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New Member
posted Mar 4, 2023 3:21:52 PM

Is this activity a qualified trade or business under Section 199A?

I don't know what this means

0 13 10923
1 Best answer
Expert Alumni
Mar 4, 2023 3:40:52 PM

TurboTax is asking for this information in order to determine whether to calculate the Section 199A deduction based on any net profit from your business or rental activity.

 

A qualified trade or business is any section 162 trade or business, with three exceptions:

 

  1. A trade or business conducted by a C corporation.
  2. The trade or business of performing services as an employee.
  3. For taxpayers with taxable income that exceeds the threshold amount, specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs). 

Please see this help article, this IRS FAQ page, and this IRS webpage for more information.

 

13 Replies
Expert Alumni
Mar 4, 2023 3:40:52 PM

TurboTax is asking for this information in order to determine whether to calculate the Section 199A deduction based on any net profit from your business or rental activity.

 

A qualified trade or business is any section 162 trade or business, with three exceptions:

 

  1. A trade or business conducted by a C corporation.
  2. The trade or business of performing services as an employee.
  3. For taxpayers with taxable income that exceeds the threshold amount, specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs). 

Please see this help article, this IRS FAQ page, and this IRS webpage for more information.

 

New Member
Mar 6, 2023 6:35:51 PM

Nope. Still don’t understand. Speak to me like a child. In the simplest and easiest of terms. No big words, no tax codes, or tax jargons. Do I mark yes, or no? If you can’t explain it that way, then no answer is going to help me. 

Expert Alumni
Mar 6, 2023 7:15:03 PM

When you have a business, you could qualify for Section 199A  also know as the Qualified Business Income Deduction. 

A few years back the tax code was adjusted so that corporations got a 20% tax break, so to make it fair to Businesses that are not Corporations, they set this up. 

 

Self-Employed Taxpayers can get up to a 20% credit (tax -free income) for their business income (and sometimes rental income).

 

Most Taxpayers that file Schedule C qualify.

 

Farms that are for-profit qualify.

 

Rental income does not count unless you are running the rental as a business. You would have to be a Real estate Professional or spend a significant time dealing with the rental. 

 

The tax law is pretty sloppy on this one as far as what businesses qualify, so rather than explain what qualifies, the easier thing to do is say what doesn't. 

 

Most ALL self-employed taxpayers qualify EXCEPT

Specialized Service Trade Or Businesses.  

 

According to the IRS:

“An SSTB is a trade or business involving the performance of services in the fields of health, law, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, investing and investment management, trading or dealing in certain assets, or any trade or business where the principal asset is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners. The principal asset of a trade or business is the reputation or skill of its employees or owners if the trade or business consists of the receipt of income from endorsing products or services, the use of an individual's image, likeness, voice, or other symbols associated with the individual's identity, or appearances at events or on radio, television, or other media formats.”

 

SSTB

 

Not Actors

Not Doctors

Not Attorneys 

Not Accountants

Not Athletes

 

 

If you are still uncertain if your business qualifies, you can tell us what that business is and we should be able to give you an answer. 

If you qualify for the deduction, the TurboTax program computes it for you and enters it on your 1040 line 13.

 

@jbluwalcostumer  

New Member
Apr 18, 2023 7:05:16 AM

I am a caregiver and got a 1099NEC for 8,000. My husband is a Amazon Delivery Driver who also received a 1099NEC. Do we qualify under section 199A?

Level 15
Apr 18, 2023 7:14:41 AM

Yes, these occupations would qualify.

New Member
Apr 14, 2024 10:14:40 PM

My boyfriend and I are the two shareholders of our S-corp LLC. We do mobile detailing and boat cleaning services. We do not have employees. We actively participate in the business. In fact, we are the only two that actually perform the detailing work, so the both of us are very much an integral part of the business operations. 

I'm trying to find out if "this activity" is a "qualified trade or business" under Section 199A. There is a lot of confusion about what meets the criteria. I want to make sure I answer this correctly, especially if it will lower my tax bill. 

