I hold publicly traded royalty for which I receive a 1099-MISC. Do these get counted as investment income from property I own or royalty income from my business?

[Anonymous]

I received a 1099-MISC with royalties under category 2 for stocks BPT, MARPS, and NRT.  TurboTax asks if the source of this income is from investment income from property you own or royalty income from your business.  Which do I select?

It is not my business and I do not own the physical property (but I do own stock in the trusts)

[GeoffreyG]

The answer to your question, if you have not already reached the correct conclusion on your own, is to indicate in the TurboTax software program that the royalty payments indicated on your Form 1099-MISC are "investment income from property you own."  Doing so will ensure that this royalty income appears on Form 1040, Schedule E of your primary tax return, rather than the "your business" pathway in TurboTax, which can cause the program to instead place your royalty income (incorrectly) on Form 1040, Schedule C, as self-employment income subject to additional self-employment taxes.

Thank you for asking about this.