Confused

[ladin1]

I started a small 1 person business in 2024. My husband and I normally file jointly. We both work full time, and he also receives SS and retirement. What is the best way to file this year? If we file jointly can we also include the business or does that have to be filed separately?

[DoninGA]

If you are a sole proprietor for the business then you enter your self-employment income and expenses on a Schedule C.  The Schedule C is included with and is part of your federal tax return, Form 1040.

You should be filing your tax return as Married Filing Jointly.

[xmasbaby0]

File a joint return.   You can still include all of your various kinds of income on a joint return including your own self-employment income----as long as you have not formed an S-corps, C-corps or multi-member partnership.   If you have a "sole proprietor" business, it is a disregarded entity on your joint return.

If you have self-employment income for which you will pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare,  you will need to use online Premium software or any version of the desktop software download so that you can prepare a Schedule C for your business expenses.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/how-do-i-report-income-from-self-employment/00/...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/enter-self-empl...

If you live in a state with a state income tax, you might need to make estimated payments to your state.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/small-business-taxes/the-home-office-deduction/L1RZyYxzv

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/self-employed/

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/business-taxes/discussion/self-employed-don-t-miss-these-tax-moves...

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

You will include your business on your tax return.  Your gross income and expenses are reported on schedule C which is attached to the rest of your return.  It calculates your taxable profit and your self-employment tax, which flow to the rest of the tax return where it is combined with all your other income, deductions, and credits.  It's perfectly normal to file a joint return when spouses have different types of income. In this case you file a joint return that includes your schedule C side-gig, and both your W-2s, pension or IRA, and SS benefit, along with any deductions and credits.

It is almost always better to file jointly.  In very rare cases you may pay less tax filing separately, but you would have to test this to be sure in your exact situation.