Your First 1099 Tax Calendar: Income Year vs Filing Year
Tax year covered: 2026. Income earned 1 January–31 December 2026 is reported on the return filed in 2027. The “tax year” is the year you earned the money. The “filing year” is the year you report it. Most confusion on this site comes from mixing those two up. When does income count? When you receive it Most first-time freelancers use the cash method, even if they never chose that name for it. Under the cash method, income generally counts in the year you actually receive it — not the year you sent the invoice, and not the year you did the work. ...