Self Employed

[Teacher-1]

I am a teacher, always paid monthly and receive a W2 at the end of the year.  I want to claim my profession as Self-Employed.  I can come and go as I please and work for different school districts, can I file as self-employed and take the deductions that come with that declaration?

[JotikaT2]

No.  Since you are paid with a W-2, you are considered an employee and would not be eligible to treat the activity as self-employed income.  There is an Educator Expense deduction that you are entitled to.  Please see this link for more details.

If you have other jobs where you do receive a 1099-NEC, then you would be able to claim those expenses incurred as part of earning the 1099 income as being attributable to self-employment.  Please see what self-employed expenses can I deduct?