I was a personal consultant and earned under $600 for the year. However, my expenses were over $1,000 for that business last year. How do I claim that on my taxes?

Just enter your income and expenses. While you can have an off year where your income is less than your expenses, the IRS will expect to see a profit. If you don't start to show one, the IRS will consider this a hobby and you will be disallowed from taking expenses.

 

Follow these steps to go to the Schedule C section of your return:

 

On the top right corner of TurboTax online screen, click on Search (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax locate the search box in the upper right corner).

1. Type in “schedule c” (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax, click Find).
2. Click on “Jump to schedule c”.
3. Click on the blue “Jump to schedule c” link

 

 

I re-calculated, and my expenses were around $970, sales were between $575 and $600. Is it beneficial to include this in my filing this year?

If you have other income, the loss can lower your taxable income, resulting in a lower balance due or a higher refund.

 

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