Hello.
I Twitch stream as a hobby, and I received a 1099-MISC for the $100 I made. I am attempting to report this 1099-MISC, but there is no field for me to enter Box 2 Royalties. How should I report this information?
Also, what version of TurboTax should I be using?
Thank you.
Where you report royalties from Twitch depends whether this is self-employment income or a hobby. In general, if you regularly create intellectual property that can be subject to a copyright or patent (for example, you're an artist or musician), you should report income from this self-created property as Business Income.
If you intend to pursue this activity as a business with the intent to earn a profit, then you would report this using Form 1099-MISC as self-employment income on Schedule C (subject to self-employment income tax). This option is available in TurboTax Self-Employed.
However, if this is a hobby or occasional income with no profit motive, you may report this as "Hobby/Other Income" on your personal tax return. The IRS won't let you deduct hobby expenses, but your State may. You'll find an option to enter hobby income & expenses under Less Common Income >> Miscellaneous Income, which can be reported using TurboTax Deluxe and above. You won't enter the income under the Form 1099-MISC topic if reporting hobby income.
This post may help you decide which is most appropriate: What's the difference between self-employment income and other income?
The easiest way to find either section of TurboTax is to use the Search box at the top right side of the TurboTax header. Click on the magnifying glass, type in "schedule c" or "hobby income", and click on the related jump-to link to go directly to beginning of the section.