topic How to get content in "Other Income" on 1040, Schedule C? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

How to get content in "Other Income" on 1040, Schedule C?

clausiam1 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:18:45 GMT

I got income reported on a 1099-NEC from a former employer. It's not business income and not recurring.

Reading the IRS guidelines it says:

"You received this form instead of Form W-2 because the payer did not consider you an employee and did not withhold income tax or social security and Medicare tax."

...
If you are not an employee but the amount in box 1 is not self employment (SE) income (for example, it is income from a sporadic activity or a hobby), report the amount shown in box 1 on the "Other income” line (on Schedule 1 (Form 1040))."

I cannot find a way to get TurboTax to report it this way. No matter where I go it ends up as business income (box 3 of Schedule 1), but I need it in box 8z.

Any hints where I go in the program to make it show up there?

Re: How to get content in "Other Income" on 1040, Schedule C?

PatriciaV — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 19:16:57 GMT

First, you need to determine if you truly were an employee or if you were an independent contractor. Wages paid as an employee are reported on Form W-2 and employment taxes are withheld from every paycheck. Independent Contractors are paid a gross amount, with no taxes withheld, and are considered to be self-employed.

See this IRS article for more help: Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?

If you believe you were an employee and the employer should have reported this income as wages on a W-2, you may wish to contact your employer to have this oversight corrected. It's possible that you will be unsuccessful in this attempt.

As an independent contractor, you would report the information from Form 1099-NEC as self-employment income on Schedule C. This income is subject to income tax and self-employment taxes. To find Schedule C in TurboTax Online, go to Tax Tools in the left column >> Tools >> Topic Search. Type in "sch c", then click the topic in the list and then GO to go directly to the start of that section.

Otherwise, to enter the 1099-NEC as wages, begin with Wages & Income >> 1099-MISC and Other Common Income >> Income from Form 1099-NEC.

Add the employer and income information from the 1099-NEC.
Enter "Wages reported on Form 1099-NEC" as the reason.
Under "Does one of these uncommon situations apply?" check the box for "Taxpayer's employer reported this extra money on a 1099-NEC but it should have been reported on a W-2."
In most cases, you have NOT filed Form 8919 or Form SS-8. Follow the prompts and TurboTax will prepare these forms for you.
Note that you will owe Social Security and Medicare on these wages since your employer did not withhold them for you.

By filing Form SS-8, you are asking the IRS to determine if you were an employee or an independent contractor. Read more here: About Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding

Re: How to get content in "Other Income" on 1040, Schedule C?

clausiam1 — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 20:07:44 GMT

Thanks for the reply. This is actually "income" from exercising vested NSO's (non-qualified stock options) at my departure. This means I need to pay regular income taxes on the difference between fair market value and the price I paid when I exercised the options. So it's not business income or independent contracting. I cannot find anywhere to report this that doesn't let TurboTax to see it as business income.

Re: How to get content in "Other Income" on 1040, Schedule C?

ThomasM125 — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 00:12:37 GMT

It is wage income, so you need to report as mentioned by @TurboTaxVal: