No-Subscription Tax Software: Pay-Per-Form vs. Free vs. Annual Plans

If you file information returns such as 1099s and W-2s, you have three no-subscription routes: the IRS’s free IRIS portal, a pay-per-form platform, or a seasonal plan you cancel after filing. The right one depends on your volume, your tolerance for setup work, and whether you need state filing, mailing and verification. This guide compares the three on cost and workload, with worked examples.

This article covers businesses, bookkeepers and accounting firms that report payments to contractors, employees and other recipients. It does not cover personal 1040 software.

Key Takeaways

• The IRS offers IRIS, a free portal for 1099-series returns with no subscription or per-form charge. It requires a Transmitter Control Code (TCC), which can take up to 45 days to process.
• Pay-per-form pricing fits filers whose volume changes from year to year, because you pay only for the forms you file.
• Graduated pricing charges each tier only for the forms in that tier. A 600-form job is not repriced at the lowest rate.
• Add-ons such as state filing, mailing, e-delivery and TIN matching are separate per-form fees. Price them before you compare totals.
• Filers with 10 or more information returns in aggregate must generally e-file, so a paper-only workflow stops being an option at small volumes.

TaxFormHero is an IRS-authorized e-filing platform, so you can e-file Form 1099-NEC online without paper or a subscription.

What “no subscription” means for tax filing

Most searches for tax software without a subscription come from two groups. Individuals want a one-time 1040 product. Businesses and professionals want to file information returns without a monthly or annual plan. This article is for the second group.

Information returns are the forms a payer files to report money paid to someone else: 1099-NEC for contractor pay, 1099-MISC for rent and other payments, 1099-K for payment settlement, W-2 for wages, and ACA forms such as 1095-B and 1095-C. Each return goes to the government and a copy goes to the recipient.

A no-subscription model can take three forms:

1. Free government filing. You file directly with the IRS, at no charge.
2. Pay per form. You pay a fixed amount for each return you file, with no signup fee or contract.
3. Short-term or seasonal plans. You buy access for one filing season, then let it lapse.

The sections below take each in turn.

Option 1: The IRS IRIS Taxpayer Portal (free)

The IRS lets any U.S. business e-file 1099-series returns for free through the IRIS Taxpayer Portal, with no subscription and no per-form charge. It is the baseline every paid option has to beat.

The workflow is:

1. Apply for an IRIS Transmitter Control Code. The code is five characters long.
2. Enter recipient information in the portal, or upload an IRIS template.
3. Submit the return.
4. Download the completed 1099-series copies after filing.

The IRS notes that a TCC application may take up to 45 days to process. If your 1099-NEC deadline is January 31, that means applying well before year end, not in January.

IRIS suits you when:

• You have time to apply for a TCC in advance.
• Your data is clean and your recipient list is short or already in the IRIS template.
• You are comfortable handling recipient delivery and state filing yourself.

It costs more of your time when you have many recipients, several payer entities, or recipients whose names and TINs have not been checked. The portal files returns. It does not collect W-9s for you, verify TINs before you submit, or mail copies to recipients. If you are weighing the portal against a paid platform, our walkthrough of IRIS TCC steps and the 1099-NEC deadline covers the application in detail.

Option 2: Pay-per-form platforms

A pay-per-form platform charges a fixed amount for each return, with no plan to buy or cancel. You create an account, enter or import your data, pay at checkout, and the platform transmits the returns. The question is what the per-form price includes and which add-ons cost extra.

How graduated pricing works

Graduated pricing applies each rate only to the forms inside its tier. TaxFormHero uses this model for 1099 forms:

W-2, W-2c, 1095-B and 1095-C filing begins at $2.99 per form for the first 50 forms, with lower rates at higher volumes.

Worked examples at those published 1099 rates, before add-ons:

• 25 forms: 25 × $1.99 = $49.75
• 200 forms: 150 × $1.99 ($298.50) + 50 × $0.99 ($49.50) = $348.00
• 600 forms: $298.50 + 350 × $0.99 ($346.50) + 100 × $0.60 ($60.00) = $705.00
• 1,200 forms: $298.50 + $346.50 + 500 × $0.60 ($300.00) + 200 × $0.45 ($90.00) = $1,035.00

The average cost per form falls as the order grows, and you never pay a higher rate on forms that already sit in a cheaper tier.

Add-on fees to price in

The base filing price rarely tells the whole story. These are TaxFormHero’s per-form optional services, as listed on its pricing page:

Combined Federal/State Filing states carry no additional state-filing charge. State filing is supported for 41+ states and Washington, D.C.

A complete example for 25 contractor forms with state filing and e-delivery: $49.75 filing + $24.75 state + $4.75 e-delivery = $79.25. Choosing print and mail instead of e-delivery changes the delivery line to $42.25.

What to check on any pay-per-form service

When you compare services, put the same questions to each one:

• Is the tier pricing graduated or does it reprice the whole order? The two can differ by hundreds of dollars on a large file.
• What does state filing cost, and which states are covered?
• Is recipient delivery included, charged per form, or limited to download only?
• Can you import from Excel or CSV, and is there a record cap per file?
• Can you manage several payer accounts under one login?
• How are corrections priced?
• Which transmission channel does it use? 1099 returns can go through IRIS, W-2s go to the Social Security Administration, and ACA returns use the IRS AIR system.

Several long-standing 1099 e-file services exist alongside TaxFormHero, and each publishes its own rates. Compare their current published rates against the questions above, because rates and plan structures change from season to season.

Option 3: Seasonal and subscription plans

Some tax and accounting platforms bundle information-return filing into a monthly or annual plan. That can make sense if you already pay for the platform for other reasons, such as payroll or bookkeeping, and the filing is included.

