Every year, the United States IRS requires that Stripe (our Payments Processor) provide a form called a 1099-K for each Stripe account that meets all of the following criteria in the previous calendar year:
- Project creator bank account is based in the United States
AND - More than $20,000 USD in total gross volume
AND - More than 200 charges
The 1099-K is a purely informational form that summarizes the sales activity of your account and is designed to assist you in reporting your taxes. It is provided to you and the IRS, as well as some US states.
For more help understanding your 1099-K, go to IRS.gov. You can also download a blank example of the 1099-K form here.
States with lower threshold requirements
Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Vermont require 1099-Ks to be filed for each unique tax identification number with at least $600 USD in gross volume.
Missouri requires 1099-Ks to be filed for each unique tax identification number with at least $1,200 USD in gross volume.
If you processed $20K and 200 transactions or less and still received a 1099-K Form
Stripe provides a 1099-K form for each unique tax identification number (TIN), such as a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), that meets the IRS processing threshold. If you received a 1099-K and didn't expect to, it might be because:
- You have two or more accounts with the same TIN; one meets the IRS threshold and one does not. Each will receive a 1099-K.
- You have two or more accounts with the same TIN; neither are over the IRS threshold individually but, when combined, the threshold is met. Each will receive a 1099-K.
- Your business is based in Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, or Vermont.
How will the tax year be determined?
As the merchant of record, our payment processor, Stripe, issues all 1099-Ks for Kickstarter creators. Calculations are based on when an authorized project’s backings are transacted (i.e. the project deadline date), not on the project payout date. The payout date occurs 14 days after the project deadline date.
This is especially important to keep in mind if your project deadline date occurs at the end of the year, with your project payout date occurring early the following year. In these cases, please note that your 1099-K will report earnings based on the year of your project deadline date, and not on the year of the payout date.