Contractor money starter pack: United States
What the IRS says about self-employment income, the forms a platform may ask for, and invoices.
Check with a tax adviser. This page is general information from official pages, not tax or legal advice, and it can't tell you what applies to your situation.
Last checked 25 Oct 2026 against the official pages linked under each line.
When the IRS expects a return
- The IRS says: “You have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.”Source: IRS, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center · read 25 Oct 2026
- The IRS says gig economy income must be reported on a tax return. That includes income no Form 1099-NEC, 1099-K or other information return was sent for.Source: IRS, Gig economy tax center · read 25 Oct 2026
Forms the IRS names
- Schedule C (Form 1040) reports business profit or loss. Schedule SE works out self-employment tax: Social Security and Medicare tax for people who work for themselves.Source: IRS, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center · read 25 Oct 2026
- Form 1040-ES to work out estimated tax. The IRS says individuals, including sole proprietors, “generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when their return is filed.”Source: IRS, Estimated taxes · read 25 Oct 2026Source: IRS, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center · read 25 Oct 2026
Forms a platform may send or ask for
- Form 1099-NEC is filed by the payer. For payments made in 2026 the IRS reporting threshold is $2,000 in a calendar year; for payments made before 2026 it was $600.Source: IRS, Form 1099-NEC and independent contractors (FAQ) · read 25 Oct 2026Source: IRS, Am I required to file a Form 1099 or other information return? · read 25 Oct 2026
- Form W-9 is how a US person gives their taxpayer identification number to a payer who has to file an information return.Source: IRS, About Form W-9 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Form W-8 BEN is for people who are not US persons. The IRS says: “Give Form W-8 BEN to the withholding agent or payer if you are a foreign person.”Source: IRS, About Form W-8 BEN · read 25 Oct 2026
Records
- The IRS lists invoices among the supporting documents that show the amounts and sources of your gross receipts.Source: IRS, What kind of records should I keep · read 25 Oct 2026
Invoice template
We found no official US list of what a contractor's invoice must contain. The IRS names invoices as records of gross receipts, so the fields below are common practice, marked as such. Your client may ask for more.
| Field | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Invoice number | Common practice |
| Invoice date | Common practice |
| Your name (and business name, if you use one) | Common practice |
| Your address and contact details | Common practice |
| Client's name and address | Common practice |
| Description of the work | Common practice |
| Dates the work was done | Common practice |
| Hours or quantity, and rate | Common practice |
| Total amount due | Common practice |
| Payment terms and how to pay | Common practice |
Source: IRS, What kind of records should I keep · read 25 Oct 2026
What this page doesn't cover
- State and local income tax
- Self-employment tax rates and how to work out what you owe
- Deductions and business expenses
- Tax treaties for people who are not US persons
Check with a tax adviser. This page is general information from official pages, not tax or legal advice, and it can't tell you what applies to your situation.
How we checked this
Last checked 25 Oct 2026. We read each page below on the date shown and quote it rather than paraphrase where the wording matters. We read these pages again each January and April, and whenever one of them changes.
- Self-Employed Individuals Tax CenterIRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 27 Sep 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Gig economy tax centerIRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 9 Jul 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Estimated taxesIRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 25 Sep 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Form 1099-NEC and independent contractors (FAQ)IRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 16 Oct 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- Am I required to file a Form 1099 or other information return?IRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 10 Jul 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- About Form W-9IRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 27 Jun 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- About Form W-8 BENIRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 2 Oct 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
- What kind of records should I keepIRS · Page last reviewed or updated: 3 Aug 2026 · read 25 Oct 2026
Official pages change: if a page says something different from this one, the official page is right.