I have a rental property for which I paid a lawyer more than $600 in legal fees. I am not a real estate professional. Do I have to issue a 1099-MISC to the lawyer?

[DDollar · Accepted solution]

Yes, you should have issued a 1099-MISC to the lawyer if you paid him (or his firm) more than $600.  For instructions on how to create a Form 1099, see this answer from TurboTax Nicole:

If you are trying to create 1099-MISC forms to report payments made by you to persons for services etc., you could use TurboTax Quick Employer Forms which is an online program that will enable you to issue the 1099-MISC and also e-file the forms with the IRS. The program is not a stand alone program, but is available for free for users of TurboTax Home & Business and TurboTax Business programs, and needs to be accessed through any of those programs for set up and validation.

If you choose to use TurboTax Home and Business through the web site, follow these steps:

1.  Log into your TurboTax Home and Business Online account

2. Proceed to the welcome screen, which says " Hi, ... welcome back to TurboTax!"

3. You should see an option "Create W-2s and 1099s" under "Manage Your Return"

4. Click on that link and you will be directed to the quickemployerforms site

5. You will need to login to the site with the same user name and password as you used to access the TurboTax Home and Business Online account

6. You can indicate what form you want to prepare [W2, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT and 1099-DIV.] and then you would be able to proceed.

If you choose to use the TurboTax Home and Business Desktop product, follow these steps

1. Click on Start a New Return

2. The next screen prompts you to indicate whether you would like to Start a new individual tax return or Prepare W-2s and 1099s for my employees or contractors. Click on Continue after marking the box for Prepare W-2s and 1099s for my employees or contractors.

3. The next screen allows you to choose where to prepare taxes. For preparation of 1099-INT or 1099-DIV forms, you will have to prepare forms Online.

4. Click on that link and you will be directed to the quickemployerforms site

5. You will need to create a login to use the site

6. You can indicate what form you want to prepare [W2, 1099-MISC, 1099-INT and 1099-DIV.] and then you would be able to proceed.

You must access the forms at least once through the program to validate your access and subscription. Afterwards, you may go to http://quickemployerforms.intuit.com directly and sign in.