If I earned a one-time $500 consulting honorarium with no paperwork (no 1099) do I report it as self-employment income or other misc. income (no business, just wages)?

[TeresaM · Accepted solution]

If this is an occasional thing and is not primarily to make money, you will enter your honorarium income as Other Income. The interview will ask if you did it last year, and if you intend to do it again next year. This will be entered in Wages and Income, from the menu on the left

1. Income and Expenses
2. Scroll all the way down to Less Common Income and click Show More
3. Select Start or Revisit for Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C 
4. Scroll down to Other reportable income

If you do this on a somewhat regular basis, with an intention of making money, then you will need to enter it as Self-employment Income also in Wages and Income, on the left menu:

1. In Income and Expenses
2. Click on Show More for Self-Employment
3. Select Start or Revisit next to Self-Employment
4. Yes, to Do you have any self-employment income or expenses
5. Enter the type of self-employment work that sent the honorarium.
6. Click through a few more screens and you will get to a screen that says "Your XX info"
7. Click Looks good
8. Then you will come to a screen that says Let's enter the income for your business.  It will give you the option of Other Income cash and checks.  

[tax44]

Thanks,  It is the first case - other income, not a business, one-time event.

[gtd1234]

Thanks.  However, what if you receive a 1099-NEC form for the honorarium?  Do you still report it under other reportable income, and not enter the 1099-NEC into TT?  Or something else?  

[AbrahamT]

Here's how you are going to handle this.

The income that you received from the honorarium "without" a 1099NEC, you will enter as follows;

On the top of the screen, hit Wages& Income

Then scroll down to the bottom, Less Common Income

Then hit Misc. Income

then scroll down to the bottom and hit "Other Reportable Income"

In the description,enter "Other Income"

then;

the income you received from the honorarium with a 1099NEC 

you enter in the upper right hand corner in the search bar of the screen -1099NEC

then "Jump to NEC"

then you would fill out all the information in the next screen including the amount you received from the honorarium

then in the next screen which asks you to Describe the reason for this 1099NEC, you would say "Other Income"

Now, when you go to forms, Sch 1, you should see Line 8z Other income describing

as follows; one of the items received from the honorarium from the 1099NEC

and the other item from honorarium that did not come from the NEC like this

And which will also appear on the "Other Income worksheet like this