identification number.

To generate the 1099 Transaction Details Report, you will need to pretend like you want to process your 1099s through QuickBooks Online. The first time you run this report you will receive a blank page.

Let’s go through the process of setting up the 1099 preferences. Click on the Workers tab then select Contractors. Click on the Prepare 1099s button. This button is also located in the Vendor Center.

Click the Let’s get started green button to begin the 1099 setup process.

Enter the business name, address and tax ID as recorded with the IRS then click Next.

Select Box 7 - Nonemployee Compensation then select the multiple expenses accounts you used in recording payments then click Next.

Repeat this step if you have other types of 1099 payments that fall outside of Box 7.

In the next screen, review all of your contractor’s information to make sure you have a tax ID and email address on file.

In this screen, you can add any missing information or a new vendor to the list. Once you have verified everything is correct, click Next.

Only contractors with payments meeting the $600 threshold that were paid via ACH, the debit card will be shown in Box 7 and total columns.

Credit card payments and third-party network payments such as PayPal will be shown in the excluded column and do not count towards the total column.

Click Finish preparing 1099s if you are using QuickBooks Online to file your 1099s. You can print the information sheet from this screen to keep for your record.

In the next screen, QuickBooks Online will give you two pricing options:

  • Allow Intuit efile and delivery the 1099s to your contractors for you using the early bird pricing or you can print and mail out the forms yourself.

  • Click on the E-file for me button or the I’ll file myself button.

To print out a 1099 report for your record-keeping purpose, do the following:

  • Click on Reports on the left-side navigation bar.

  • Scroll down to the Expenses and Vendors section under standard reports.

  • Select the 1099 Transaction Detail Report, then export to pdf or excel.

Feel free to share this QuickBooks Online tip with other users. Contact us if you need help preparing and filing your 1099s.