--- title: When do you have to send 1099-NEC Copy B to contractors? description: If you are mailing 1099-NEC Copy B to a contractor or other payee, the deadline question matters because this form runs on a tighter schedule than many other information returns. The general rule is that Form 1099-NEC must be furnished to the recipient by January 31 of the year after payment, or the next business day when January 31 falls on a weekend or legal holiday. PostalForm lets you prepare Copy B online, generate the finished PDF, and mail the recipient copy without building it by hand. seotitle: 1099-NEC Copy B deadline | PostalForm seo-description: Learn when 1099-NEC Copy B must be furnished to contractors, what counts as the deadline, and how to prepare the recipient copy for mailing. group: resources indexable: true nav: false schema: article eyebrow: Tax guide published: 2026-04-11 updated: 2026-04-11 path: /tax/1099-nec-copy-b-deadline --- # When do you have to send 1099-NEC Copy B to contractors? If you are mailing 1099-NEC Copy B to a contractor or other payee, the deadline question matters because this form runs on a tighter schedule than many other information returns. The general rule is that Form 1099-NEC must be furnished to the recipient by January 31 of the year after payment, or the next business day when January 31 falls on a weekend or legal holiday. PostalForm lets you prepare Copy B online, generate the finished PDF, and mail the recipient copy without building it by hand. ## Key takeaways - Copy B is the recipient copy of Form 1099-NEC. - The usual deadline to furnish it is January 31 of the following year. - If January 31 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. - This recipient deadline is separate from the mechanics of filing with the IRS, but the dates for Form 1099-NEC are often aligned. - PostalForm's workflow is for preparing the recipient copy cleanly before mailing it. ## The basic deadline rule For most years, you should assume 1099-NEC Copy B needs to reach the recipient by January 31 of the year after the payments were made. If January 31 lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. That is the practical rule many filers watch each January. ## Why 1099-NEC feels stricter than other 1099s Many businesses get tripped up because other information returns sometimes have later IRS filing dates depending on paper or electronic filing. Form 1099-NEC is different. It is treated as the faster-moving nonemployee compensation form, so both the IRS filing timeline and the recipient-furnishing timeline usually center on the same January deadline. If you wait until February to think about Copy B, you are often already late. ## What “furnish to the recipient” means For Copy B, the recipient is the contractor or other payee. Your goal is to provide that payee with the statement that shows the nonemployee compensation you reported for the year. If you are using mail instead of electronic delivery, that means you need a clean recipient copy, the right mailing address, and enough lead time to send it before the deadline passes. ## The smoother path: prepare the recipient copy online If you already know you need to mail Copy B, the cleanest workflow is usually: 1. Enter the payer, recipient, and payment details in PostalForm's workflow. 2. Generate the finished Copy B PDF automatically. 3. Review the tax year, names, TINs, and compensation amounts carefully. 4. Mail the recipient copy to the contractor or other payee before the deadline. That is usually less error-prone than assembling the statement manually at the last minute. ## What to verify before mailing Check these details before you send anything: - Correct tax year - Correct contractor or payee name - Correct mailing address - Correct payer and recipient TIN information - Correct compensation amount - Corrected box marked if you are sending an updated statement This is the kind of form where a small typo can create cleanup work later for both sides. ## Common mistakes - Treating Copy B like the IRS filing copy - Waiting until after January 31 to start the mailing process - Using the wrong tax year - Mailing to an old contractor address - Forgetting that weekend or holiday rules can shift the exact date in some years ## Sources - [IRS: Information return reporting](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/information-return-reporting) - [IRS: General instructions for certain information returns](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1099gi) - [IRS: About Form 1099-NEC](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1099-nec) ## FAQs - **When is 1099-NEC Copy B due to the recipient?** Usually January 31 of the year after payment, or the next business day if that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday. - **Who receives Copy B?** The contractor or other payee receives Copy B. - **Is Copy B the IRS filing copy?** No. Copy B is the recipient copy. - **Can I prepare Copy B online before mailing it?** Yes. PostalForm lets you generate the recipient copy online and mail it to the payee. ## Related - [IRS Form 1099-NEC Copy B online workflow](/forms/1099-nec) - [1099-NEC Copy B recipient copy guide](/tax/1099-nec-copy-b-recipient-copy-guide) - [Tax mailing guides](/tax) - [Mail a form online](/mail-a-form-online) - [Fill out official PDF forms online](/fill-out-official-pdf-forms-online) ## Ready to send it? Prepare Copy B online, review the tax-year details carefully, and mail it to the contractor or payee before the deadline window closes. [Start 1099-NEC Copy B](/forms/1099-nec)