How do I file this royalty from a patent rights sale?

[glenking1]

I am an inventor on a patent. I work at NASA (government).  A company (InnoScience) bought the exclusive rights from the government, and I received a payment from the royalties (with the other inventors).

[glenking1]

from screenshot,  "This 1099-MISC is For:  _ Home  _ Spouse"  is not shown in the program.

I entered the 1099-MISC payer and royalty amount and was taken to a screen, "Source of 1099-MISC Income".
I had to pick "Investment income from property you own" or " Royalty income from your business, including artist royalties or operating a natural resources business (Schedule C)"
First choice: My royalty is not for real property and the government owns it.  Second choice: I do not own a business nor am I self employed.

[PatriciaV]

Unfortunately, the IRS considers you to be in business for yourself when you receive royalties on intellectual property that you created. If you received royalties from a patent you bought, the income would not be considered be self-employment.

[PatriciaV · Accepted solution]

If you receive royalties as a result of your own creative work related to your profession, you would report this activity on Schedule C. The 1099-MISC page in that section has Box 2 Royalties (see screenshot #1 below, click to enlarge).

The easiest way to find this section of TurboTax Online is to go to My Account >> Tools >> Topic Search. Type in "royalties", then click the topic in the list to go directly to the start of this section.

(If you are using the mobile app and don't have My Account or Tools on your screen, try logging into TurboTax from a laptop or desktop browser.)

After you’ve entered the information from your 1099-MISC, TurboTax will ask a series of questions to determine if your 1099-MISC income is from self-employment or is ordinary income.

If you did not receive Form 1099-MISC for these royalties, search on "schedule c" to set up a business to report this under General Income.