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New Member
posted Jun 3, 2019 11:22:28 AM

How do I report 1099-MISC investment income that is not from employment but is from quarterly interest payments on structured notes held in a joint brokerage account?

this relates to investment income and is not from any employment or services provided

1 41 14373
1 Best answer
Intuit Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 11:22:31 AM

UPDATED FOR TAX YEAR 2019

 

You can enter the 1099-MISC in TurboTax as "Other Common Income," which is reported on line 8 of 1040 Schedule 1 and will not generate Schedule C or SE tax.  Please use the following steps:

  1. Click on Federal > Wages & Income.
  2. Scroll down to the Other Common Income section. 
  3. Click on the Start/Revisit box next Form 1099-MISC. 
  4. On the screen Did you get a 1099-MISC?  click on the Yes button.
  5. On the next screen, Let's get the info from your 1099-MISC, enter the information from the 1099-MISC.

  6. On the following screens, answer the following questions:
    • Did it involve work that's like your main job? No.
    • You got it in 2019
    • No, it didn't involve an intent to earn money
  1. Continue through the rest of the interview screens. The income will appear as Other Income.

[Edited | 4/15/2020 | 9:07am PDT]

24 Replies
Level 15
Jun 3, 2019 11:22:30 AM

What box # on the 1099-Misc is the $ shown in?
WHY is your broker reporting this income on a 1099-MIsc, instead of a 1099-INT?

Intuit Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 11:22:31 AM

UPDATED FOR TAX YEAR 2019

 

You can enter the 1099-MISC in TurboTax as "Other Common Income," which is reported on line 8 of 1040 Schedule 1 and will not generate Schedule C or SE tax.  Please use the following steps:

  1. Click on Federal > Wages & Income.
  2. Scroll down to the Other Common Income section. 
  3. Click on the Start/Revisit box next Form 1099-MISC. 
  4. On the screen Did you get a 1099-MISC?  click on the Yes button.
  5. On the next screen, Let's get the info from your 1099-MISC, enter the information from the 1099-MISC.

  6. On the following screens, answer the following questions:
    • Did it involve work that's like your main job? No.
    • You got it in 2019
    • No, it didn't involve an intent to earn money
  1. Continue through the rest of the interview screens. The income will appear as Other Income.

[Edited | 4/15/2020 | 9:07am PDT]

Level 15
Jun 3, 2019 11:22:32 AM

The income shown in box 3 of a 1099-Misc should be reported on Schedule 1, line 21.

The IRS considers anything in box 7 of 1099-MISC to be self employment income. TurboTax (TT) aggressively steers you in that direction. If you try reporting box 7 income as anything else, you chances of hearing from the IRS are very high.

New Member
Mar 15, 2020 5:35:59 PM

Thank you.  Why is it that when I report this under   1099Misc  (under Box 3) it is also reported as a Business Income (Schedule C)? Does that mean I’m being taxed twice for the same money?

Level 15
Mar 15, 2020 6:46:33 PM

@jnrgarbutt - Normally an amount in box 3 is not self employment.  But the TurboTax (TT) interview is designed to aggressively see it if it really is.  You answered the questions in a way that TT concluded it is self employment.

 

What did you do to get this money. Any sort of labor or service (work) is considered self employment.

 

Yes, you are taxed twice. You pay regular income tax and you pay self employment tax (social security and medicare tax about 14%)

Level 1
Mar 1, 2021 7:21:59 AM

Is it the same for 2020? Also it only allows me to specify my wife or my self as the owner. The MISC-1099 came from a joint investment account

Level 15
Mar 1, 2021 7:58:48 AM

Yes and No.

There's a big change for 2020. Self employment is now reported on a 1099-NEC (brand new form) rather than a 1099-MISC.  Note that there is no box 7 on the 2020 1099-Misc.

 

But, TurboTax stills steers you to self employment, because this first year, "employers"  are still mistakenly using the 1099-Misc. 

Follow IreneS's instructions above to get it to to the right place (line 8, Schedule 1 for 2020).  You cannot designated a 1099-Misc to both spouse's.  It has to got the person who's SS# is on the form. 

 

 

Level 2
Mar 28, 2021 1:55:25 PM

Tried the 2019 solution for TurboTax and the 2020 TurboTax app will not let me enter 1099-MISC income from my broker without generating a Schedule C and Schedule SE.

 

Is there an update to this solution for 2020 or should I just delete the Schedules after entering the 1099-MISC data?

