Home>Tax & Reporting

Manage your Form 1099-K

Who is this article for?
  • Sellers with account & settings permissions. Set permissions in the Square Dashboard.
  • About Form 1099-K

    The IRS requires Payment Settlement Entities, such as Square, to report the payment volume received by U.S. account holders. A Form 1099-K is the information return that is given to the IRS and qualifying customers.

    The state where your taxpayer information is associated determines your qualification for a Form 1099-K. The thresholds for Form 1099-K qualification can vary from state to state. Make sure to double check your state’s thresholds. Square may report, solely within its discretion, on amounts below these thresholds to meet state and other reporting requirements.

    In the United States, the state where your taxpayer information is associated will determine your qualification for a Form 1099-K. In most states, accounts meeting both of the following criteria qualify for a Form 1099-K and must be reported to the IRS by Square:

    • More than $20,000 in gross sales from goods or services in the calendar year

    • More than 200 transactions in the calendar year

    Square may report, solely within its discretion, on amounts below these thresholds to meet state and other reporting requirements.

    Square is required to issue a Form 1099-K and report to these states when more than $1,000 is processed in card payments and more than 3 transactions:

    • Illinois

    • Missouri

    • Virginia

    Square is required to issue a Form 1099-K and report to these states when $600 or more is processed in card payments:

    • District of Columbia

    • Maryland

    • Massachusetts

    • Vermont

    • Virginia

    These reporting thresholds are based on the aggregate gross sales volume processed on all accounts using the same Tax Identification Number (TIN). If you have multiple accounts that use the same TIN, we will aggregate the volume for all accounts to see if you qualify for a Form 1099-K. 

    For every account that meets the Form 1099-K requirements, including non-profits, the IRS requires Square to report this information. According to the IRS, gross income is defined as all facets of income an individual has received throughout the calendar year.

    Before you begin

    To ensure accurate tax reporting for you or your business, and to prevent any possible IRS withholding, it is very important that you update your Square account to match IRS records.

    You can review or update your taxpayer identification information, your business name, and any other business tax information you provided to Square at any time from your Square Dashboard.

    Understand how amounts on Form 1099-K are calculated

    The amount and transaction count on each form are calculated based on your gross sales for the transaction date(s) of those sales. This includes revenue from card payments that were refunded. Gross sales include taxes and tips collected on a sale if they were charged on a card.

    Cash sales are not included in the total we report on the Form 1099-K — so, the amount shown on the form may be different from the amount settled in your bank account. This difference is because you may have had refunds, chargebacks, or holds, and your Square fees were deducted before funds were transferred to your bank.

    The transaction date is the date in our system that the transaction took place, which is based on a standardized time known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Your Square Dashboard shows your transactions in your local time, so there may be small differences if you have transactions that occur after either 4 PM or 5 PM (depending on daylight saving time) or after midnight in your local time zone.

    Download Form 1099-K

    You can download and make 1099-K corrections through your Square Dashboard. If you do not see a form available for download on the Tax Forms tab, you most likely did not qualify to receive a Form 1099-K based on your account activity. Forms for each tax year are made available on your Square Dashboard by January 31 of the following year. If you don’t qualify for a Form 1099-K, you can still review your yearly sales summary and card processing fees from your Square Dashboard.

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and select Account & Settings.

    2. Select Business information > Tax Forms.

    Correct Form 1099-K for a previous year

    If you need to submit a Form 1099-K correction request, you must provide a bank statement. If you are requesting to update multiple Form 1099-Ks, make sure to include a bank statement for each correlating year.

    Your bank statement(s) must clearly show:

    • Official bank letterhead with your bank’s logo

    • A full bank statement

    • The bank holder’s name and address. The bank account holder’s name and address need to match the information in your Square Dashboard under Taxpayer Information for the updated Form 1099-K.

    • The bank account number or the last 3 digits of the account if you’re using a credit union

    • Transfers from Square in the same year as your requested Form 1099-K correction

    • Any month from the year you’re requesting an updated Form 1099-K

    You can submit a Form 1099-K correction through your Square Dashboard.

    1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and select Account & Settings > Business > Tax Forms.

    2. Select Request a Form 1099-K correction.

    3. Select the year, location, and reason for the correction request, then select Next Step.

    4. Update your tax information as needed, then select Next Step.

    5. Upload a copy of an official bank statement in PDF format by clicking + Upload document under the respective year, then select Submit Request to finish.

    Related articles