By late January, an NIL athlete with a few deals can have a small stack of tax forms in the mail or sitting in an app inbox. Knowing which form means what, and what the IRS already knows, keeps filing season calm.
The 1099-NEC from brands and collectives
The main form is the 1099-NEC, which reports nonemployee compensation. Any business that paid you $600 or more during the year for NIL work is required to send you one by January 31 and file a copy with the IRS. That includes brands, NIL collectives, camps that paid you to appear, and marketing agencies that routed deals to you. The number in box 1 is the gross amount they paid you, before your agent's cut and before any expenses, so do not be surprised if it is bigger than what hit your bank account. You report the gross on Schedule C and deduct the fees and expenses there.
Because the IRS gets its own copy, its computers match 1099-NEC totals against your return. Leaving one off is the fastest way for a college athlete to get an automated notice.
No form does not mean no tax
Two things trip athletes up. First, payers under $600 do not have to send a form, and some payers who should send one simply do not. The income is still fully taxable; the 1099-NEC is a reporting document, not a permission slip. Track your own payments so your Schedule C reflects reality, not just the forms that showed up. Second, free products count too. Gear, shoes, or tech given in exchange for posts is income at fair market value, and some brands include it on a 1099 while others never report it. Your obligation is the same either way.
1099-K from payment apps, and a moving threshold
If deals paid you through a payment platform or app for goods and services, you may also receive a 1099-K, which reports payments processed on your behalf. The dollar threshold for who gets a 1099-K has moved around in recent years as the rules changed, so check current IRS guidance rather than relying on an old number. What matters for you: if the same money shows up on both a 1099-K and a 1099-NEC, or a 1099-K mixes NIL payments with personal transfers from friends, do not just add all the boxes together. Report your true NIL income once on Schedule C and keep records showing how the forms overlap.
Store every 1099 with your contracts and payment records, and reconcile them against your own list before filing. When your numbers and the IRS's numbers agree, filing an NIL return is paperwork. When they do not, it becomes correspondence.