Form 1099-MISC
Quick definition
The IRS form for miscellaneous payments such as rent, prizes, and settlements, reportable at $2,000 or more for 2026. It carried contractor pay through tax year 2019; from 2020 that moved to the 1099-NEC.
If you drive for a gig app, a 1099-MISC is almost certainly not your driving income. Through tax year 2019, the money platforms paid you for work was reported in box 7 of this form. From tax year 2020 the IRS moved that to Form 1099-NEC, and the 1099-MISC went back to covering other kinds of payment.
Source: IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC - for tax years beginning after 2025, the reporting threshold for rents, prizes and awards, other income, and medical and health care payments is $2,000; royalties remain reportable at $10.
What it reports now
Rent, prizes and awards, medical and health care payments, and certain legal settlements. Each sits in its own box on the form, and the box decides how you report it - money for services and money from a prize do not land in the same place on your return. Most of these are reportable once a payer hits $2,000 for the year; royalties are the exception, at $10.
Why it matters for mileage
Your mileage deduction attaches to your driving income on Schedule C, so it follows the form that reports what you were paid to drive. If a 1099-MISC arrives, do not calculate your deduction against it - find the 1099-NEC or the 1099-K instead, and read what is a 1099 form if you are not sure which you should have received.
No form still means you owe the tax
Whichever 1099 does or does not arrive, the income is taxable and reporting it is your responsibility. Keep your own record of every dollar and every mile rather than waiting to see what a platform mails you.
Related terms
1099-NEC
The form payers issue to report $2,000+ in nonemployee compensation (2026 threshold, raised from $600). If you got one, you are self-employed for IRS purposes.
Schedule C
The federal form self-employed workers use to report business income and expenses, including the mileage deduction.
Independent Contractor
A worker classified as self-employed for tax purposes. Receives 1099 income instead of W-2 wages.
Self-Employment Tax
The 15.3% tax on net self-employment income that funds Social Security and Medicare.
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