New 1099-K tax concerns for umpires and independent contractors in 2026?

[SeeingEyeDog]

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k

So, the IRS have said in their revised tax law posted above that the REPORTING threshold for payers to contractors specifically using a 1099-K is now $20,000, meaning...if an umpire makes less than $20,000 annually from one payer, that payer is not legally required to report that income on a 1099-K. However, this link goes on to say that, just because the reporting threshold has been raised, the PAYEE (in this case, we, the independent contracting umpires) is still legally responsible for Federal and state income taxes, where legally required. (Some states don't have state income tax, of course...)

My question for the tax professionals who might be reading this is...As an independent contractor who will likely earn LESS THAN $20,000 this year, how do I report/account for my umpire income to the IRS and my state income tax man for the purposes of knowing what I am responsible for an ultimately know what is the correct tax to pay?

~Dawg

[jimurrayalterego]

1 hour ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k

So, the IRS have said in their revised tax law posted above that the REPORTING threshold for payers to contractors specifically using a 1099-K is now $20,000, meaning...if an umpire makes less than $20,000 annually from one payer, that payer is not legally required to report that income on a 1099-K. However, this link goes on to say that, just because the reporting threshold has been raised, the PAYEE (in this case, we, the independent contracting umpires) is still legally responsible for Federal and state income taxes, where legally required. (Some states don't have state income tax, of course...)

My question for the tax professionals who might be reading this is...As an independent contractor who will likely earn LESS THAN $20,000 this year, how do I report/account for my umpire income to the IRS and my state income tax man for the purposes of knowing what I am responsible for an ultimately know what is the correct tax to pay?

~Dawg

Not a tax professional.  believe the threshold for independent contractors is $600 and that's when you would get a 1099NEC, not a 1099K. but if you got paid to umpire you should report it on Sched C and deduct expenses on Sched C. Or it might be a hobby which I don't know how to report. If the snack shack takes in x and pays you y it's not going to be reported but If you're a straight arrow you should report it. If you are paying for your own health insurance there can be some benefit to filing Sched C.

[Velho]

Not tax advice (plus I was never that kind of CPA and my license is expired anyway).

That said, @jimurrayalterego 's thoughts are correct. Report the income (and eligible expenses) on your taxes whether you get a 1099 or other tax form or not (this technically applies to ALL income, even fantasy football and Super Bowl pools. IRS / States want their cut).

re: hobby vs business, and how to report, this seems a good place to start https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/4-tax-tips-for-money-making-hobbies/L89qz1GNj 

I'm sure others can weigh in on how they do their taxes.

 

[noumpere]

And, I think the requirement to issue begins at $2,000, not $20,000.

 

So, nothing has changed, except you'll get fewer pieces of paper, and more income to post on the "no 1099 issued" line.

[The Man in Blue]

10 hours ago, Velho said:

Not tax advice (plus I was never that kind of CPA and my license is expired anyway).

That said, @jimurrayalterego 's thoughts are correct. Report the income (and eligible expenses) on your taxes whether you get a 1099 or other tax form or not (this technically applies to ALL income, even fantasy football and Super Bowl pools. IRS / States want their cut).

re: hobby vs business, and how to report, this seems a good place to start https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/4-tax-tips-for-money-making-hobbies/L89qz1GNj 

I'm sure others can weigh in on how they do their taxes.

 

 

Good article, @Velho!  I had to click it twice to get it (got their sales page the first time), in case anybody else runs into that.

Just curious, has anybody's association ever brought in a tax consultant to present at a meeting?  Seems like a valuable use of association resources.

[BLWizzRanger]

[Kevin_K]

Disclaimer: I am not an accountant nor have I played one on TV.

We independent contractors also need to be aware that just because we did not receive a 1099 NEC does not mean it was not reported to the IRS. If you look at your transcript at he IRS website there may be 1099s from payers who did not send them to us.  

Ultimately, each tax payer is responsible for their own reporting of income. The 1099s are a courtesy and if a tax payer is not reporting taxable income they are subject to the whatever the law proscribes. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

14 hours ago, noumpere said:

And, I think the requirement to issue begins at $2,000, not $20,000.

 

So, nothing has changed, except you'll get fewer pieces of paper, and more income to post on the "no 1099 issued" line.

Again...the link I posted at the top states the reporting threshold is now $20,000.

