Deductions & credits

It won't be easy issuing him the 1099.  It's difficult to get a hold of him.  It took me 6 months just to get a receipt from him.  Adding to all that complexity is that I don't even know whether or not he is an independent contractor and how to find that out.  That's why I am content with just deducting $599 on my tax return and be done with it.  Is that OK with the IRS?