Do we 1099 Upwork?

[d21eff28]

Hi I am a Client who just discovered Upwork.  I search all over the webiste and didn't find a way to talk to a live person regarding billing, confidentiality and there Legal portal was not helpful after spending 30 minutes searching around.  I found a couple of freelancers i might consider working with but I need to understand the implications of working with someone outside of the US. Would we be sending a 1099 to Upwork?  If so, how do we get their EIN? Can someone please advise.

[fccfebe2]

Hi Laveille, please refer to this link: https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/211067918-Tax-Requirements

[patchworksvideo]

In short, no. You never have to send a 1099 on Upwork, and you don't need to get Upwork's EIN.

It's just the same as if you pay a freelancer using a credit/debit card, or using a third-party payment processor such as PayPal, Venmo – you should not (well, MUST not) include these amounts on a Form 1099-NEC that you send out.  All payments on Upwork are sent through a third-party payment processor (Upwork Escrow), and therefore, it is Upwork's responsibility for handling tax documentation when required, not yours.  The payment processor handles all tax documentation, and will send the freelancer Form 1099-K if required to do so.

Or, of course, if it's an "employee" as described by IRS rules, who should be getting a W-2, then Upwork Payroll handles that for you.

As for the implications of working with someone outside the US, it really comes down to whether your specific task has any rules about being done outside the US.  There are some types of jobs that have legal reasons why they must be done within the US.  But if your task isn't like that, then you could hire from pretty much anywhere.