Every tax season, cash-game players who didn't get a form ask the same thing: if no 1099 arrived, do I still owe anything? Atay Games' cash matches run on Skillz, operated by Firy Inc (NYSE: FIRY, formerly SKLZ), so Skillz's terms decide when a form is sent. The IRS decides what you owe.
Yes. No 1099 usually just means no form was required. For prizes paid in 2026, the federal 1099-MISC floor is $2,000, while Skillz's terms still mention $600. Neither number decides whether you owe tax. The IRS says even a $50 contest prize must be reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8i.
- Must: federal law requires a 1099-MISC once one payer pays you $2,000 or more in prizes in 2026.
- May: Skillz's User Terms say it may send one at $600.
- Owe: prizes are taxable from the first dollar, form or no form.
General information, not tax advice. Disclosure: Atay Games makes games that run on Skillz, and Skillz, not Atay, sends tax forms, "as agent for our developer partners" in its own words. New to the platform? Here's who Skillz and Firy are.
Do you owe tax on Skillz winnings if no 1099 arrives?
Prize income is taxable whether or not a form arrives. The IRS's Form 1099-K FAQ says "All income, no matter the amount, is taxable unless the tax law says it isn't." Publication 525 says even a $50 contest prize must be reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8i. The form triggers the payer's filing, not your tax.
Yes, you do. A 1099 is an information return: it tells the IRS what a payer paid you. It doesn't create the tax, and a missing one doesn't cancel it. In its 2025 edition, IRS Publication 525 puts it plainly: "if you win a $50 prize in a photography contest, you must report this income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8i."
Skillz's own contract says the same thing. Section 8.12 of its User Terms ends with this line: "you remain solely responsible for paying all federal, state and other taxes in accordance with all Applicable Laws." Nobody else takes that job off your hands, not the platform and not the game maker.
Do you have to file a return at all? That depends on your total income, your filing status and whether someone can claim you as a dependent, so we won't guess at the 2026 figures. The IRS's free Do I need to file a tax return? tool gives an estimated completion time of 12 minutes. Students can start with our note on game winnings when someone claims you as a dependent.
Your state may tax prizes too. Rules differ, so check your state's revenue department, and check where cash play is available before you deposit anywhere.
Why didn't you get a 1099?
For prizes paid in 2026, a payer must file Form 1099-MISC only once it pays you $2,000 or more in the calendar year. Before 2026 the floor was $600 (26 U.S.C. 6041(a); IRS Guide to Information Returns). Forms for 2026 payments are due to recipients by February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday.
There are four usual reasons. None of them means you're off the hook.
- You were under the federal floor. For payments made in 2026, the IRS's Guide to Information Returns lists prizes and awards (Box 3) at "$2,000 or more." The statute counts it per payer, per year: "$2,000 or more in any calendar year" (26 U.S.C. 6041(a)).
- It isn't due yet. Payers must "furnish the payee statements by January 31" (IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC). January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, and IRS Publication 1099 counts a weekend deadline as met "on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday." That's Monday, February 1, 2027.
- It went somewhere you didn't look. We found no Skillz page that says how it delivers tax forms. Check the email and mailing address on your Skillz account.
- Last year's form played by older rules. Got a 1099-MISC in early 2026 for less than $2,000? It covered prizes paid in 2025, when the floor was $600. The $2,000 floor didn't apply to it.
That last point explains a lot of mixed messages online. The floor depends on the year the prize was paid, not the year you file. So a friend's $700 form and your missing one can both be right.
| Prizes paid in | Federal 1099-MISC floor | Copy due to you | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $600 or more | Early 2026 (already due) | IRS Guide to Information Returns |
| 2026 | $2,000 or more | Mon, Feb 1, 2027 | 26 U.S.C. 6041(a); IRS 1099-MISC instructions; Pub. 1099 (2026) |
| 2027 and later | Inflation-adjusted, rounded to the nearest $100; not yet published | January 31 rule, weekend-adjusted | 26 U.S.C. 6041(h); Pub. 1099 (2026) |
Where does the 1099-K fit? For most players, it doesn't. That form covers payment apps and card networks, and its federal trigger went back up to more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions (IRS Fact Sheet 2025-08). Our guide to which form covers what in 2026 has the details.
Why is the $600 line out of date, and why might you still get a form below $2,000?
