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?

[Hbomb]

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]

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

[VolvoGirl]

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

[Hbomb]

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)