While there is no requirement to issue a 1099-Misc if the amount paid was less than $600, there is no prohibition against issuing one if the payor decides to send a 1099-Misc. to the payee. However, whether you were issued a 1099-Misc or not, the income you received still needs to be reported on your return. How you enter that income is very important because you need to determine if the income was just "other income" or if it was income from self-employment.
Other income is income derived from activities unrelated to the main focus of a business. Thus, if you were not operating a business or do not hold yourself out as operating a business where you intend to earn a profit, then more than likely, the income you earned was other income.
To enter other income in TurboTax online, click on Wages & Income, scroll down the page to Less common income, click on the drop down arrow and select Miscellaneous Income. From the list select Other reportable income and respond to the questions on the pages that follow.
The issue of whether you are, or are not, a self-employed person (sometimes referred to as an independent contractor) requires some consideration and is something that TurboTax cannot provide you with a specific answer given that this designation is unique to the taxpayer and the taxpayer's specific circumstances. The IRS defines a self-employed person as:
"If you weren't an employee of the payer, where you report the income depends on whether your activity is a trade or business. You're in a self-employed trade or business if your primary purpose is to make a profit and your activity is regular and continuous."
Thus, if your primary purpose in getting paid for the services you performed was to make a profit and the activity you performed was something you did on a regular and continuous basis, then you are likely a self-employed person. As such, you will enter your income and expenses in TurboTax, and complete a Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business.
Here is the link to the IRS webpage that discusses 1099-Misc, Independent Contractors and the Self Employed from which the above quote was obtained. You might find this information helpful.
1099 Misc, Independent Contractors and Self Employed
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