DESIGN-Full-Workflow-Integration-end-to-end-

The 1099 checklist

The steps, in order, from onboarding an operator to filing their 1099-NEC. It writes to the operator’s record (operator.tax). This isn’t tax advice — confirm the current thresholds, forms, and the contractor-vs-employee question with a CPA or lawyer (LAUNCH-NOTES #14).

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1. At onboarding — before the first payment (hard stop)

• Get the W-9 (legal name, taxpayer ID, address). Store it securely — never in git, it’s sensitive personal info.
• On the record, mark the W-9 on file, the date, and the last 4 of the tax ID only — the full number lives in the payroll tool, not on the customer list.
• Sign the contractor agreement (contractor-agreement-outline.md); save the signed-on date (09).
• Confirm they’re active (09). No W-9 → no payment.

2. Through the year — every payment

• Record each payment in the payroll/1099 tool.
• Add it to their year-to-date total on the record (reconcile to the tool monthly).
• Keep operator payments separate from customer income (07).

3. Year-end

• For each operator paid at or above the threshold (CHANGE_ME; it’s been $600), prepare a 1099-NEC.
• File by January 31 — both to the operator and to the IRS.
• Save the filed date on the record.
• Handle any state filings too (varies by state — check).

Handling the sensitive stuff

• W-9s and full tax IDs live in the payroll tool (locked down), not on the customer list and not in git. The record keeps only the last-4 and the dates.
• .gitignore already excludes *-private.* and secrets/ — treat any tax document as one of those.

Why the rules are what they are

• W-9-first turns January’s filing into a button instead of a scramble.
• The threshold check keeps you from over- or under-filing.
• Separate ledgers keep customer income and operator expense from contaminating each other at tax time.

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