Help with a 1099-MISC

[fanito]

So here's my situation. I am using Home & Business edition because I am an employee but I have a part-time photography business (sole proprietor). So I normally get a W2 and 1099's depending the situation. This year I also participated in a Research Study which the compensation exceeded the $600 max limit from the IRS (I got 1099-MISC). When I use TurboTax it is moving the 1099-MISC for the research money to the business side, even though they are not related and also have explicitly selected that the income was not from my side business. Obviously I am not an expert but when reported in the personal side my taxes are not as high as in the business side, which is prompting for an specific 1040 sch C. Any idea if this is the correct way to report it even though is not part of my business? (nor intended to make it a "professional" thing). 

[GeorgeM777 · Accepted solution]

Based on your post, you can characterize this 1099-MISC as other income.  There are two ways to enter this type of income into TurboTax.  Here are the steps for the first option: 

1. To enter other income in TurboTax online, click on Wages & Income, 
2. scroll down the page to Less common income, click on the drop-down arrow and select Miscellaneous Income.  
3. From the list select Other reportable income and respond to the questions on the screens that follow. 
4. On the screen, Other Taxable Income, you may see information indicating that you should not report your 1099-MISC in this section.  Just ignore that statement and enter your information.  

If you are using TurboTax CD/download, the process is similar.  After selecting the Personal tab, and the Personal Income tab, scroll down the screen to Less Common Income, and select Miscellaneous Income.  Enter your information. 

There is another section of TurboTax that directly relates to 1099-MISC and this is the second option.  This section is Other Common Income. Please note that when working through the Other Common Income section, you will see a screen asking whether your 1099 represents an intent to earn income/money, and while it may seem counterintuitive to select No, that is the response you need to select.  If you select Yes, TurboTax will report this income as self-employment income, and you will be back in the tax position you want to avoid.  Thus, select No, and continue through the application.

Both of the processes mentioned herein will produce the same result.  However, there are fewer screens to address if you decide to enter your research study income as miscellaneous income.  

@fanito 

[fanito]

Thank you @GeorgeM777! I was able to file it as Other Common Income selecting No this time because in reality I did not intended to make a living out of that and also didn't plan to deduct expenses for that activity since the purpose of the payment was to cover said expenses. This made it clear. Thank you so much for your guidance!