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posted Oct 13, 2023 6:16:06 PM

Do I need to pay self-employment tax if I have income from multiple sources but under $400 for each source?

So this year I had one main regular job as an employee, and then I had a few side gigs. Most of these were one-time things that I didn't intend to make a business out of, but could possibly be considered a business by the IRS? I'm not sure. I haven't been able to find any information about paying self-employment tax for multiple  sporadic or one-off jobs.


Would any of the following be considered self-employment income, and if so, would I make enough to have to pay self-employment tax?

- One source of income was online surveys, which I made $15 the entire year on and only did every few months.

- Another source was playing as a musician in a summer symphony. I was paid a $200 honorarium and filled out a W-9.

- Another source was a painting job for which I was paid $360 by an LLC business, for a one-time service. I do not intend to pursue painting as a business.

-The last source was a few random music gigs that were paid by the same Symphony Association for 3 different gigs on 3 different dates. The total amount paid by this association to me was $362  ($167, $45, and $150 were the individual payments)

 

If these are all considered self-employment, will I have to pay self-employment tax because the total I made from self-employment activities was over $400, or is the $400 threshold only for each individual gig?

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1 Replies
Level 15
Oct 13, 2023 6:51:30 PM

The figure would be the total amount generated by your business activities.