Skillz's User Terms, updated May 22, 2025, still say Skillz "may send you an IRS Form W-9 and 1099-MISC or other appropriate form if your Winnings total $600 or more in any given calendar year." That wording predates the 2025 law. For 2026 payments the federal requirement starts at $2,000, though a payer may still send one below it.
The contract hasn't caught up with the statute. Section 70433 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the floor for payments made after December 31, 2025. Skillz last updated its User Terms on May 22, 2025, about six weeks before that law was signed on July 4, 2025. Here's the wording side by side.
| Document | Section or ID | Dated (as published) | Exact words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skillz User Terms | §8.12 Taxes | Updated as of May 22, 2025 | If you are a U.S. resident, we, as agent for our developer partners, may send you an IRS Form W-9 and 1099-MISC or other appropriate form if your Winnings total $600 or more in any given calendar year. |
| Skillz User Terms | §8.12 Taxes | Updated as of May 22, 2025 | we may withhold from your existing Account balance and/or from future Winnings any amount required to be withheld by Applicable Laws, including amounts due in connection with your failure to complete relevant tax documentation |
| Skillz help center: Are prizes or redemptions taxable? (Social Casino section) | 29421158470420 | Text last edited Sept 18, 2024 | Any prizes or redemptions that exceed a value of $600 are taxable and will require the completion of a W-9 Tax Form at the end of the year in which the redemption was placed. |
| 26 U.S.C. 6041(a) | As amended by Public Law 119-21, §70433 | Payments after Dec 31, 2025 | of $2,000 or more in any calendar year |
| IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC | What's New | Page reviewed July 1, 2026 | increased to $2,000 and may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027 |
About that third row. The article sits in the Social Casino section of Skillz's help center, not in the Players section that covers cash tournaments. Its "$600 … taxable" wording describes when Skillz collects a W-9, not when income becomes taxable. Read on its own, though, it's easy to see why some players think small prizes are tax-free.
What we checked. On September 23, 2026, we pulled all 119 English articles in Skillz's help center through its public API and searched each one for 1099, tax, W-9, SSN, IRS and "social security." Exactly one matched: the Social Casino article above. None of the 54 articles in the Players section or the 41 in the Skillz Arena section covers 1099s, W-9s or taxes.
How can a form arrive below $2,000?
Three ways. The terms still allow one at $600. A payer is free to file below the federal floor. And backup withholding changes the rule. The IRS instructions say a payer must file a 1099-MISC for anyone it withheld from under those rules "regardless of the amount of the payment."
Backup withholding usually starts with a skipped W-9. When a payer doesn't have your taxpayer ID, the IRS says it may have to withhold "at the current rate of 24 percent" (IRS, Backup withholding). For 2026, the IRS 1099-MISC instructions apply the same $2,000 figure to backup withholding on these payments. Skillz's §8.12 also reserves the right to withhold for "failure to complete relevant tax documentation." Filling in the W-9 when the app asks is the simple fix.
The IRS is moving its regulations the same way. Proposed rules in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-19 (May 4, 2026) would set the floor at "$2,000 for calendar year 2026, adjusted for inflation in subsequent calendar years." They're still proposed, but the statute already applies. Will Skillz switch to $2,000 for 2026 payments? It hasn't said, so plan as if a form could arrive either way.
Must, may, owe: three numbers, three different jobs
Where do winnings under $2,000 go on your return?
Skill-game prizes are reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8i, "Prizes and awards," the same line the IRS uses for contest prizes in Publication 525 and on the draft 2026 Schedule 1. They are not reported on line 8b, which is for gambling, and they are not self-employment income unless your play is a business.
Same line, form or no form. If a 1099-MISC arrives, its Box 3 figure is your starting point. If nothing arrives, the number comes from your own records. That's how the IRS instructions apply to a prize; they don't name any particular app.
The 2026 form isn't final yet. On the IRS's draft 2026 Schedule 1 (created April 24, 2026 and marked "DO NOT FILE"), the neighboring lines read like this:
- Line 8b: Gambling
- Line 8i: Prizes and awards
- Line 8j: Activity not engaged in for profit income
- Line 8z: Other income
Check the label on the final form before you file, not just the line number.
Is your play a hobby or a business? For most people, it's a hobby. The IRS weighs nine factors, such as how you run the activity, the time you put in and your history of profit. The regulation adds that "No one factor is determinative" (26 CFR 1.183-2(b)). A business files Schedule C and owes self-employment tax, so talk to a CPA or enrolled agent before you pick that lane.
