It looks like I made a serious mistake. The initial plan was to incorporate as an LLC. If I had done that, there would be no requirement for customers to file 1

It looks like I made a serious mistake. The initial plan was to incorporate as an LLC. If I had done that, there would be no requirement for customers to file 1099-nec. However, we were structured as a partnership, and later became a sole proprietorship. And both require 1099s! It's even possible my partner at the time described us an LLC when we initially acquired the customer. So they might be fully blindsided by this issue. It seems I must inform my customer that they need to retroactively file 1099s, and eat the consequences. Assuming they didn't know, I face a risk that they will drop me - or even sue - for the expense and misrepresentation. If they did know all along, the risk of losing the customer seems to grows by a lot if I now request correction. I'm going to consult with a CPA this upcoming week and do the right thing. As you can likely infer by now, there are other non-compliance issues that we will need to address. But the fact that I've put my own customer at risk is hitting me like a ton of bricks. Never would I have expected or intended that. I will immediately formulate a plan to remediate, with the aid of a CPA. I very glad you called my attention to this very serious issue. You have just saved me a world of pain, even if fixing this is going to hurt like the dickens. Thank you very much, PopAlongKid.