The IRS considers anything in box 7 of 1099-MISC to be self employment income. TurboTax (TT) aggressively steers you in that direction. If you try reporting box 7 income as anything else, you chances of hearing from the IRS are high. Board of director fees are usually subject to self employment tax and reported on Schedule C
That said, the key to getting TT to treat it as other income is to follow these steps:
Enter the 1099-Misc
On the next screen Describe what the payment was for
On the next screen select "none of these apply"
On the next screen select "No it didn't involve work like my main job"
On the next screen select "I got it in 2018" ONLY (lying to TT to get it to do what you want does not constitute lying to the IRS)
On the next screen select No, it didn't involve intent to earn money
TT will put the amount on line 21 of form 1040 as other income
The IRS considers anything in box 7 of 1099-MISC to be self employment income. TurboTax (TT) aggressively steers you in that direction. If you try reporting box 7 income as anything else, you chances of hearing from the IRS are high. Board of director fees are usually subject to self employment tax and reported on Schedule C
That said, the key to getting TT to treat it as other income is to follow these steps:
Enter the 1099-Misc
On the next screen Describe what the payment was for
On the next screen select "none of these apply"
On the next screen select "No it didn't involve work like my main job"
On the next screen select "I got it in 2018" ONLY (lying to TT to get it to do what you want does not constitute lying to the IRS)
On the next screen select No, it didn't involve intent to earn money
TT will put the amount on line 21 of form 1040 as other income
Board of director fees are usually subject to self employment tax and reported on Schedule C
References:
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3057165-tax-treatment-of-stipends-to-corporate-board-members">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3057165-tax-treatment-of-stipends-to-corporate-board-members</a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2014/apr/tpp-story-01.html">https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2014/apr/tpp-story-01.html</a>