Level 10
Mar 28, 2021 2:20:38 PM

On the TurboTax app

 

  • Wages and Income
  • Other Common Income
  • Form 1099-MISC
  • Fill in the screens and then the reason for the income
  • Select None of these apply for the question Do One of These Common Situations Apply?
  • Not like your main job
  • Put correct answer for How Often
  • No for Intent to earn money

Does 1099-MISC mean self employed:




@GeneToo

Level 2
Mar 28, 2021 7:48:22 PM

The 1099-MISC in question is from a broker, the income is from an investment, and the income is reported on Line 3 - Other Income.

 

The Subject line (above) was cut short.  The rest of the story is that the 1099-MISC income is from a structured note investment with a brokerage firm.

Expert Alumni
Mar 29, 2021 5:03:21 AM

You are not self-employed, so you should follow these steps.  If you do not follow this posting procedure it will result in self-employment.  You would then have to pay 15.3% in self-employment tax (Social Security & Medicare).

 

Wages & Income

  • Scroll to Other Common Income
  • Select Income from a 1099-MISC
  • Post your information from the form [Continue]
  • Describe the reason for this 1099-MISC
  • Post Moving Incentive
  • Does one of these uncommon situations apply?
  • Select None of the above
  • Did the moving incentive involve work that's like your main job?
  • No
  • How often did you get income for moving incentive?
  • Check Got it in 2020
  • Did the moving incentive involve an intent to earn money?
  • Answer No

 

Level 15
Mar 29, 2021 5:30:17 AM

  • How often did you get income for moving incentive?
  • Check Got it in 2020 only

Lying to TurboTax to get it to do what you want does not constitute lying to the IRS.

Level 1
Apr 12, 2021 8:43:09 AM

Same issue, receive 1099-Misc for investments. TT keeps thinking it's from business even though I've stated otherwise. Too bad there wasn't a question for investment or not business so I could skip all other questions. I tried to electronically file but TT won't allow because it wants to know about my business for the 1099-misc investment money. This is one of those where I could have been finished filling out the form manually vs using TT. I've spent around 4 hours, with 2.5 trying to figure out this issue(researching, deleting first 1099-misc because of thinking it was business income). Only thing I clicked differently is that I know I will get the same 1099-misc for investments next year. I will unclick that box and see if anything changes. The investment is in both my wife and my name but it doesn't give the option???

Expert Alumni
Apr 12, 2021 8:56:38 AM

You can enter the 1099-MISC in TurboTax as "Other Common Income," which is reported on line 8 of 1040 Schedule 1 and will not generate Schedule C or SE tax.  Please use the following steps:

  1. Click on Federal > Wages & Income.
  2. Scroll down to the Other Common Income section. 
  3. Click on the Start/Revisit box next Form 1099-MISC. 
  4. On the screen Did you get a 1099-MISC?  click on the Yes button.
  5. On the next screen, Let's get the info from your 1099-MISC, enter the information from the 1099-MISC.
     
  6. On the following screens, answer the following questions:
    • Did it involve work that's like your main job? No.
    • You got it in 2020
    • No, it didn't involve an intent to earn money

 7.  Continue through the rest of the interview screens. The income will appear as Other Income.

 

@larrylhalljr

Level 15
Apr 12, 2021 10:49:43 AM

@larrylhalljr 

What kind of investment income was it?  What did you do to get this money.  And, why was it reported to you on a 1099-Misc? What box # on the 1099-Misc is the $ shown in?  And why are you going to get it every year?

 

Normal investment income (interest , dividends, capital gains/losses are not reported on a 1099-Misc.  If  the income is similar to interest and dividends, then reporting it as "other income", as described by others  is OK.  But, if this the sale of an asset or the return of capital, it needs to be handled differently. 

 

 

Level 1
Apr 13, 2021 5:19:00 PM

It's Investment income, don't understand why BlockFi LLC gave me that form vs the usual investment 1099? This investment income doesn't have anything to with any business.

Level 1
Apr 13, 2021 6:23:17 PM

Well, that didn't work, Turbo Tax has a major bug because now it won't e-file because it wants all kind of business information, which I don't have since I wasn't a business. The Interest Investment is for me, no business however TT still thinks this is for a business. That's a bug. I'm dead in the water. Like I said, I could have manually filled out the paperwork and have my refunds. TT should refund my money. Probably last year for using this product.

Level 15
Apr 13, 2021 6:33:07 PM

Delete the 1099-Misc. Re-enter and Follow Irene2805's instructions for entering the income . It goes on line 8 of Schedule 1, as "other Income" on a Form 1099-Misc. 

Enter the 1099-Misc

On the next screen Describe what the payment was for

On the next screen select "none of these apply"

On the next screen select "No it didn't involve work like my main job"

On the next screen select "I got it in 2020" ONLY

On the next screen select No, it didn't involve intent to earn money

 

 

From BlockFi Website:

If you’re a US taxpayer with reportable income, BlockFi may provide you with two separate reports related to your BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) and any trading activity you performed throughout the year.

