For example, if I clean houses for myself, but also clean houses for TaskRabbit, am I entering just one line of work for "housekeeping"? Or do I add them separately?
I always wanted to add them separately because it makes me feel more confident, but I have 10 lines of work at the moment and that is the maximum you can add. When you add a new line of work, it asks for the TYPE of job/industry, and does not ask for the company name.
You can combine the cleaning activities into one business as "Housekeeping" to enter on your business schedule C.
Okay. Can I ask what "employee tax expert" means? I have seen this answer being true on TurboTax forums, but when I called Turbo Tax they said every line of work has to be itemized, even if they are the same industry. I suppose I can call again and see if I get a different answer. Something tells me she doesn't know what she's talking about.
You perform one line of work as a self-employed person. That is housekeeping. It doesn't matter who pays you, whether it's 15 different people, an agency or a combination of both. If an agency issues you a 1099-NEC, enter it on that line. If others pay you by check, include it as cash.
It is possible to both clean and paint houses. While these might seem similar enough to include as one line of work, they would each require their own Schedule C.
@ColeenD3 Okay. That is very clear. When I called TurboTax they said I had to put each company on a different line. Can I ask what "employee tax expert" means? Do you work for TurboTax?
@ColeenD3 And also... Since it asks for EINs, I assume I would need to add separate 1099 entries for each 1099 I received (but under the same line of work). For direct deposit that did not provide a 1099, would I add them up and put them in the same "type of income" line?
It would all go under the 1 business or 1 line of work, housekeeping. To make it easier, you can just add up the 1099's along with whatever other type of income you had and make one entry. You would select "other self employed income" under the common income section, type "checks" and enter the total amount earned.