So I received a nominal amount ($42) from a book sale on Amazon. Writing nor book sales is my business. I received a 1099-MISC form but there are two options for 1099-MISC source of income:
Investment income from property you own
or
Royalty income from your business.
It's not the first so I choose the second. However, then I have to go through a bunch more paperwork because "I have a business", which I really don't. It also shifts the MISC form to another category. Is this the proper way to file royalties on a book? I going the business royalty route, it asks me for business name, don't have one and other questions that don't really apply so a bit confused.
Here are the two options in Turbotax and neither one apply:
Sources of Royalty Income
Investment Income includes amounts received from oil, gas or mineral properties when natural resources are extracted from your property. These royalties are based on units, such as barrels, tons, etc., and are paid to you by a person or company that leases the property from you. You may be eligible for a depletion allowance. Royalties from intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.) are only considered investment property income if you are not in the business of creating such works. For example, you could purchase a copyright or inherit the right to receive royalties from a literary work. In these cases, this income would be investment income. But an author or inventor would not typically treat income from copyrights or patents as investment income.
Royalty Income from your Business includes royalty payments received by authors, inventors, or artists; natural resource properties that you operate; or freelance or contract work. Choose this for income from oil, gas or mineral properties if you own and operate the property. If you are a self-employed writer, inventor or artist, receiving royalty income from patents, copyrights on literary, musical, artistic works, etc., then you need to report this as Business Income.
