Does an LLC get a 1099?

Yes, in most cases. If an LLC is taxed as a disregarded entity or a partnership, it gets a 1099-NEC once services payments for the year reach the reporting threshold, which is $2,000 for payments made in 2026 and later, up from the $600 that applied through 2025. The exception is an LLC that has elected to be taxed as an S corporation or C corporation: those generally don't get a 1099-NEC, with one carve-out for attorneys' fees. The LLC's legal structure name doesn't decide this. Its federal tax classification does, and that classification comes from the W-9 the LLC gave you, not from the word "LLC" on its invoice.

Why does an LLC's tax classification decide this, not its LLC status?

An LLC is a state-law legal structure, not a federal tax classification, so the IRS reporting rule looks past the "LLC" label to how the entity elected to be taxed. A single-member LLC that hasn't filed an election is a disregarded entity by default, and the IRS treats payments to it the same as payments to the individual owner. A multi-member LLC that hasn't elected corporate treatment defaults to partnership taxation. Both defaults mean 1099-NEC applies at the standard services threshold. Only an LLC that has filed Form 8832 or Form 2553 to be taxed as a C corp or S corp moves into the generally exempt category.

What's the default answer for a typical vendor LLC?

The default is yes: issue a 1099-NEC. Most small-vendor LLCs a firm pays, think a single-member consultant LLC or a two-partner services LLC, are disregarded entities or partnerships by default, so the services threshold applies to them exactly as it would to a sole proprietor: $2,000 for 2026 payments, $600 for 2025 and earlier. A preparer or bookkeeper reviewing a vendor file should assume 1099 applies unless the W-9 says otherwise.

When does an LLC NOT get a 1099?

An LLC does not get a 1099-NEC when its W-9 shows it elected S-corporation or C-corporation tax treatment. There are two standing exceptions, and they use different forms and different numbers. Attorneys' fees for legal services go on Form 1099-NEC even when the law firm is an LLC taxed as a corporation, at the ordinary services threshold ($2,000 for 2026). Gross proceeds paid to an attorney, such as a settlement routed through their trust account, go in box 10 of Form 1099-MISC and keep a $600 threshold, because that reporting sits under a separate statute the 2026 change didn't touch. Medical and health-care payments are the third case worth knowing: those go on 1099-MISC box 6 at $2,000, incorporated practice or not. Outside those, corporate-taxed LLCs are exempt because the IRS treats corporation-taxed entities as generally exempt from 1099-NEC/MISC reporting for services, same as any other corporation.

How does a preparer confirm the classification instead of guessing?

The W-9 is the source of truth, not the vendor's name or letterhead. At intake, a preparer or AP clerk checks the "Federal tax classification" box on line 3a of the vendor's Form W-9. It'll show one of: individual/sole proprietor, C corporation, S corporation, partnership, trust/estate, or LLC with a tax classification letter (C, S, or P) filled in. If that box says LLC without a follow-up classification letter, or the W-9 is missing entirely, the safest move is to withhold payment or apply backup withholding until a completed W-9 comes back. Guessing wrong on classification is what creates late-filed or missing 1099s at year-end.

What happens if a firm gets this wrong?

Treating an LLC's name as the classification, instead of confirming the W-9, is the single most common source of missing or incorrect 1099-NEC filings a preparer catches in January review. The fix costs nothing at intake, just a W-9 request, but costs a corrected filing and possible penalty exposure if caught after the January 31 deadline. Firms running 1099 vendor review as a systematic intake step, rather than a year-end scramble, catch the classification gap before it becomes a filing problem.