1099 driver
A driver paid as an independent contractor: no withholding, and a 1099-NEC at year end when the total crosses the threshold.
Also called: 1099-NEC, Contract driver, Independent contractor.
Does it pay the driver? Not a pay item.
A kind of driver, not a pay item; it decides what is withheld — nothing — and what is filed.
Most drivers working for a small owner-operator are paid as contractors. The owner pays the agreed amount with nothing taken out, and in January reports the year’s total to the IRS and the driver on a 1099-NEC if it reached the threshold: $600 through tax year 2025, $2,000 from tax year 2026.
Whether a driver can properly be a contractor rather than an employee is a legal question with real consequences, and the answer depends on how the work is controlled. Ask whoever does your taxes before you decide, not after.
For the paperwork, the year-end job is simple if the weekly pay sheets were kept: add up each driver’s year and see who crossed the line. The free 1099 totals tool on this site does that from a pasted list.
Read next
- Mileage rate — What a driver is paid for each mile on a load, set per driver with a start date.
- Reimbursement — Paying a driver back for something they bought for the load out of their own pocket — a toll, a wash, cash fuel.
- Pay sheet — The page that shows a driver what they were paid for the week, load by load and line by line.
Made with the free 1099 driver at loadtally.app/tools/glossary/ten-ninety-nine — LoadTally, loads, settlements and driver pay for owner-operators.
Questions
What does 1099 driver mean?
A driver paid as an independent contractor: no withholding, and a 1099-NEC at year end when the total crosses the threshold.
Does 1099 driver pay the driver?
Not a pay item. A kind of driver, not a pay item; it decides what is withheld — nothing — and what is filed.