The 1099-K Threshold Is Back to $20,000
As of the 2025 tax year, payment platforms (PayPal, Stripe, Cash App for Business, Patreon) only have to send you a 1099-K if you cross $20,000 in payments AND more than 200 transactions in a year. This reverses the much lower $600 threshold that was originally scheduled to take effect — confirmed directly by the IRS in October 2025.
The 1099-NEC Threshold Is Different, and Changing Too
If a brand or agency pays you directly for services — a sponsored post, a video edit — that's a 1099-NEC, not a 1099-K, and it follows its own rule: $600 through 2025, rising to $2,000 starting with 2026 payments.
Not Getting a Form Doesn't Mean Not Owing Tax
Both thresholds only control when a platform is required to send you paperwork — they don't change what you owe. Every dollar of creator income is taxable and must be reported on Schedule C in SUNY whether or not a 1099 ever shows up in your inbox.
Why This Matters for Multi-Platform Creators
Since the 1099-K threshold is per-platform, not combined, you could clear $15,000 on YouTube and $15,000 on Patreon — $30,000 total — and receive zero 1099-Ks, because neither platform individually crossed $20,000. Log everything in SUNY regardless of what paperwork does or doesn't arrive.