Great questions:
I have a few answers.
One concerning hobby vs business. Here is some information on that: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/self-employment-taxes/4-tax-tips-for-money-making-hobbies/L89qz... If you think your business is a hobby, beginning in 2018, the IRS doesn't allow you to deduct hobby expenses from hobby income. you must claim all hobby income and are not permitted to reduce that income by any expenses. . If a business, keep track of all your expenses so that your Self employment tax will be lower.
As for the other state issue, here is a link that talks about that topic: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/state-taxes/multiple-states-figuring-whats-owed-when-you-live-a...
Having said all that, it is important to remember that if your next Self Employment income is under $400 you do not need to report that on a return.
If you have net earnings of $400 or more, you're required to file a Federal tax return. The IRS does this in order to collect your self-employment tax. You won't owe income tax if your earnings are that low, but you might still owe self-employment tax. If you have no other income, you might not owe anything for Federal and/ State taxes but will just owe for Social Security and Medicare.
The state return will depend on the state rules. Some states do not even have state income tax. I would look at each state that you earned the income in and see if they have a minimum filing requirement.
Here are my favorite Self Employment links:
Self employment tax
Self employment tax hub with calculator
Self Employment income and expenses
Please look at the links above because they talk about all of this and are very helpful.
Thanks again for the great question!!
Katie S
Katherine S 63
