You may not consider yourself self-employed; however, the fire department was required to send you a 1099-NEC because it must have paid you $600 or more during 2021. Generally, if someone is self-employed, a freelancer, contractor, or works a side gig, they will now receive Form 1099-NEC instead of Form 1099-MISC. Companies and businesses will use this form to report compensation paid to non-employees. Moreover, the 1099-NEC is also filed with the IRS.
The issue of whether you are, or are not, a self-employed person (sometimes referred to as an independent contractor) requires some consideration, and is something that TurboTax cannot provide you with a specific answer given that this designation is unique to the taxpayer and the taxpayer's specific circumstances. The IRS defines a self-employed person as:
"If you weren't an employee of the payer, where you report the income depends on whether your activity is a trade or business. You're in a self-employed trade or business if your primary purpose is to make a profit and your activity is regular and continuous."
Here is the link to the IRS webpage that discusses 1099-Misc, Independent Contractors and the Self Employed from which the above quote was obtained.
1099 Misc, Independent Contractors and Self Employed
The self-employed and independent contractors will typically complete a Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business on their federal return. The Schedule C information will transfer to their state return which in your case will be NJ. Individual business owners report the net income from the operation of their business in the "Net Profits From Business" section of the NJ-BUS-1, Business Income Summary Schedule. The NJ Division of Taxation states on their website that in order to determine your New Jersey profit or loss, first complete a federal Schedule C (or Schedule C-EZ or F) for each business.
Here is a link for the NJ Division of Taxation website that discusses NJ taxes and business income which you might find helpful.
NJ Division of Taxation
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