Form 1099-K is the information return that payment apps, online marketplaces and card processors file with the IRS, and send to you, reporting the goods-and-services payments you received through that platform during the year.
The IRS page, as reviewed June 28, 2026, puts the payment-app threshold at payments that “exceed $20,000 in more than 200 transactions,” with no tax year attached to the figure — it has moved more than once, so check the current-year instruction. Filers must send you a copy by January 31. Two traps. Personal payments from friends and family — your buddy Venmoing half the fuel money — “aren’t taxable income” and shouldn’t be on it; if they are, ask for a corrected form. And the threshold governs the paperwork, not the tax: income is reportable whether or not a 1099-K ever shows up. General education, not tax advice.
Racers move money through Venmo, PayPal and Marketplace all season, and a 1099-K that lands in January is the IRS's copy of a number you may never have written down.