What about bonus cash? Skillz's terms define "Winnings" broadly, including "virtual currency or virtual goods" (§1.5), and we couldn't confirm how bonus cash is treated for tax. The checker below leaves it out, so ask a tax professional if you've received a lot of it. Here's how bonus cash differs from real cash in the app.
For the full reporting path and a month-by-month records routine, see our full guide to reporting skill-game winnings.
Can you subtract entry fees or losses?
For most players, no. Expenses of an activity not engaged in for profit are miscellaneous itemized deductions. 26 U.S.C. 67(h), made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allows none for tax years after 2017. The gambling-loss deduction, capped at 90 percent of losses from 2026, applies to wagering, not to prizes reported on a 1099-MISC.
Start with the hobby rule, because it covers most players. IRS Publication 529 says expenses for an activity you don't carry out to make a profit "are miscellaneous itemized deductions and can no longer be deducted." The 2017 tax law suspended those deductions through 2025. The 2025 law struck that end date, so 26 U.S.C. 67(h) now bars them "for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017."
If your play is a business, the picture changes. You'd report on Schedule C, deduct ordinary business expenses and owe self-employment tax on the profit. That's a CPA conversation, not a checkbox.
Can you net each match's entry fee against its prize? There's no official answer yet. No IRS publication addresses per-match entry fees on skill-contest apps, and we found nothing from Skillz on whether its Box 3 figure is gross prizes or prizes after entry fees. So report the prize income you received. If a 1099-MISC arrives, match your records to it. Ask a tax professional how entry fees affect your figure.
Where does the gambling-loss deduction fit?
It's for wagering. From tax year 2026, 26 U.S.C. 165(d) allows "90 percent of the amount of such losses," only up to your gambling gains, and only if you itemize (IRS Topic 419).
Skillz's terms say it may send a 1099-MISC, and Box 3 of that form covers prizes and sweepstakes "not involving a wager." That's a different track from gambling. Our explainer on why skill games are treated differently from gambling covers the legal side.
The same split is why online "winnings tax calculators" give the wrong answer for Skillz prizes. When we searched in September 2026, the calculators ranking for skill-game tax queries applied W-2G rules and the 90 percent loss cap, both built for gambling. Neither fits a prize reported on a 1099-MISC.
One bill to watch: H.R. 10357, advanced 38 to 5 by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 16, 2026, would restore the full gambling-loss deduction; it affects gambling, not 1099-MISC prizes.
What should you track before February 2027?
Track every prize from the first match and set money aside as you go. Your prizes are taxed at your ordinary rates; for 2026 the federal brackets run from 10 percent to 37 percent (IRS, IR-2025-103). A 1099-MISC, if one comes, should arrive by February 1, 2027. Compare it against your own ledger before you file.
Start with where you stand today. This checker uses only the thresholds cited above. It doesn't estimate your tax, and nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
Will I get a 1099-MISC? A quick check
A quick check for planning, not tax advice. It leaves out bonus cash, entry fees and state rules. Thresholds from 26 U.S.C. 6041, the IRS 1099-MISC instructions and Skillz User Terms §8.12, checked September 23, 2026 by Jordan Lee. Talk to a tax professional before you file.
Then keep a ledger. Four columns are enough: date, game, prize credited and entry fee. Once a month, screenshot your balance history, so your record doesn't depend on memory.
In February 2027, match any 1099-MISC to that ledger. If the amount looks wrong, contact Skillz support before you file. The payer files the same form with the IRS, so your return should line up with it.
Next year's floor may move. The IRS will publish the inflation-adjusted figure for 2027 payments, and as of September 23, 2026 it hadn't. Check IRS.gov before you rely on $2,000 for anything paid in 2027.
None of this should change whether you play for fun. It changes one habit: write down what you win, starting with the first match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Skillz send a 1099 for winnings under $600?
It might, but it doesn't have to. Federal law requires a 1099-MISC for 2026 prizes only at $2,000 or more from one payer. Skillz's User Terms still say it may send a W-9 and 1099-MISC when winnings total $600 or more in a calendar year. With or without a form, the prizes are taxable income.
Is the 1099 threshold $600 or $2,000 in 2026?
It depends on the year of payment. For prizes paid before 2026, the 1099-MISC floor was $600. For prizes paid in 2026, it is $2,000 under 26 U.S.C. 6041(a), as amended by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. From 2027 the $2,000 may be adjusted for inflation, rounded to the nearest $100.
