Payments to attorneys: which 1099?
Payments to lawyers are the main exception to the rule that corporations do not get 1099s. Which form you use depends on whether you paid for the lawyer's own services or paid money that passes through the lawyer, such as a settlement.
| Payment | Form and box | Threshold for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Fees for legal services provided to your business | 1099-NEC box 1a | $2,000 |
| Gross proceeds paid to an attorney, not for the attorney's services, for example a settlement | 1099-MISC box 10 | $600 |
| Wages paid to an attorney who is your employee | Form W-2 | Not applicable |
| Profits paid to partners of a law partnership | Schedule K-1 | Not applicable |
"Attorney" includes law firms and other providers of legal services. The corporation exemption does not apply to legal services, so a law firm organized as a corporation still gets a 1099.
Settlements: two forms for one payment
The IRS gives this example. A business pays $2,000 of taxable damages to a claimant by paying it to the claimant's attorney. It then furnishes:
- a Form 1099-MISC to the claimant, reporting the damages, generally in box 3, and
- a Form 1099-MISC to the claimant's attorney, reporting the gross proceeds in box 10.
In another IRS example, an insurance company pays a claimant's attorney $100,000 to settle a claim. It reports $100,000 in box 10. It does not report the attorney's fees that are later paid out of those funds.
These rules apply whether or not the legal services were provided to you, and whether or not the attorney is the only payee on the check.
Get the attorney's TIN
Ask for a W-9. An attorney must give you its TIN promptly, whether it is a corporation or not, but does not have to certify it. If the attorney does not provide a TIN, you must apply backup withholding to the reportable payments.
Filing in IRIS
Fees go in the 1099-NEC CSV and gross proceeds in the 1099-MISC CSV. Box 10 recipient copies are due February 16, 2027, later than the usual February 1. The IRIS CSV tool checks both files.
Frequently asked questions
Do I send a 1099 to a law firm that is a corporation?
I paid my business lawyer $1,800 in 2026. Do I file?
Why is the box 10 threshold $600 when everything else is $2,000?
Sources
Last reviewed November 1, 2026.