By Rebecca Sloan, small-business accounting systems analyst with 10 years of experience preparing bookkeeping records for tax professionals
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026
FreshBooks business users sign in to review income, expenses, contractor payments, sales taxes, and available payroll tax documents. FreshBooks records and reports can support tax preparation, but the standard accounting account does not automatically mean every required tax form has been filed.
This independent guide is not affiliated with FreshBooks.
Check the tax year and payment source first. A contractor report, Form 1099-NEC, Form 1099-K, and Sales Tax Summary answer different questions.
What FreshBooks Provides at Tax Time
FreshBooks is cloud accounting software with invoicing, expenses, online payments, reports, bank reconciliation, and an optional U.S. payroll add-on powered by Gusto. Its reporting area can organize information for an accountant, but report availability depends on the account features and add-ons in use.
The distinction between bookkeeping records and tax forms matters.
A Profit and Loss report summarizes revenue and expenses. A Sales Tax Summary organizes taxes recorded on invoices. A Contractor Payment report covers contractor payments processed through FreshBooks Payroll. Form 1099-K concerns certain payment transactions, while Form 1099-NEC concerns qualifying nonemployee compensation.
They are not interchangeable.
Do not use the number from one document merely because it looks close to another. Differences can result from processing fees, refunds, timing, payment methods, sales tax, or transactions recorded outside the relevant feature.
Choose the Correct FreshBooks Route
| Your task | Correct starting point |
|---|---|
| Manage the business books | FreshBooks login |
| Recover account access | Forgot Your Password? |
| Review income and expenses | FreshBooks Reports |
| Check invoice sales taxes | Sales Tax Summary |
| Review payroll contractor payments | Contractor Payment report |
| Find payroll tax documents | Payroll settings and Tax Documents |
| Review a FreshBooks Payments 1099-K | Tax document or support route shown in the account |
| Export reports | Report export or data-export controls |
| Decide what must be filed | Accountant, tax professional, or IRS guidance |
FreshBooks’ login supports its own email-and-password credentials plus Google and Apple sign-in. Users may also be asked for a six-digit FreshBooks code.
Do this first: confirm the correct business and tax year. Skip report exports until those two details are right.
Log In to the Correct Business
Open FreshBooks through its company website and use the sign-in method previously connected to the account. Someone managing multiple businesses should verify the active company name before opening reports or payroll documents.
A valid login can still expose the wrong books.
Check the business name, base currency, fiscal period, and report date range. This is especially important when an owner operates several entities or when an accountant has access to multiple clients.
FreshBooks recommends typing login details manually when browser autofill may be inserting an outdated address or password. Users who normally sign in with Google or Apple should recover that provider’s credentials through the provider rather than repeatedly resetting a separate FreshBooks password.
Priority one is account identity. Skip creating a new FreshBooks profile because another account will not automatically include the original payment history, expenses, contractors, or tax reports.
FreshBooks and Form 1099-NEC
Form 1099-NEC is used to report qualifying nonemployee compensation. The IRS states that the reporting threshold for payments made during 2026 is $2,000, while different thresholds applied before 2026 and inflation adjustments may apply after 2026.
This is a recent change.
Do not rely on older articles that repeat the former $600 threshold for 2026 payments. The applicable year controls, and exceptions can apply depending on payment type and backup withholding.
FreshBooks distinguishes between ordinary contractor records and contractor payments made through FreshBooks Payroll powered by Gusto. When that payroll add-on is used, available contractor tax documents can be accessed through payroll settings under Tax Documents.
A contractor who invoices through FreshBooks does not necessarily receive a 1099 from FreshBooks itself. The business that paid the contractor may have the reporting responsibility, depending on the payment, amount, entity type, and tax rules.
Check the payer relationship first. Skip assuming that an invoice platform is automatically the tax-form issuer.
Find the Contractor Payment Report
The Contractor Payment report is available only with FreshBooks Payroll powered by Gusto. It summarizes contractor payments made through that payroll product and can be downloaded for review.
That scope is narrow.
Payments made by check, bank transfer, another payment application, or an older payroll provider may not appear in the FreshBooks Payroll contractor report. A business that changed systems during the year may need records from more than one source.
FreshBooks says prior payments made to contractors before onboarding to FreshBooks Payroll can be added with assistance from Support. The documented request includes the contractor, amount, and payment date for each relevant payment.
Review this before year-end:
- contractor identity;
- payment dates;
- gross amounts;
- payments made outside payroll;
- voided or corrected payments;
- contractor tax documents available in payroll;
- whether historical payments were added.
One missing payment can make the year-end total wrong even when every visible payroll run is accurate.
Form 1099-K Is Different
Form 1099-K reports certain payment-card and third-party network transactions. It does not classify someone as an employee or contractor and does not replace ordinary income records.
The IRS states that direct payment-card transactions may generate Form 1099-K regardless of payment count or amount. For third-party settlement organizations, the current federal reporting threshold generally requires both more than $20,000 in reportable payments and more than 200 transactions, although a form may be issued below that threshold.
Receiving no Form 1099-K does not make business income disappear. The IRS says income from goods or services must still be reported whether or not a form is received.
FreshBooks advises users whose tax information on a FreshBooks Payments 1099-K needs correction to contact Support.
Compare the form with payment records, not just invoice totals. Form 1099-K figures can reflect gross processed payments before business expenses, refunds, or payment-processing costs are considered in other parts of the books.
