Commission SPIFF from Vendors that the company i work at, sells for - 1099-misc help!

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
April 14, 2026
1 reply
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Hi!

I worked in luxury jewelry sales for a company as a w/2 sales associate.

There are several vendors that we sell jewelry for. These vendors give you commission SPIFFS for selling their jewelry specifically.

I received a 1099-Misc for commission SPIFFS and turbo tax keeps trying to make me do a Schedule C, but it's not self-employment.

What do I do!?

I got a 1099-NEC as well from another vendor for the exact same type of commission SPIFFS - what do I select? It's not self-employment, farm, hobby, lawsuit, medicaid, nor income that should've been on my w-2!

HELP!!

Is this manufacturers incentive for the 1099-MISC?

What about for the 1099-NEC?

HELPPPP

rjs

Level 15

What is "our company"? Is it a company that you are a part owner of? Or are you an employee of "our company" and you get a W-2.

If you are an employee and you get a W-2, then yes, the payments from the vendors are manufacturer's incentive payments. For the 1099-MISC you can select that description. For the 1099-NEC select "Lawsuit settlement." When it asks if any part of the lawsuit was for back wages, answer No. Entering the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC this way will put the income on Schedule 1 line 8z.

kgucksAuthor

Level 2

Hi!

I'm a w-2 employee for Diamonds Direct. I receive commissions from them, and also get "spiffs" from other vendors for selling their jewelry pieces.

Why would I select lawsuit settlement? This is a SPIFF that I receive for selling their specific line of jewelry at the company I work for.

rjs

Level 15

@kgucks wrote:

Why would I select lawsuit settlement? This is a SPIFF that I receive for selling their specific line of jewelry at the company I work for.

@kgucks

You should select lawsuit settlement because it's a trick to put the income in the right place on your tax return. It will not say "lawsuit settlement" on the tax return. There is no option for a spiff on a 1099-NEC.

(Probably the reason spiff or manufacturer's incentive payment is not a choice for a 1099-NEC is that the payment is not supposed to be reported on a 1099-NEC. The vendor was wrong to use that form. They should have issued a 1099-MISC. But the easiest way for you to deal with their error is to use the trick that I am suggesting.)