If you got a 1099NEC you do have to file it no matter how small. That is self employment income and you have to pay the self employment tax even if you don’t owe any regular income tax on it. Even if it is less than your Standard Deduction and you have no taxable income.
You will pay Self Employment tax (Scheduled SE) on a Net Profit of $400 or more on Schedule C in addition to regular income tax on it. You pay 15.3% SE tax on 92.35% of your Net Profit (If it is greater than $400). The 15.3% self employed SE Tax is to pay both the employer part and employee part of Social Security and Medicare. So you get social security credit for it when you retire.
You can’t enter 1099NEC or self employment income into the Free Edition. You can fill out Schedule C and enter 1099NEC, Cash or Self Employment Income into Online Deluxe but if you have any expenses you will have to upgrade to the Premium or use any of the Desktop CD/Download programs. All the Desktop programs have the same forms, so you can buy a lower version.
