A 1099 is a tax form the IRS uses to track certain types of income that are not from wages, salaries, or tips. In the context of small businesses, the most common is the Form 1099-NEC, which reports payments made to independent contractors (also called 1099 contractors). If you hire freelancers, consultants, or other non-employees, you may be required to issue them a 1099 so the IRS knows how much income they earned from you.