Help Center / 1099 Reporting & E-Filing

1099 Reporting & E-Filing

Track contractor payments, generate 1099-NEC forms, and e-file to the IRS through TaxBandits -- all from within Kantivo.

Getting Started with 1099s

The 1099 Center is located in the sidebar under the Reports section. It provides a central hub for managing all aspects of 1099-NEC reporting:

Use the Tax Year dropdown at the top to switch between years.

Marking Vendors as 1099-Eligible

Before generating forms, you need to identify which vendors require 1099 reporting:

  1. Go to 1099 Center and select the Vendor Setup tab
  2. For each vendor who is an independent contractor or service provider:
Best practice: Collect W-9 forms from vendors before making the first payment. This ensures you have accurate TIN information when it's time to file.

Configuring Payer Information

Your business information appears on every 1099 form as the payer. Set this up once:

  1. Go to 1099 Center → Payer Settings
  2. Enter your business name, EIN, and mailing address
  3. Optionally add a DBA name on line 2 and a phone number
  4. Click Save Payer Settings

Generating 1099-NEC Forms

Kantivo calculates Box 1 (nonemployee compensation) automatically from bill payments recorded during the tax year:

  1. Go to the Dashboard tab in the 1099 Center
  2. Review the vendor list and payment totals
  3. Click Generate All 1099s to create forms for all eligible vendors above $600, or click the generate button next to individual vendors
  4. Forms appear in the Generated Forms tab

If vendor payments change, simply regenerate -- Kantivo will update the existing form with the new amount.

Setting Up TaxBandits E-Filing

To e-file 1099s with the IRS, you need a TaxBandits account:

  1. Register for a free sandbox account at sandbox.taxbandits.com (for testing) or taxbandits.com (for production)
  2. In TaxBandits, go to Settings → API Credentials
  3. Copy your Client ID, Client Secret, and User Token
  4. In Kantivo, go to 1099 Center → Payer Settings and scroll to the TaxBandits section
  5. Select Sandbox or Production environment
  6. Paste your three credentials and click Save Credentials
  7. Click Test Connection to verify
  8. Click Register Business with TaxBandits to link your payer information
Important: Always test with the Sandbox environment first. Sandbox submissions do not reach the IRS. Switch to Production only when you are ready to file for real.

Submitting Forms to TaxBandits

Once forms are generated and TaxBandits is connected:

  1. Go to the Generated Forms tab
  2. Click Submit All to TaxBandits
  3. Kantivo sends all generated forms to TaxBandits and stores the submission ID
  4. Form status changes from "Generated" to "Submitted"

At this point, forms are in TaxBandits but not yet filed with the IRS. You can review draft PDFs before transmitting.

Transmitting to the IRS

When you are satisfied with the submitted forms:

  1. Click Transmit to IRS on the Generated Forms tab
  2. Confirm the action (forms cannot be edited after transmission)
  3. Kantivo files through IRS IRIS, which typically returns a response within 6 hours
  4. Form status updates to "Filed"
Cannot be undone: Once transmitted, forms cannot be edited or deleted. Corrections require filing a corrected return through TaxBandits.

Checking IRS Filing Status

After transmitting, monitor acceptance:

  1. Click Refresh IRS Status on the Generated Forms tab
  2. Each form shows its current IRS status:

Downloading PDF Copies

PDF copies are available at two stages:

Click the PDF or Filed button next to any form in the Generated Forms table to download.

Tips & Best Practices

Pro tip: Use the Print button on any generated form to create an IRS-formatted paper copy, useful for vendors who request one or for your physical files.