 

Is there an income threshold that determines this for those that are on the fence? Any clarity would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Employee Tax Expert
Apr 15, 2024 7:41:22 AM

You are a Specialized Service Trade or Business which definitely qualifies you for the QBI deduction.

 

Here are the IRS definitions of a qualified business.  

 

However, the deduction phases out at higher income levels.  At $182,100 for individuals and $364,200 for married couples there is no QBI deduction anymore.

 

@showmotorsdetailing 

 

New Member
Jun 16, 2024 12:42:26 PM

I am a independent missionary. So would I mark yes or no? All my income is through people suporting me  monthly through mostly checks. I receive no income forms or anything, i have to just report all my income from those giving to my missions cause I work independently and not through any organization or agency. 

Level 15
Jun 16, 2024 1:42:22 PM

  1. Missionary Work and Section 199A:

    • Whether missionary work qualifies as a trade or business depends on the specific circumstances.
    • If a YOU engage in activities with a good-faith intention to earn a profit (e.g., through donations, fundraising, or other income-generating efforts) and do so regularly and continuously, it may qualify as a trade or business.
    • However, if the missionary’s work is purely charitable or religious without any profit motive, it may not meet the criteria for Section 199A.

Level 2
Feb 8, 2025 7:46:07 AM

Hello, 

 

I received a 1099 Misc for my school counseling internship paid for under the HB22-1220 Educator Stipend for the state of Colorado. Would this be a qualified business?

Expert Alumni
Feb 8, 2025 9:52:23 AM

No. A stipend would be considered as Other income, but is not a qualified business.

  • Stipend Definition: Stipends are not considered compensation for work: Unlike a salary, which is a set amount paid for work performed, a stipend is monetary support for expenses or training.

Other Miscellaneous Income:

  1. Sign into your TurboTax Online account
  2. Go to Tax Home (left panel)  Wages and Income  section 
  3. Scroll to  Less Common Income > Select  Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C
  4. Select Other reportable Income > Enter a description (----) and the amount
  5. For TurboTax Desktop > Income > Scroll to Less Common Income > .......

 

@sethandsarah

Level 1
Apr 13, 2025 6:28:19 PM

This is totally unofficial, but this is what I found and where I found it:

 

(d) Qualified trade or business

For purposes of this section-

(1) In general

The term "qualified trade or business" means any trade or business other than-

(A) a specified service trade or business, or

(B) the trade or business of performing services as an employee.

(2) Specified service trade or business

The term "specified service trade or business" means any trade or business-

(A) which is described in section 1202(e)(3)(A) (applied without regard to the words "engineering, architecture,") or which would be so described if the term "employees or owners" were substituted for "employees" therein, or

(B) which involves the performance of services that consist of investing and investment management, trading, or dealing in securities (as defined in section 475(c)(2)), partnership interests, or commodities (as defined in section 475(e)(2)).

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=%28title:26%20section:199A%20edition:prelim%29

 

*Section 1202(e)(3)(A)* says...

 

(3)Qualified trade or business For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualified trade or business” means any trade or business other than

(A)

any trade or business involving the performance of services in the fields of health, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, brokerage services, or any trade or business where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of 1 or more of its employees,

(B) any banking, insurance, financing, leasing, investing, or similar business,

(C) any farming business (including the business of raising or harvesting trees),

(D) any business involving the production or extraction of products of a character with respect to which a deduction is allowable under section 613 or 613A, and

(E) any business of operating a hotel, motel, restaurant, or similar business.

 

Found at: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1202 

Level 15
Apr 13, 2025 6:56:23 PM

a stipend does not rise to the level of being a trade or business there is no profit motive. you're also using a code section, 1202, which is used to define a specified service trade or business which has special rules for the QBI deduction. 

 

if the institution deemed you to be engaged in a trade or business it should have issued you a 1099-NEC. then the amount would have been subjecst to about 15% in self-employment taxes.