According to the IRS, earning income on crypto is considered a taxable event in the US, and cryptocurrencies are generally treated as property (similar to gold or shares in publicly owned companies) for tax purposes. That means that interest paid to you on crypto assets are payments of property, making them subject to reporting through the 1099-Miscellaneous (also known as the 1099-MISC) form. Please note, only US taxpayers who have earned more than $600 of interest and bonuses in 2020 will have a 1099-MISC form, which will be available for download by January 31, 2021.

Additionally, US taxpayers who have traded during 2020 will receive a 1099-B form used to report activity. This report will be made available for download by February 15, 2021.

Level 2
Apr 14, 2021 8:35:05 AM

Actually, TurboTax can handle this but it depends on how you enter the information.

 

Follow the process as follows:

 

1.  Delete the 1099-MISC entry that created the Schedule C

 

2.  Go to forms and delete the Schedule C and the Schedule SE if one was created.

 

3.  Reenter the 1099-MISC as before except answer the follow-up questions as follows:

     (1) Check 'Got it in 2020' only, do not check previous years even if you did receive it previously.

     (2) Check the box that states that you do not intend to get the income next year. These answers trick TurboTax so that Schedules C & SE are not created.  

     (3) Go to forms to ensure that a Schedules C & SE were not created.

This solution was posted by others several weeks ago and it worked for me!

     

New Member
Apr 18, 2021 11:48:35 AM

The problem is the income does not show as other income... with those answers (especially no intent to make money) the income defaults to zero. It was income based on investments and taxes are owed, but the logic in TurboTax is making it look like zero income with no taxes owed.

Level 3
Feb 20, 2022 8:18:45 PM

I know this thread is from last year but I too got a 1099 MIsc as part of a composite broker statement. This is the first year I’ve had this new structured investment account. When I imported the overall statement TT did not import the 1099 MISC portion. Do so manually enter it? How do I attach the 1099 MISC to my return if I’m filing electronically?

Expert Alumni
Feb 20, 2022 8:34:38 PM

Yes, you will need to enter the 1099-MISC manually under Income and Expenses.   You will not need to attach the 1099-MISC with your tax return.  

 

To enter a 1099-MISC for miscellaneous income in TurboTax:

  1. Open or continue your return
  2. Select Search and search for 1099-misc
  3. Select the Jump to link in the search results
  4. Answer Yes to Did you get a 1099-MISC?
    • If you already entered a 1099-MISC, you'll be on the 1099-MISC Summary screen, in which case you'll select Add Another 1099-MISC
    • If you need to edit or delete a previously entered 1099-MISC, select the appropriate button
  5. Enter the info from your form into the corresponding boxes
    • If you need to enter boxes 4–6 or 8–17, check My form has other info in boxes 1–17 to expand the form

Boxes 1 and 2 missing from your 1099-MISC screen? Go back to the main 1099-MISC screen using the steps above.

 

How to Enter 1099-MISC

Level 15
Feb 21, 2022 4:47:19 AM

Generally, no 1099s are sent with your tax return, whether they are entered manually or imported. When TurboTax does need to send something, they are handled the same whether entered manually or imported.

Returning Member
Mar 27, 2022 9:59:30 PM

Hello,

 

For the 2021 tax year I received a 1099-MISC on a consolidated 1099 statement from TD Ameritrade.  That 1099-MISC consisted of entries on lines 2 and 3.  

 

If the 1099-MISC only contained line 3, the procedure above (described by Irene3 and others) works fine to put that amount on Schedule 1 and not create the Schedule C or SE.

 

The issue is that the Royalty income in line 2 asks its own set of questions. In particular it wants me to classify that income as either "Investment income from property you own" or "Royalty income from your business, including artist royalties or operating natural resource business (schedule C)" but neither applies.  If I pick "Investment income from property you own" a new Schedule E Worksheet is created and the other option will create a Schedule C.  Neither seems is appropriate as the Royalty income is from an investment in a publicly traded Trust.   

 

The new Schedule E Worksheet may not be a big issue if it is not filed as part of the return. But if it is, there is data there that is a bit strange.  I was forced to populate the "Property description" field on the worksheet.  Oddly TT added the description of the income required in the step-by-step interview "Investment Income" to the "Location (street address)" field in that worksheet.  That worksheet also required me to answer the question "Did you make any payments that would require you to file Form(s) 1099?".  All of this seems crazy as this royalty income is from an investment not a property that I directly own.

 

So, the question is, how to correctly enter this in TurboTax?

 

Thanks for input on this!