Form 1099-NEC is the information return a business files with the IRS, and sends to you, reporting nonemployee compensation it paid you during the year — money for work or services you did as a non-employee, such as a car owner paying you to drive or a shop paying you to set up cars.
The paying business must send your copy by January 31. The reporting threshold was $600 for payments made in 2025; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised it to $2,000 for payments made in 2026, with inflation adjustments starting in 2027 — so check the current-year instructions. Two things to know. The threshold governs the paperwork, not the tax: driver pay is reportable income whether or not a 1099-NEC ever shows up. And the form is not for prize money — purse and contingency winnings from a track or series usually arrive on a 1099-MISC, and payment-app money on a 1099-K. General education, not tax advice.
If someone pays you to drive, spot, or wrench, the 1099-NEC is the IRS's copy of that income, and it belongs on Schedule C next to the season's expenses.