1099-NEC

[MMartin0]

I was sent a 1099-NEC form from a project I had worked on last year about community schools within my school district. This was a one time project and I'm not self employed. I have had conflicting searches about forms to fill out. Do I fill out a 1099-NEC form on Turbotax or an MISC form? 

[KrisD15]

They filled out Form 1099-NEC, so that's what you need to report.

Since you earned income, and you are not an employee of the school, you may need to report the income as Self-Employment income and pay Self-Employment tax. Self-Employment is the FICA an employer withholds and pays for an employee. 

You could also choose "Hobby Income" for the 1099-NEC to bypass the self-employment tax but you would need to show how the task you performed would be considered as "fun" and therefore a hobby if the IRS challenged it. If this was something that is already your field of expertise, it could be viewed as "moon-lighting" and therefore self-employment. 

The choice between issuing Form 1099-NEC (Non-Employee Compensation) or Form 1099-MISC (Miscellaneous Income) is determined by the person that issues the form. 

You can either enter the 1099-NEC or ask the Payer to replace that form with a 1099-MISC. 

[MMartin0]

Hi Kris, 

That is very helpful- thank you!

[MMartin0]

To add to that, I've been confused in Turbotax- they are showing the NEC form under "Other Common Income" but also have ti listed under "Self Employment". Can you please explain the difference? I have been confused on which one to select. 

[ThomasM125]

The default treatment of income reported on a Form 1099-NEC would be self-employment income. That is what the form is for. However, it is often misused to report income that is not self-employment income, such as compensation paid to someone for a one time project that is not associated with their normal job. Such a payment would be better reported on a Form 1099-MISC. So, if "other income" is mis-reported on a Form 1099-NEC, you should enter it in the other income section in TurboTax.