What is the difference between the 1099 and W-2 ?

[robtm]

W-2 is for wages you receive from your employer. 1099's are for investment income, like dividends, interest, or stocks you sold.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

A W-2 reports wage income and tax withholding.  A 1099-NEC reports non-employee compensation.  This means compensation for doing work for someone when you are not an employee, but an independent contractor or self-employed.  The difference is explained here.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc762

If you are self-employed, you report your income on a schedule C and pay self-employment tax, you can also subtract your ordinary and necessary business expenses.

There are many other types of 1099s -- all 1099s report some kind of income that is presumed to be taxable.  There is 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-R, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, 1099-SA, and maybe others.