I spent $3000 in 2014 to get a book published. I got a royalty check for $398 in 2016. Do I claim that? How/

Did you receive a 1099?

No, I didn't.

Yes, these are Royalties but they are not Royalties. I know that sounds weird but in the eyes of the IRS a royalty is the Income made from the amount of units sold, this applies most of the time to Minerals, Oil, etc. these royalties are reported in Schedule E.

In the eyes of the IRS writers, musicians, and performers are Self-Employed. This means that your income will be reported with Schedule C. This will allow you to enter the income and the expenses. It is clear that this year you will report a Net Loss from the Publishing of your book.

To Create Schedule C and enter these Expenses and the subsequent Income please follow the instructions below:

1. Log into your TurboTax account and Access your current Tax Return
2. From the Welcome Screen click on the Search Icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
3. Enter Schedule C and click enter
4. At the top of the list find and click on Jump to Schedule C

TurboTax will ask you a few questions regarding your endeavor and walk you through the information that it needs to properly prepare your return. There is only one detail that is specific regarding how you received the income. When you are asked the type of income you will select Additional Income. You must do this because you didn't receive any 1099s or K-1 to report the income. I have included a snippet of this screen for your convenience.