I am Fulltime student who have one 1099-NEC for freelance service I do. Dont really have a business. Can I not file PREMIUM? Any discounts?

[sriyachilla]

PREMIUM is expensive and I cannot afford. Ideally I qualify for FREE Fed/State.

[xmasbaby0]

You cannot use the Free Edition if you have self-employment income, because you have to prepare a Schedule C and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.   If you would rather not pay for using online Premium, you could use any version of the desktop download ----every version of desktop can prepare a Schedule C.

Or you could try one of the free software versions:

Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

Or—if you live in certain states you may be eligible to use the new IRS Direct File

In Filing Season 2025, Direct File will be available in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

https://directfile.irs.gov/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2629

[sriyachilla]

I checked IRS Direct file. Two things it wont support for my case - Education Credits/1098T and 1099-NEC.

Thanks for info though.