Do I use schedule 1 or schedule c? I have a regular job and get a w2, but I was asked to give a talk in Europe this year too and got a fee. This is an sporadic activity

[islandhorse2023]

The fee was $1129 but I also have $500 in unreimbursed expenses from this trip for airfare.  I want to know where to list those as well.  Schedule c instructions say it is NOT the form to use for sporadic activity but most advice says to use it instead of schedule 1 - which some say is the right form to use.  Others have suggested I need to use the foreign income form too but this seems to apply for higher amounts or significant time spent overseas.  

[HopeS]

Please clarify how was this $1,129 reported to you.  Did you receive Form 1099NEC?

[islandhorse2023]

No. No tax forms received. All I have is an itemized list of the expenses they reimbursed me for which also lists the amount of the speakers fee.  They said they reported the income to the Danish tax officials but they have no idea what happens next. Feels like I should get a 1099 from the US authority rather than a European country but I don’t know

[HopeS · Accepted solution]

Since your speaking engagement does not appear to constitute a trade or business, the income should be reported as other income and therefore avoid self-employment tax. Therefore you should use Schedule 1 instead of Schedule C to report this income.

OTHER INCOME is defined per the Journal of Accountancy as follows:

Some income-generating activities are deemed infrequent enough to constitute other income. Revenue rulings (58-112, 55-431, and 55-258) indicate that income from an occasional act or transaction, absent proof of efforts to continue those acts or transactions on a regular basis, is not income from a trade or business.

@islandhorse2023 

[islandhorse2023]

Thank you! Should I report the non-reimbursed travel expenses ($500) as a travel expense in that same schedule? I assume I would report both of these – the income and the expenses – in the “other” sections of the schedule 1?

[ShirlynW]

No. The non-reimbursed travel expenses is not reported on Schedule 1. DaveF1006,  explains a taxpayer who was paid for an “occasional” speech and did not seek such engagements or indicate availability for them was not self-employed (Revenue Ruling 55-431). The IRS considers this as “Sporadic Activity,”

Beginning in 2018, unreimbursed employee expenses are no longer eligible for tax deductions on your federal tax returns.