~Dawg

[jimurrayalterego]

53 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Again...the link I posted at the top states the reporting threshold is now $20,000.

~Dawg

"My question for the tax professionals who might be reading this is...As an independent contractor who will likely earn LESS THAN $20,000 this year, how do I report/account for my umpire income to the IRS and my state income tax man for the purposes of knowing what I am responsible for an ultimately know what is the correct tax to pay?"

I think you know. 

[SeeingEyeDog]

4 minutes ago, jimurrayalterego said:

"My question for the tax professionals who might be reading this is...As an independent contractor who will likely earn LESS THAN $20,000 this year, how do I report/account for my umpire income to the IRS and my state income tax man for the purposes of knowing what I am responsible for an ultimately know what is the correct tax to pay?"

I think you know. 

I don't prepare my tax return. That doesn't absolve me from knowing the totals of my income, providing that to my tax preparer (if I don't receive a 1099 or W-2) and then knowing what to look for on the final draft of the return before it goes off to the IRS with my signature.

I've never been audited. I'd like to minimize my risk of an audit. I'm pretty sure if I were to be audited, I have to go into the audit review with a bit more than, "To the best of my knowledge that $19,643.84 in sports officiating revenue is as accurate as I can compute. I have no reason to suspect that number I reported to you is incorrect but, the associations who pay me aren't legally required to report my earnings because they are below the $20,000 threshold."

Sure, I have Arbiter reports. I have cancelled checks. I have my own annual spreadsheets that track each game and fee earned. NONE of that fully substantiates my correct independent contractor income the way a 1099 would. The presumption would be without a 1099, someone is trying to under report the income to avoid the tax and my own internal documentation could be falsified.

~Dawg  

[noumpere]

13 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

Again...the link I posted at the top states the reporting threshold is now $20,000.

~Dawg

Interesting that Arbiter sends out a 1099-K while RefQuest (which performs much the same functions) sends out a 1099-NEC.  The limit for the former apparently will be $20k; for the latter $2k.  None of which changes how / what I file.

[rcjhyman]

Stop, you're both right. The 1099-K threshold is $20,000. The 1099-MISC and NE threshold is $2,000. Both of these are for 2026 and were changed due to the One Big Beautiful Bill. Most independent contractors would get the NEC version.

[jimurrayalterego]

14 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

I don't prepare my tax return. That doesn't absolve me from knowing the totals of my income, providing that to my tax preparer (if I don't receive a 1099 or W-2) and then knowing what to look for on the final draft of the return before it goes off to the IRS with my signature.

I've never been audited. I'd like to minimize my risk of an audit. I'm pretty sure if I were to be audited, I have to go into the audit review with a bit more than, "To the best of my knowledge that $19,643.84 in sports officiating revenue is as accurate as I can compute. I have no reason to suspect that number I reported to you is incorrect but, the associations who pay me aren't legally required to report my earnings because they are below the $20,000 threshold."

Sure, I have Arbiter reports. I have cancelled checks. I have my own annual spreadsheets that track each game and fee earned. NONE of that fully substantiates my correct independent contractor income the way a 1099 would. The presumption would be without a 1099, someone is trying to under report the income to avoid the tax and my own internal documentation could be falsified.

~Dawg  

I'm not going to tell you your concern is unfounded but this umpire has no concerns.

[SeeingEyeDog]

3 hours ago, jimurrayalterego said:

I'm not going to tell you your concern is unfounded but this umpire has no concerns.

Tell me my concern is unfounded and I have no concerns, without telling me you have no concerns, brother...

I'm just trying to do the right thing here and not cause problems for myself and my family. I am fully capable of doing that on my own without the IRS's "assistance" because I couldn't be bothered to have an accurate and proper tax return...

~Dawg

[Marcus6]

Most of us have gotten 1099 NEC (non employee compensation) as a result of our amateur umpiring gig. That threshold did change with the "big beautiful bill" that was passed last year and the reporting threshold did go up to $2,000 from $600. Theres always a funny misconception there are reporting rules that companies are required to follow (like Arbiter, DragonFly, etc) who process payments for you. If you make $1100, they have no legal obligation to report that to the IRS. Thats separate from your personal tax returns.

Me personally, this is always an overblown argument. There are a lot of self employed retirement savings benefits and if you dont declare cash income, not only are you risking trouble but you also cant take advantage of these.