Head to the IRS website to learn more about the 1099-K tax form.
In the US, payment settlement entities, like Adyen, are required to file a 1099-K tax form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for any US-based entity (merchant or sub-merchant) to which they pay out directly.
Transaction and volume thresholds
Adyen generates 1099-K tax forms for US-based merchants or sub-merchants that have processed over a certain threshold. At the federal level, Adyen generates 1099-K tax forms for merchants or sub-merchants that have processed more than $20,000 and have had more than 200 transactions. State thresholds can vary depending on the state.
Type | State | Transactions count | Volume | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Federal | Federal | 200 | $20,000 | 2021 |
State | DC, MA, MD, MS, VA, VT |
0 | $600 | 2021 |
State | AR | 0 | $2,500 | 2021 |
State | IL | 4 | $1,000 | 2021 |
State | MO | 0 | $1,200 | 2021 |
State | NJ | 0 | $1,000 | 2021 |
What you need to do
You need to provide your sub-merchant with a digital copy of their tax form. Follow this general flow:
- In your platform, show a button or a link for getting the tax form.
- Send an API request to get a tax form. The response returns a Base64 binary.
- Convert the received Base64 binary to PDF format and provide the sub-merchant with a PDF copy of their tax form.
Step 1. Present tax forms in your UI
In your UI, show a button or link that your sub-merchants can use to get the tax form. When a sub-merchant clicks the link or button, this should trigger the API request in the next step.
Step 2. Get a tax form
Use the /getTaxForm endpoint to generate a Base64 binary format of the sub-merchant's tax form.
From your server, make a POST /getTaxForm request, specifying:
Field | Type | Required | Description |
---|---|---|---|
accountHolderCode |
String | ![]() |
Your unique reference to the sub-merchant's account holder. |
formType |
String | ![]() |
Type of the requested tax form. For example, 1099-K. |
year |
Integer | ![]() |
The applicable tax year in the YYYY format. |
A tax form is only generated for sub-merchants that hit a certain volume or transaction threshold. If you make an API request for an accountHolderCode
that does not hit the threshold, you will receive an error response.
The response contains:
Field | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
contentType |
String | The content type of the tax form. For example, application/pdf . |
content |
String | The content of the tax form in the Base64 binary format. |
Step 3. Decode Base64 binary and convert to PDF
To present the tax form to the sub-merchant, use the Base64.Decoder class. Provide the sub-merchant with a PDF copy of their tax form.