TT is saying earned income is too low (ie zero) to contribute to IRA even though I have 10k of earned income from 1099-misc. How do I get it to recognize 1099 income?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 28, 2021
2 replies
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Turbo tax is reporting that my earned income is zero and therefore I cannot contribute to IRA, but I had 10k of earned income which I reported via a 1099-misc as independent contractor. How do I get past this error message where it says that I didn't have any income to contribute to my ira?

Bsch4477

Level 15

Is there an amount on form 1040 Sch 1 line 3?

VolvoGirl

Level 15

Did you enter any expenses? Earned income from self employment is the Net Profit minus 1/2 the self employment tax.

HbombAuthor

Level 2

Ok thanks. I figured it out. It looks like you have to create a schedule c in order for 1099 income to be recognized as earned income (even if you have no expenses to deduct). So when you enter the 1099-misc, TT will ask whether you have expenses to deduct. So even if you don't have any expenses to deduct, answer YES. TT will then create a schedule C for you which you'll have to fill out in a later section (I think under business income). Just enter zero for expenses if you have no expenses.

If you answer NO when asked, then TT won't create a schedule c and won't recognize the 1099 as earned income.

(I'm using tt premium, so maybe the interface for tt business is different)