U.S. · Tax forms
1099-MISC box 6, medical and health care payments.
Who gets reported, what is left out, and the $2,000 line.
Box 6 of Form 1099-MISC reports payments of $2,000 or more made in the course of a trade or business to each physician or other supplier or provider of medical or health care services, including payments by medical and health care insurers under health, accident and sickness programs. Enter your payments below to see whether they reach the line.
Check the dollar line
Result
What belongs in box 6
The instructions say to enter payments of $2,000 or more made in the course of your trade or business to each physician or other supplier or provider of medical or health care services. That includes payments made by medical and health care insurers under health, accident, and sickness insurance programs. Payments to people who provide health care often include charges for injections, drugs, dentures and similar items, and in those cases the entire payment is subject to information reporting, not just the fee for the service.
Corporations are not exempt here
Most payments to corporations are not reported on Form 1099-MISC. Box 6 is an exception: the instructions say the exemption for corporations does not apply to payments for medical or health care services provided by corporations, including professional corporations. If you pay a corporation, list the corporation as the recipient rather than the individual who provided the services.
What you do not report in box 6
- Payments to pharmacies for prescription drugs.
- Payments to a tax-exempt hospital or extended care facility, or to a hospital or extended care facility owned and operated by the United States (or its territories), a state, the District of Columbia, or any of their political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities.
- Payments made under a flexible spending arrangement (as defined in section 106(c)(2)) or a health reimbursement arrangement that is treated as employer-provided coverage under an accident or health plan. The instructions say these are generally exempt from the reporting requirements of section 6041.
Box 6 and backup withholding
The box 4 instructions list box 6 among the boxes where backup withholding applies if the recipient has not furnished a taxpayer identification number. A provider who refuses a Form W-9 therefore creates a box 4 entry as well as a box 6 entry. The payer must file a Form 1099-MISC for anyone it withheld from, whatever the dollar amount.
Worked example
A health insurer pays a physician practice organized as a professional corporation $3,400 during the year. The $2,000 line is met and the corporation exemption does not apply to medical services, so the insurer files a Form 1099-MISC with the corporation as recipient and $3,400 in box 6. The same insurer paying a retail pharmacy $9,000 for prescription drugs reports nothing in box 6 for that payment, because the instructions say payments to pharmacies for prescription drugs are not required to be reported.
Related decoders
More 1099 box pages: 1099-MISC box 10, gross proceeds paid to an attorney, 1099-MISC box 8, substitute payments, 1099-K box 1a, gross amount of payments, 1099-K box 1b, card-not-present transactions, 1099-NEC box 1, nonemployee compensation. For the 1099-R box 7 codes see the 1099-R distribution codes lookup.
Sources
- Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (12/2026): the box-by-box section for this form. Read November 2, 2026. The IRS page was last reviewed July 1, 2026 and labels the instructions 12/2026.
Edition read: Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (12/2026). The instructions say the $2,000 minimum threshold applies for tax years beginning after 2025 and may be adjusted for inflation beginning in calendar year 2027; check which year your own form covers. This page summarizes the instructions and does not replace them.
Frequently asked questions
What is box 6 on a 1099-MISC?
Box 6 reports medical and health care payments of $2,000 or more made in the course of a trade or business to each physician or other supplier or provider of medical or health care services, including payments by health, accident and sickness insurers.
Do I have to send a 1099-MISC to a medical corporation?
Yes. The instructions say the exemption from issuing Form 1099-MISC to a corporation does not apply to payments for medical or health care services provided by corporations, including professional corporations.
Are payments to pharmacies reported in box 6?
No. The instructions say you are not required to report payments to pharmacies for prescription drugs.
Are payments to hospitals reported?
Not if the hospital or extended care facility is tax-exempt or is owned and operated by the United States, a state, the District of Columbia or their political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities.
Does box 6 include the cost of drugs and supplies?
Yes, when they are part of the payment to a provider. The instructions say that where charges include injections, drugs, dentures and similar items, the entire payment is subject to information reporting.
Not tax advice
This page summarizes IRS instructions, mostly written for the people who prepare the form, and is not tax, legal or financial advice. The payer, a CPA or an enrolled agent can confirm what a box means for your return. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.