1099NEC but no business help please

[otsamedu]

I do not have a business but was a one time guest speaker in 2020 received a 1099NEC am retired please help

[JotikaT2]

If it is not from self-employment, you would enter the information as follows: 

1. Select Income & Expenses 
2. Go to the  All Income section and select Other Common Income 
3. Select Form 1099-NEC
4. You will then be prompted to enter your information as reported on Form 1099-NEC.  Be sure to mark that it was not earned as part of business.

[scottiep]

There is no way that I can see to enter a 1099-NEC without linking it to a business. There is no option to say that it is unrelated to a business, or more generally that it is not from self-employment.

[DawnC]

All 1099-NEC are for self-employment.   Who gave you the 1099-NEC and what did you do for the amount of payment in Box 1?   @scottiep

Am I considered self-employed?

[scottiep]

The amount from the 1099-NEC was for a performance award, and so one would expect it to have been covered under a 1099-MISC. But the wrinkle is that my company is part of a joint venture, and the JV is the entity that actually gave me the award. What I am most concerned with is that TurboTax is subsequently saying that my non-existent "business" qualifies me for some type of business deduction, and that can't be right (right?).

[DawnC]

If the performance award is due to your work, it is still considered self-employment and you would qualify for the QBI deduction.   All Form 1099-NEC is considered self-employment.   If you think you received the form in error, contact the issuer to confirm.   @scottiep

[scottiep]

Okay, so what I did was call my business "Award", which TurboTax assigned the default IRS code of "99999" to. So it's legitimate for me to have this scenario qualify me for a QBI? That won't get me into trouble?

[scottiep]

@DawnC, so I found out that my performance award was correctly filed as a 1099-NEC, and so characterizing it as self-employed income would seem to be fine. What throws me off is the fact that it entitles me to a QBI deduction, which seems weird if I don't really have a business. Not sure if there is a way to decline that deduction in TurboTax, or if that will just make it look worse?

[DawnC]

If you have self-employment income - you DO have a business.  It may not seem like you do, but for tax purposes, you do.   The 1099-NEC income is reported on Schedule C which is a business tax return.   There are a few questions in the QBI section that may disqualify you, but if you have gone through that section and those do not apply, then you do qualify for the credit and have nothing to worry about by taking it.   TurboTax does all the math are correctly applies your answers to those keys questions on your tax return.   @scottiep

If you want to review the questions, edit your business, scroll down to the bottom of the page (see below) and click on CONTINE underneath the Final Details category.  The next page starts the questions.  If the income is on Schedule C, it is qualified if:

• It is a trade or business - it is
• It is US Based
• It can't be wages - (1099-nec is NOT wages)