Do not subtract fees directly from the form to make it match a net bank deposit.
Use the Sales Tax Summary Correctly
FreshBooks’ Sales Tax Summary report organizes sales taxes recorded on invoices. It can show taxable amounts, tax collected or billed, and the tax names used in the account.
The report depends on invoice setup.
When sales tax was omitted from an invoice, applied to the wrong line, named inconsistently, or recorded outside FreshBooks, the report cannot correct that underlying transaction by itself.
FreshBooks explains that when tax applies to every item and service on every invoice, total billed or collected should equal the taxable amount plus tax. Transactions containing non-taxable items can produce a different relationship.
Review:
- report period;
- billed or collected basis;
- tax name;
- invoice currency;
- taxable and non-taxable lines;
- credits and refunds;
- manually recorded transactions.
Sales-tax rules vary by state, locality, product, service, and customer location. FreshBooks records the settings selected by the business; it does not determine whether a transaction was legally taxable.
Use a qualified tax professional or the relevant state revenue agency for classification decisions.
Billed Versus Collected Tax
A billed view generally reflects sales tax shown on issued invoices. A collected view focuses on amounts associated with payments received.
Those totals can differ when invoices remain unpaid, receive partial payments, or cross reporting periods.
For example, an invoice may be issued in December and paid in January. The tax can appear in one period under a billed method and another under a collected method, depending on the report setting and applicable accounting or tax rules.
Check the method before calling the report incomplete.
Priority two is the basis selector. Skip altering invoices solely to force billed and collected reports to match, because they may be measuring different events.
The correct sales-tax filing basis depends on the jurisdiction and the business’s registration. A report setting should follow that requirement, not personal preference.
Reports That Support Tax Preparation
FreshBooks offers multiple reports that may support tax work:
- Profit and Loss for income and expenses;
- Expense Report for categorized spending;
- Sales Tax Summary for invoice taxes;
- Payments Collected for customer payments;
- Contractor Payment report for eligible payroll contractor payments;
- Payroll Journal for payroll history;
- General Ledger and Trial Balance for account-level review.
FreshBooks notes that the Payments Collected report does not provide a detailed sales-tax breakdown and directs users to a Sales Tax report for that purpose.
That is a practical mistake to avoid. A payments report may show how much was received without separating the amount owed to a tax authority.
The Revenue by Client report excludes sales taxes from revenue totals.
Use the report designed for the question. Skip building a tax figure from one dashboard number when a dedicated report exists.
Export Records Before Filing
FreshBooks can export account data in PDF and CSV formats. Payroll reports, including the Payroll Journal and Contractor Payment report, can be downloaded as CSV files, while available payroll tax documents can be downloaded as PDFs.
Reports can also be exported for spreadsheet review or printed to PDF.
Before sending files to an accountant:
- Confirm the business.
- Set the tax-year date range.
- Check the accounting basis.
- Select the correct currency.
- Export the needed reports.
- Preserve supporting receipts and statements separately.
- Store the package in an access-controlled location.
A spreadsheet is not the whole record.
Supporting invoices, receipts, payroll documents, bank statements, and correction notes may be needed to explain differences. Do not place confidential tax records in a public folder or send them through an untrusted upload page.
Common Tax-Report Mistakes
Using an old 1099 threshold: The IRS changed the 2026 nonemployee-compensation reporting threshold to $2,000.
Treating a 1099-K as profit: It reports qualifying gross payment activity, not net taxable profit.
Expecting every contractor payment in Payroll: Only payments recorded through the relevant payroll workflow, plus properly added historical records, will be reflected.
Using Payments Collected for sales tax: That report does not provide the detailed tax breakdown available in Sales Tax Summary.
Combining different currencies: Reports may need to be reviewed separately by currency.
Editing transactions after export: A corrected FreshBooks record requires a fresh export. The earlier spreadsheet does not update itself.
Fix source data first. Skip spreadsheet-only patches that never return to the books.
FreshBooks FAQ
Does FreshBooks file every 1099 automatically?
No.
FreshBooks Payroll powered by Gusto can provide contractor tax documents and payroll reporting for eligible U.S. accounts, but ordinary FreshBooks invoicing or contractor access does not mean FreshBooks files every required form for the business.
What is the 1099-NEC threshold for 2026 payments?
The IRS states that the threshold is $2,000 for payments made in 2026. Exceptions and separate rules may apply, including backup withholding.
Where is the Contractor Payment report?
It is available with the FreshBooks Payroll powered by Gusto add-on.
Why does my 1099-K exceed my bank deposits?
Form 1099-K can report gross payment activity, while bank deposits may be reduced by refunds, disputes, processing activity, or payout timing. Reconcile it with payment reports rather than comparing it only with net deposits.
Does the Sales Tax Summary file my return?
No. It organizes tax data recorded in FreshBooks. Filing and payment requirements depend on the relevant jurisdiction.
Why do billed and collected sales-tax totals differ?
Unpaid invoices, partial payments, and payments received in another reporting period can cause the two methods to recognize tax at different times.
Can I export FreshBooks tax records?
Yes. FreshBooks supports report and data exports in formats including CSV and PDF.
Do I report income when no 1099-K arrives?
The IRS says business income from goods or services must still be reported even when no Form 1099-K is issued.