If I have not earned enough money as a Twitch Affiliate to receive a payout (less than $100), will I still receive a 1099 form from them?

[rylan_davis]

Their site says that all related forms were sent out on or before January 31 of this year, and I went paperless, but I don't see any emails from them and it's not in my spam folder either.

[Leonard · Accepted solution]

Generally, you will not be issued a Form 1099-MISC if you have less than $600 to report.

You can always contact Twitch to verify that they did not send you a Form 1099-MISC.

[BeeBrittany]

I have a similar question about this... Twitch did send me a Form 1099-MISC, but I didn't make anywhere near $600. I don't know why I was even sent the form considering that I made under $200 in the entire year with all income involved. 

[Nailz92]

im having the same issue, ive made way less that 600. i got 200 or less on my 21 yr. did you find the solution? bc i need to know lol.

[GeorgeM777]

While there is no requirement to issue a 1099-Misc if the amount paid was less than $600, there is no prohibition against issuing one if the payor decides to send a 1099-Misc. to the payee.  However, whether you were issued a 1099-Misc or not, the income you received still needs to be reported on your return.  How you enter that income is very important because you need to determine if the income was just "other income" or if it was income from self-employment.  

Other income is income derived from activities unrelated to the main focus of a business.  Thus, if you were not operating a business or do not hold yourself out as operating a business where you intend to earn a profit, then more than likely, the income you earned was other income.  

To enter other income in TurboTax online, click on Wages & Income, scroll down the page to Less common income, click on the drop down arrow and select Miscellaneous Income.  From the list select Other reportable income and respond to the questions on the pages that follow.  

The issue of whether you are, or are not, a self-employed person (sometimes referred to as an independent contractor) requires some consideration and is something that TurboTax cannot provide you with a specific answer given that this designation is unique to the taxpayer and the taxpayer's specific circumstances.  The IRS defines a self-employed person as:

"If you weren't an employee of the payer, where you report the income depends on whether your activity is a trade or business. You're in a self-employed trade or business if your primary purpose is to make a profit and your activity is regular and continuous." 

Thus, if your primary purpose in getting paid for the services you performed was to make a profit and the activity you performed was something you did on a regular and continuous basis, then you are likely a self-employed person.  As such, you will enter your income and expenses in TurboTax, and complete a Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business. 

Here is the link to the IRS webpage that discusses 1099-Misc, Independent Contractors and the Self Employed from which the above quote was obtained.  You might find this information helpful.  

1099 Misc, Independent Contractors and Self Employed

[Nailz92]

well im on the 2 step set up for turbo tax, and i only see ( i have a job) which i dont have one atm, deducitons and credits, self emplyed/freelance. idk which to go with.

[MarilynG1]

If you want to report your 1099-Misc as 'Other Income' (not from self-employment), type '1099-misc' in the Search area (magnifying glass) and click on 'Jump to 1099-misc'.

Click this link for instructions on  How to Enter a 1099-Misc. 

[gbrauns]

This question about Twitch sending out a 1099-MISC for <$600 keeps coming up in various forums. The answers address how a person should declare, and how to report, if it is a hobby (other income) or some type of a self-employment/business (Schedule C or E). That all makes sense from a tax point-of-view but 2022 TurboTax Deluxe (or quite possibly the IRS forms themselves) forces you into Schedule C or E if you enter a 1099-MISC. In my daughters case, it is a hobby and she received a 1099-MISC for $175. After the 1099-MISC is entered into TurboTax (which is a MUST requirement) there is no option for Hobby, and if you try to fake the software by bypassing Schedule C or E and enter the $175 manually into 'other income', TurboTax generates an error and you can't proceed. So the question is, how do you USE TurboTax to report 1099-MISC as hobby income so that the software won't flag it as an error?

[JillS56]

You may have entered the 1099-MISC on the wrong screen.   The 1099-MISC only gives three boxes;  Box 1 Rents; Box 2 Royalties; and Box 3 Other Income.   There is a new form for non-employee compensation which is a 1099-NEC, which will ask you to make the choice between Schedule C or F.

To enter the 1099-MISC:

1. In the Income and Expenses of the federal return, click on Form 1099-MISC;
2. Click the Edit/Add button
3. Select Add a 1099-MISC
4. Fill in the answers to the questions and add the amount to Box 3 and click continue
5. Fill in a description of the hobby (or you could just say hobby income) and click continue
6. Next screen Does one of these uncommon situations apply? Click on any box that applies or click None of these apply and click on continue
7. On the next two screens answer No

The 1099-MISC income should show on Schedule 1, Line 8

[gbrauns]

Makes sense, except the $175 is listed in Box 2, not Box 3, of 1099-MISC, hence the error condition.  Maybe this is because of the way in which my daughter set-up her Twitch streaming account. Alternatively I could move the amount to Box 3 but it would not match the 1099-MISC which could be problematic.

[JillS56]

Who issued the 1099-MISC?   What exactly was the 1099-MISC for?   If you think that Royalty is not the proper classification, I would reach out to the payer who issued the 1099-MISC and ask them why they classified it as royalty. Maybe they put it in the wrong box.  They could issue you a corrected 1099-MISC.

[maddog-11]

same problem from the same company: Twitch.   They classify this income on the 1099-MISC as royalties (box 2).  Turbo tax does not let you get around it.  I also tried an earlier recommendation, since this is clearly a hobby and not a business for my daughter ($59 income), and that specifically said NOT to put 1099-MISC income in the "other income" field.   So there does not seem to be a good answer as to how to navigate this via turbo tax.

[BillM223]

The solution is to not enter the 1099-MISC. Instead, do this:

• Click on Federal Taxes tab
• Choose Wages and Income
• Scroll down to Less Common Income and click Start to to right of Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C
• Click Start to right of Hobby income and expenses

Just enter the $59 as income, and it will appear on Schedule 1 (1040) line 8j.