If this was a one-time only event where you earned money for
writing an article, the simplest way to include the income on your tax return
is by entering it as hobby income.
Even if you expect to continue to write in the future where
you would be considered to be a self-employed writer, for 2018 and earning only
$100 you would not be subject to any self-employment tax. However, if you were actually starting your
business as a writer in 2018, then you would want to report the income and any
expenses on Schedule C (which would require the Self-Employed version of
TurboTax online).
Use the following steps to go directly to the hobby income
section to enter your income:
-
On the top row of the TurboTax
online screen, click on Search (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax locate the
search box in the upper right corner)
-
This opens a box where you
can type in “hobby income, loss” (be sure to enter exactly as shown
here) and click the magnifying glass (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax,
click Find)
-
The search results will
give you an option to “Jump to hobby income, loss”
-
Click on the blue “Jump
to hobby income, loss” link