It makes less sense if you are paying for a full suite to file a few dozen forms once a year. A plan you only use for two months still bills for twelve unless you cancel on time. If you do go this route, check the renewal terms and the cancellation date before entering a card.

Side-by-side comparison

When pay-per-form beats a plan

Pay-per-form tends to win in these situations:

• Your volume swings. A business with 12 contractors one year and 60 the next pays for what it files.
• You file once a year. There is nothing to cancel and nothing renews.
• You are a bookkeeper or CPA with many small clients. You can run each client’s payer account separately and pay per return.
• You want to start immediately. IRIS requires a TCC first. A platform account does not.

A plan or the free portal may suit you better when you file at very high volumes with a dedicated team that already works in the IRS system, or when your filing is bundled into software you use all year.

The cheapest answer is not always the lowest sticker price. Add your own time for data entry, TIN corrections, mailing and state filings. The cheapest ways to file 1099-NEC online breaks that cost down for small businesses.

Rules that apply whichever option you choose

Deadlines and the e-file threshold

The IRS instructions put the 1099-NEC due date at January 31 and the electronic 1099-MISC due date at March 31. The same instructions say that if you file 10 or more information returns in aggregate, you must file them electronically. The count is across all information return types, not per form type, so 6 1099-NECs plus 4 W-2s reach the threshold.

If you are unsure which form applies, our comparison of 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC explains where each payment type goes. For the entries themselves, see the box-by-box 1099-NEC guide.

Recipient copies and electronic delivery

You can send recipient copies by mail or electronically. Electronic delivery requires the recipient’s affirmative consent, and the recipient must first receive specific disclosures. The IRS general instructions for information returns list them: hardware and software requirements, the scope of the consent, and how to withdraw consent or ask for a paper copy. Keep a record of each consent. Our guides on getting recipient consent for electronic 1099 delivery and the audit trail for electronic delivery explain what to keep. If you cannot document consent, mail the copy.

Check TINs before you file

A mismatch between a recipient’s name and TIN is one of the most common avoidable problems in information-return filing. Verifying before you submit means you correct the record while the recipient is still reachable. TaxFormHero offers TIN matching at $0.49 per verification.

Large files and templates

If you upload spreadsheets, record limits matter. Our CSV template guide explains how to split files above 250 records before an IRIS upload.

Reporting other income types

If your records mix contractor payments with investment or partnership income, confirm which form each payment needs before you file. This overview of K-1 vs 1099 differences explains how the two reporting forms differ.

Our perspective

We built TaxFormHero around one belief: you should not buy a year of software to file forms you submit once a year.

Information returns are a transaction. You have a list of payees, a deadline and a form to submit. A fixed fee per form matches that, and it keeps the bill proportional to the work. Our graduated tiers apply each rate only to the forms in that tier, so a larger file never reprices the forms you have already placed.

We are IRS-authorized and hold a SOC 2 Type I attestation. We designed the platform for the people who file for others: bookkeepers, accounting firms and payroll teams who handle many payers and need Excel and CSV import, multiple payer accounts and clear per-form add-ons. Recipient PDF copies are free to download.

The free IRIS portal is a legitimate path for the IRS’s own forms. We exist for filers who want the TIN checks, delivery, state filing and support in one place, without a contract and with the price visible before checkout.

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Ready to file without a plan

If you want a no-subscription workflow with published per-form pricing, TaxFormHero lets you create an account, import your recipients and pay only for the forms you file. There is no signup fee and no annual contract.

Start with 1099-NEC filing from $1.99 per form, or see every add-on and tier on the pricing page. W-2 and ACA filing begin at $2.99 per form and are available from the TaxFormHero home page. Firms with large or multi-entity volumes can look at enterprise information return filing.

How to choose in five steps

1. Count your returns. Include every form type. At 10 or more, you must e-file.
2. Set your deadline. For 1099-NEC that is January 31. Work backward from there, especially if you need a TCC.
3. List what you need besides filing. State returns, recipient mailing, e-delivery, TIN checks.
4. Price each option with those add-ons. Use the worked examples above.
5. Test with real data. Import a handful of records before committing a full file.

FAQ

Is there completely free software for filing 1099s?

Yes. The IRS’s IRIS Taxpayer Portal lets businesses e-file 1099-series returns at no charge and with no subscription. You need a Transmitter Control Code first, which can take up to 45 days to process. The portal does not handle recipient delivery or state filing for you.

Is pay-per-form cheaper than a subscription?

Usually, when you file a modest number of forms or your volume varies. You pay per return and nothing renews. A plan can come out ahead only if you file at high volume or already pay for the platform for other work. Run your own count through each provider’s published tiers.

Do I pay more for the whole order if I cross a pricing tier?

Not with graduated pricing. Each rate applies only to forms inside its tier. At TaxFormHero, forms 151 to 500 cost $0.99 each, while the first 150 stay at $1.99 each.

Do I need recipient consent to send 1099s by email?

Yes. The IRS requires the recipient’s affirmative consent for electronic delivery, along with specific disclosures about the consent and how to get a paper copy. If you have no consent on file, send the copy by mail.

When do 1099s have to be filed?

Form 1099-NEC is due January 31. Form 1099-MISC is due March 31 when filed electronically. Confirm current dates in the IRS instructions for the filing year.

Sources

• File Form 1099 series information returns for free online (IRS)
• Am I required to file a Form 1099 or other information return? (IRS)
• Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (IRS)
• General Instructions for Certain Information Returns (IRS)

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Disclaimer:

“This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified US attorney or CPA.”