Free independent contractor invoice template for 1099 work
An independent contractor invoice is how a 1099 worker bills the company that hires them: your legal name and business name, the dates worked, day rate or piece rate lines, reimbursable expenses, and a line stating that no tax was withheld. Your taxpayer ID goes on a Form W-9, not on the invoice. The sample below is a tile setter billing a remodeling contractor $2,540.50 for one week on a bathroom. A blank PDF and a CSV with the same columns are free below.
What goes on an independent contractor invoice
| Field | What goes there |
|---|---|
| Legal name and business name | Your own name as it appears on your tax return, and your business or DBA name under it if you use one. Form W-9 asks a sole proprietor for the same two lines, so keep the invoice and the W-9 identical. |
| Address, phone and email | Where the company can reach you and where a mailed check or a year-end tax form should go. Tell the payer when you move, because the 1099 goes to the address they have. |
| Company you are billing and who approved the work | The hiring company and the person who gave you the work, such as the project manager or the owner. Their bookkeeper will check with that person before paying. |
| Invoice number and date | Number your invoices in order across every company you work for. A gap or a repeat is the first thing a bookkeeper questions. |
| Job name and site address | Which of the company's jobs you worked on. Contractors charge your invoice to a specific job, and one invoice per job saves them from splitting it. |
| Work dates | The day or range of days behind each line. Day rate work gets checked against the calendar, so list every date you were on site. |
| Day rate lines | Days worked times your agreed day rate, with a few words on what you did. Say what a day means in your agreement, for example up to 8 hours on site. |
| Piece rate lines | Units completed times the rate per unit: square feet of tile set, niches built, doors hung. Measure the finished work, not the material delivered. |
| Reimbursable expenses | Supplies you bought for the job at the company's request, listed at cost with the receipt attached. Keep them on their own lines, apart from your labor. |
| Tax statement and W-9 note | One sentence saying no taxes have been withheld and that your W-9 is on file. Leave your Social Security number or EIN off the invoice itself. |
| Total due, terms and payment method | The amount owed, the due date you agreed to, and how you take payment. Weekly pay is common for day rate and piece work, so print the day you expect it. |
The line-item table
| Description | Dates | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day rate: floor prep and backer board, hall bath | Sep 14 | 1 | $340.00 | $340.00 |
| Set porcelain floor tile, per sq ft | Sep 15 | 86 | $6.50 | $559.00 |
| Set shower wall tile, per sq ft | Sep 16 to 17 | 112 | $9.00 | $1,008.00 |
| Shower niche, framed and tiled, per niche | Sep 17 | 1 | $175.00 | $175.00 |
| Day rate: grout, seal and cleanup | Sep 18 | 1 | $340.00 | $340.00 |
| Reimbursable: 3 bags thinset, grout and sealer at cost, receipt attached | Sep 15 | 1 | $118.50 | $118.50 |
How to use this template
- Hand over a W-9 before you send an invoice. Fill out Form W-9 once and give it to the company with or before your first invoice. It carries your name, business name, tax classification and taxpayer ID, which is why none of that needs to be printed on every bill.
- Agree on the rate and the unit up front. Settle whether you are paid by the day, by the piece, or a mix, and what the rate covers: tools, travel, setting materials. Put it in a text or an email so the invoice has something to point to.
- List days and pieces as separate lines. A day of prep at a day rate and 86 square feet of floor tile at a piece rate are two different lines. Lumping them together hides which part ran long.
- Attach receipts for anything reimbursable. Bill supplies at what you paid and attach a photo of the receipt. Ask the company how it wants reimbursements shown, since its bookkeeper has to decide how those dollars are reported at year end.
- State that nothing was withheld. Close with a line such as: no taxes withheld, contractor is responsible for all income and self-employment taxes. It reminds both sides that this is contractor pay, not a paycheck.
Get paid faster
Set tax money aside from every payment
Nobody withholds for you. The self-employment tax rate is 15.3 percent, made up of 12.4 percent for Social Security and 2.9 percent for Medicare, on top of income tax, and you may have to make estimated tax payments each quarter. A CPA can tell you what share of each check to park.
Use an EIN in place of your Social Security number
A sole proprietor who has an EIN may put either number on the W-9, and the IRS never charges a fee for an EIN. It keeps your Social Security number out of every contractor's filing cabinet.
Expect a 1099-K for card payments
Payments a company makes to you by credit card or through a payment network are reported by the payment processor on Form 1099-K and are not reported again on Form 1099-NEC. Keep your own invoice log so your income total never depends on which forms show up.
An invoice does not make you a contractor
Whether you are an employee or an independent contractor depends on the working relationship, not the paperwork. The IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship, and some states apply stricter tests. If the company sets your hours, supplies your tools and you work for nobody else, ask a professional before you keep invoicing.
A Dates column sits next to Qty and Rate in the blank PDF and the CSV, so day rate lines and piece rate lines can share one invoice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Form 1099-NEC threshold for 2026?
It is $2,000. A business files Form 1099-NEC for each nonemployee it paid at least $2,000 for services during the year. The threshold was $600 through 2025, a 2025 federal law raised it for payments made in 2026, and it is adjusted for inflation starting in 2027. The form is due by January 31 of the following year. The threshold only decides whether the payer files a form: you still report the income, and Schedule SE is required once net self-employment earnings reach $400. This is general tax information, so confirm your own situation with a CPA or the IRS instructions.
Should I put my Social Security number on an invoice?
No. Give the company a signed Form W-9 once and leave the number off every invoice, since invoices get forwarded and filed in places a W-9 does not. If you never provide a taxpayer ID, the payer can be required to hold back 24 percent of what it pays you as backup withholding. A sole proprietor who has an EIN may use it on the W-9 in place of a Social Security number.
Does a company withhold taxes from an independent contractor's invoice?
Normally no. The company pays the invoice in full, and you handle income tax and self-employment tax yourself. The exception is backup withholding at 24 percent, which applies when the payer has no valid taxpayer ID for you or the IRS has told it to withhold. If money comes out of every check for any other reason, ask whether you are being treated as an employee.
Can a 1099 worker bill by the day or by the piece?
Yes, and both are common in the trades. A day rate pays for your time on site, and a piece rate pays for finished units such as square feet of tile, squares of roofing or boards of drywall. Either way, list the dates, the quantity and the rate on separate lines, and agree in writing on what is included. How you are paid is one of several facts the IRS weighs when it decides whether a worker is really independent, so the label on the invoice does not settle it.
Is Staxen worth it for a one-person 1099 operation?
That depends on how many invoices you send and how often you chase them. Staxen runs $59 per month per AI employee, $149 per month for all three, after 7 free days in the app. Ivy the Invoicer writes each invoice, lets the company pay by card or ACH through Stripe, sends overdue reminders that escalate, and syncs QuickBooks Online both ways. Staxen does not run payroll or file tax forms, so the W-9 and your estimated taxes are still yours to handle.