Yes, you should deduct your expenses from your self-employment income that you received on a 1099-NEC form that you report on a schedule C. You may be confusing employment deductions/expenses with the standard and itemized deductions. The IRS allows every taxpayer to deduct a certain amount of money from their income which is called the standard deduction or itemized deductions. This lowers the taxpayers taxable income. For more explanation, please see the TurboTax article Standard Deduction vs. Itemized Deductions: Which Is Better?
Since you have a 1099-NEC, you are allowed to deduct business expenses from your business income. This is in addition to the standard or itemized deduction that you deducted. You mentioned that your expenses exceed your income. Please make sure the expenses that you are deducting are ordinary and necessary for your specific trade or business.
Please review the TurboTax articles Reporting Self-Employment Business Income and Deductions for more information on business deductions. For examples of industry specific expenses, review the TurboTax Help article What self-employed expenses can I deduct? Once you review, you can determine exactly what your ordinary and necessary expenses are and your expenses may not exceed your 1099-NEC income.
Edited 3/2/23 8:08pm PST
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