I paid someone in cash. Do they still get a 1099?

The rule doesn't care how the money moved. If you paid a non-employee $2,000 or more during 2026 for work on your business, they get a 1099-NEC by January 31. Cash, check, Zelle, Venmo, CashApp, a mix of all of them, it all adds up to one total per person.

The hard part with cash is proof. You can't pull a bank record. So the number you put on the 1099 is the number you tracked. If you wrote nothing down, reconstruct it: your calendar shows the days they worked, your texts show what you agreed to pay, your ATM withdrawals show the cash leaving. A good-faith reconstruction is what the IRS accepts.

Here's the part that works in your favor: every dollar you report on a 1099 is a dollar of business expense you deduct. Paying a braider $3,000 cash and filing the 1099 means $3,000 off your taxable income. Not filing it means you can't safely claim the deduction, so you pay tax on money you already gave away.

Going forward, track the cash payment the moment it happens. It's the only version that doesn't require remembering in January.