I received a 1099-MISC for a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. How do I record that as a prize or award on Schedule 1 instead of as self employment income on Schedule C?

[JohnB5677]

You are not self-employed, but TurboTax thinks you are because of the way you entered it on your return.

• Wages & Income
• Scroll to Other Common Income
• Select Income from a 1099-MISC
• Post your information from the form [Continue]
• Describe the reason for this 1099-MISC
• Post XXXX
• Does one of these uncommon situations apply?
• Select None of the above
• Did the XXXX involve work that's like your main job?
• No
• How often did you get income for XXXX?
• Check Got it in 2021
• Did the XXXX involve an intent to earn money?
• Answer No

If you do not follow this posting procedure it will result in self-employment.  You would also have to pay 15.3% in self-employment tax (Social Security & Medicare).

[SarahC10]

I am trying to follow this, but it does not prompt me to the final screen. After I hit made in 2021, it automatically moves the amount to self-employment. I'm not sure what is going wrong

[GeorgeM777]

One of your responses in TurboTax is identifying your income as self-employment income when it appears it is not.  Here are the steps to enter the 1099-Misc as other income:

1. To enter other income in TurboTax online, click on Wages & Income, 
2. scroll down the page to Less Common Income, click on the drop-down arrow and select Miscellaneous Income.  
3. From the list select Other reportable income and respond to the questions on the screens that follow. 
4. On the screen, Other Taxable Income, you may see information indicating that you should not report your 1099-MISC in this section.  Just ignore that statement and enter your information.  

If you are using TurboTax CD/download, the process is similar.  After selecting the Personal tab, and the Personal Income tab, scroll down the screen to Less Common Income, and select Miscellaneous Income.  Enter your information. 

There is another section of TurboTax that directly relates to 1099-Misc.  This section is Other Common Income.  Please note that when working through the Other Common Income section, you will see a screen asking whether your 1099 represents an intent to earn income/money, and while it may seem counterintuitive to select No, that is the response you need to select.  If you select Yes, TurboTax will report this income as self-employment income and you will be back in the tax position you want to avoid.  Thus, select No, and continue through the application.

Both of the processes mentioned herein will produce the same result.  However, there are fewer screens to address if you decide to enter your award income as miscellaneous income under Less Common Income.  

@SarahC10