It's not clear on the instruction whether fees to attend conferences are reportable on Form 1099 Misc; Registration fee of nominal value would likely be omitted; But when the fees are above $1,000, there seems to be more of a "service".
Conference fee around $1,000 plus reportable on 1099-Misc?
Answers
Anon,
This seems like a "no", assuming the conference was put on by a company. If it is not a corp, then I'd say yes.
I would not report conference fees on a 1099 - I would not consider it a service. If you step back from the technical terminology and look at the original reason for the requirement of issuing and reporting on a 1099 the rational was to capture income to a sole proprietor so the IRS can be sure the sole proprietor was reporting all income. (This is an over simplification but give me a little room). If you hired someone to complete the role of one of your existing lines of business, but rather than hire the employees and pay for the raw materials you enter into a contract for completed goods or service and pay an invoice to the vendor – the IRS wants to know. Since you would most likely not hire a lecture person, conference space, and catering to teach only to your attendees those attending the conference are not hiring a group to serve that function when they attend a conference.
I agree with Anonymous. The conference organizer is providing a service to the entity that is sending attendees and the fee is reportable unless the organizer is exempt due to its structure as a corporation, non-profit or governmental unit.
What I always used to say to clients when I was in private practice:
When in doubt, whip it out! :-)
There is no downside to issuing a 1099 misc even when it is not required. There are a few for not doing so though.
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Tax