topic Re: One-time project work for interview in Business & farm

One-time project work for interview

Nancy1010 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:50:42 GMT

I was paid $700 for working on a project that took about 20 hours as part of a job interview process. Did not recieve any 1099 forms. Do I report this as business income, consider myself as a "business", and if so, on Schedule C, where it asks did you "materially participate" in the operation of this business, do they mean my "business" or the business I did the work for? And would the answer be "no" either way? To make things less complicated, can I just report this as "Other income" and not business income on Schedule 1?

Re: One-time project work for interview

MinhT1 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:55:40 GMT

This is not business income, not from a business endeavor with an intent to make money.

This income should be reported as Other Reportable income.

In TurboTax Online, open your return and follow these steps:

Click on Federal in the left-hand column, then on Wages and Income
Navigate to the list of Income categories
Locate the Less Common Income section and click on the arrow on the right
Click Start next to Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C at the bottom
On the next page, click Start next to Other Reportable Income.

Re: One-time project work for interview

Nancy1010 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:26:31 GMT

If I list it as other income, do I then have to report it as self-employment on Schedule SE?

Re: One-time project work for interview

CatinaT1 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:32:01 GMT

No, as other income it is not reported as self-employment and not subject to self-employment tax.

Re: One-time project work for interview

Nancy1010 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:48:04 GMT

When I type this question in to turbotax AI it seems to indicate I need to report this as business income. Also when I google it, it says IRS considers it as business income.....anyone know for sure?!?

Re: One-time project work for interview

AnnetteB6 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:08:15 GMT

If I were in the same situation and the income was not reported on a tax form (1099-MISC or 1099-NEC), then I would report it as Other Income not subject to self-employment tax.

You can certainly choose to report it on Schedule C if you wish. The important thing is that you are reporting all of your worldwide income received for the year.

Reporting it on Schedule C does imply that you have a profit motive. Reporting it as Other Income is simply adding it to your tax return because you received income from participating in a job interview process. Your intent was probably to get the job, not attend an interview to make money.

@Nancy1010