Why Royalties Are Reported to the IRS

When an organization or individual pays another party to use certain property, assets, or intellectual property owned by that party, it is known as royalties. These payments are typically reported to the IRS using Box 2 Form 1099-MISC. The reporting threshold for royalty payments is $10 or more.

Royalty payments that need to be reported to the IRS include intellectual property royalty income, patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade names, as well as oil and gas royalty reporting. This reporting helps the IRS to track income accurately as well as ensure tax compliance.

What Counts as Royalty Income

Royalty income is payments a user (licensee) pays to an owner (licensor) for the right to use property, assets, or intellectual property.

Royalty Type Report in Box 2 Description
Book royalties Yes Paid to authors by publishers
Oil/gas/mineral rights Yes Lease payments to resource owners
Copyright licenses Yes Music, photos, or software licensing
Streaming/music payments Yes Paid by platforms like Spotify, YouTube
Franchise royalty fees Maybe Only for the royalty portion
Surface royalties No Use Box 1
Timber royalties under pay-as-cut No Use 1099-S
Interest on unpaid royalties No Use Box 1 or Box 3 if applicable
Payments for services No Use 1099-NEC, not MISC
Note:

For franchise payments which have both royalty and service fees, report only the royalty payment in Box 2. The service fee should be reported on 1099-NEC.

Who Must File Form 1099-MISC Box 2 for Royalties?

If an individual or entity pays royalty income of $10 or more in a tax year, they are responsible for reporting royalty payments. This payment is reported on 1099 MISC Box 2 royalties.

Exemptions

Special Rule for Publishers & Authors:

Royalties 1099 Reporting: Thresholds, Deadlines & Penalties

IRS 1099-MISC Box 2 Threshold

If you pay $10 or more in royalties in a calendar or tax year, you must report it on Box 2. Payments to corporations are generally not reportable unless specifically required as per a contractual agreement.

TIN Rule: You need a valid W-9 before filing 1099-MISC. If there is no TIN or it’s invalid, a 25% backup withholding will be triggered.

Deadlines for Filing and Distribution of 1099-MISC

Filing Type Deadline (TY 2025)
Recipient Copy Distribution January 31
1099-MISC Box 2 Paper Filing February 28
1099-MISC Box 2 E-Filing March 31

1099-MISC Box 2 Penalties

Timeline Penalty
Filed within 30 days $60 per form
Filed 31 days late or till Aug 1 $130 per form
Filed after Aug 1 $330 per form
Intentional Disregard $660 per form

How to Fill Out Form 1099-MISC Box 2

Payer Info

Add payer (organization, business, or individual paying $10 or more in royalties) information such as name, address, and EIN. The information here must match what was provided on Form 1096.

Recipient Info

Use Tax1099’s digital W-9 collection tool to collect recipient (individual or entity receiving the royalties) legal name, address, and TIN.

Box 2 (“Royalties”)

Report the total gross amount paid in royalties for a year. It must be more than $10 in a tax year.

Box 4 (Withholding)

If TIN is not provided by the recipient, apply a 24% backup withholding to the royalty payment and enter that amount in this box. You can use Tax1099’s real-time TIN matching to verify TIN with IRS records to prevent backup withholding.

Boxes 15–17

These boxes are applicable only for the state that require 1099-MISC state reporting.

E-Filing

If you are filing more than 10 returns at a time, e-file with an IRS authorized e-filing platform like Tax1099.

Recipient Copy Distribution

Send the recipient copy of the forms by January 31 using Tax1099’s recipient copy distribution portal or via our print and mail feature.

Pro Tip: If you’re paying royalties that is shared by multiple co-owners, you can either

Issue a separate 1099-MISC to each owner for their share
or
Send a single 1099-MISC form to one owner, document it, and let them allocate the total amount amongst themselves.

1099-MISC Box 2 vs Other 1099 Boxes: Avoiding Mistakes

Mistakes when reporting royalty payments to IRS such as including reporting royalties under Box 3 (Other Income), filing for royalties worth less than $10, and reporting royalty-related services can be avoided when you learn how to report royalties on 1099-MISC using the correct boxes or forms.

Form/Box Purpose Use when
1099-MISC Box 1 Rental Payments If the property has been leased and not licensed (e.g., office rent, equipment rental)
1099-MISC Box 3 Other miscellaneous income If payment is not a royalty (e.g., contest prizes, legal settlements)
1099-NEC Box 1 For services rendered If the royalty payment is for services provided as part of a contract
1099-S Timber royalties If timber royalty is paid under pay-as-cut contract
1099-K Third-Party Payment Network Transactions If royalty payment was done through a third-party payment processor

When or How to Report Royalties on 1099 (Real-Life Scenarios)

Scenario: Book Royalty

If a publisher signed a publishing contract with an author and paid them $2,500 in royalties, the publisher must report the amount on Box 2 Form 1099 MISC. They also need to send a copy of the filed form to the author.

Scenario: Oil Lease Payment

If a landowner leases out his land to a company, granting them rights to extract oil for $15,000, this payment amount must be reported in Box 2 of Form 1099-MISC by the company who bought the lease.

Scenario: Music Streaming Royalties

If a rock band earns $80 from a small music streaming platform, the platform must issue a 1099-MISC to them since the amount is above the royalty payments IRS reporting threshold.

Scenario: Franchise Royalty + Fees

If a franchise owner paid $5,000 in total fees to a company for running a franchise, with $3,000 being the royalty and the remaining $2,000 as service fee for running the franchise, only the amount meant for the royalty must be reported on Box 2 1099-MISC.

Scenario: Joint Owners

If two siblings receive $6,000 in royalties together, there are two options to report the payment. Either file one form for only one sibling and make that sibling responsible for reporting/distributing the amounts or file two separate 1099-MISC forms, where each sibling receives their own MISC form for their $3,000 share.

Frequently Asked Questions

The minimum threshold for reporting royalties on Box 2 1099-MISC is $10 in a calendar year.

No, you cannot report royalty payments on 1099-NEC or 1099-R. Royalties are reported only on 1099-MISC Box 2.

While most corporations are exempt from 1099-MISC, royalty payments to corporations may still require reporting if specified by IRS rules or as required under contractual terms.

Yes, if the payee does not provide a valid TIN, you can file a 24% backup withholding, even if the payment is below the minimum reporting threshold.

No, foreign royalties are not reported on 1099-MISC. This form is only used for U.S. persons. For foreign royalty payments, use Form 1042-S.

The IRS assigns penalties ranging from $60 to $660 per form for late filing, errors, or incorrect information. If a mistake is found, you should file CORRECTED returns immediately.

Yes, report royalty advances in the tax year they are paid, even if they have not been earned yet.