1099 MISC payment to me from business

[Brian]

A business paid me $1000 due to a misprint in their marketing and reported it on 1099 MISC box 14. When I enter this information into TurboTax, I'm treated like an independent contractor with a business, which I'm not. How can I accurately report this income?

[PatriciaV]

It's possible this is business income, if you are a lawyer.

Form 1099-MISC Box 14 reports gross payments to an attorney. If this doesn't describe you, then you should request a corrected 1099-MISC.

Most legal settlements are reported on Form 1099-MISC, but in Box 3 "Other Income." This allows you to report the income as not related to a business and avoid any self-employment taxes.

[6-8]

the 1099 miscellaneous income i reported on turbo tax is a commission from an old policy written years ago, but in turbo tax it now has me listed as a schedule C business. i don't have a business and can't erase the screen to correct it. thank you for your help!

[Carl]

the 1099 miscellaneous income i reported on turbo tax is a commission from an old policy written years ago,

That alone makes it self-employment income reported on SCH C. In addition to "regular" income tax on that income, you'll also pay an additional 15.3% self-employment tax *IF* the amount of SE income received for the entire tax year is more than $400.  But regardless of the amount, it's reported on SCH C.

Assuming you were not self-employed in 2018, when working through the Business Income & Expenses section make *SURE* you specify that the business opened ***AND*** closed in the same tax year. Not doing so has the potential to create issues with the IRS in later years.