I was sent a 1099-NEC for am the cost of a membership I need to do my job. How can I report this as an expense?

The NEC is a several thousand dollars but is not actually income I’ve received. I don’t want to be taxed on this since I didn’t receive it and it’s actually an expense I would have to pay to do my writing work. My job entails maintains discussion boards that are only accessible with a membership. The cost of the membership is reflected in the NEC as income.