When should a 2026 1099-MISC from Skillz arrive?
If Skillz issues one, the recipient copy for 2026 payments is due by February 1, 2027. The normal deadline is January 31, which falls on a Sunday in 2027, and IRS rules move weekend deadlines to the next business day. If a form is wrong or missing, rely on your own records and contact the payer.
Are Skillz winnings gambling winnings for tax purposes?
Skillz's terms say it may send a Form 1099-MISC, the form the IRS uses for prizes and for sweepstakes winnings "not involving a wager." Gambling winnings follow the Form W-2G rules and go on Schedule 1, line 8b instead. That is why gambling tax calculators, which apply W-2G rules and the 90 percent loss limit, don't fit Skillz prizes.
Will the $2,000 threshold change in 2027?
It may. The statute indexes the $2,000 for inflation for calendar years after 2026, rounded to the nearest $100, and the IRS instructions say it "may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027." As of September 23, 2026, the IRS had not published the 2027 figure. Check IRS.gov before you rely on it.
Sources
- IRS, Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (What's New; Box 3 prizes "not involving a wager"; January 31 payee deadline; backup-withholding filing "regardless of the amount of the payment"; page last reviewed July 1, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, A Guide to Information Returns (prizes and awards, Box 3: $600 before 2026, $2,000 in 2026; last reviewed August 13, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Publication 1099 (2026), General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (inflation adjustment from 2027; weekend due-date rule; last reviewed April 30, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- 26 U.S.C. 6041(a) and (h), as amended by Public Law 119-21, section 70433 ($2,000 floor; inflation adjustment rounded to the nearest $100), retrieved 2026-09-23, law.cornell.edu
- IRS, Form 1099-K FAQs: General information, Q7 (last reviewed April 3, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, IR-2025-107 and Fact Sheet 2025-08, Form 1099-K threshold under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill (October 2025), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income, Prizes and awards ($50 photography-contest example; last reviewed April 30, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Draft 2026 Schedule 1 (Form 1040) (lines 8b, 8i, 8j and 8z; created April 24, 2026; draft, do not file), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- 26 U.S.C. 165(d), wagering losses, as amended by Public Law 119-21, section 70114 (90 percent limit), retrieved 2026-09-23, law.cornell.edu
- 26 U.S.C. 67(h), miscellaneous itemized deductions, as amended by Public Law 119-21, section 70110, retrieved 2026-09-23, law.cornell.edu
- IRS, Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions, Hobby Expenses section, retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Topic no. 419, Gambling income and losses (last reviewed June 11, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, IR-2025-103, Tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026 (October 9, 2025; brackets 10 to 37 percent), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Backup withholding (24 percent rate; last reviewed June 28, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Interactive Tax Assistant, Do I need to file a tax return? (last reviewed September 5, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-19, REG-113229-25, proposed regulations (May 4, 2026), retrieved 2026-09-23, irs.gov
- 26 CFR 1.183-2(b), activities not engaged in for profit, relevant factors, retrieved 2026-09-23, law.cornell.edu
- Skillz, User Terms and Conditions of Service (Updated as of May 22, 2025), sections 1.5 and 8.12, retrieved 2026-09-23, skillz.com/legal
- Skillz help center (Social Casino), Are prizes or redemptions taxable?, article 29421158470420 (created August 14, 2024; text last edited September 18, 2024; page updated September 30, 2024), retrieved 2026-09-23, support.skillz.com
- Congress.gov, H.R. 10357, Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, Title VII, section 701 (wagering losses); latest action September 16, 2026, retrieved 2026-09-23, congress.gov
- Atay Games first-party check: all 119 English articles in the Skillz help center (54 Players, 41 Skillz Arena, 24 Social Casino), pulled through the public help-center API and searched for 1099, tax, W-9, SSN, IRS and "social security," September 23, 2026 (one match, article 29421158470420).
Tax disclaimer. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Thresholds, forms and deadlines change: the 2027 floor will be inflation-adjusted and published by the IRS, and the 2026 Schedule 1 labels above come from a draft form. Whether your play is a hobby or a business depends on your own facts. Talk to a CPA or enrolled agent before you file, and confirm current figures at IRS.gov. Real-money play is 18+ and availability depends on where you live.
Play Informed
Keep a simple prize ledger from your first match, check it against any form that arrives, and play for fun first. Cash play is optional, skill-based and 18+.
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