Reporting income for music lessons and recording sessions

[jsspbusiness]

We have income from private music lessons and recording sessions. They were cash only transactions, the lessons via Venmo (but no 1099 from Venmo), the recording sessions in cash. How/where do these get reported on the tax return? Is there a threshold where they aren't required to be reported?

[MonikaK1]

All income needs to be reported on your tax return unless it is specifically excluded by law. Even though you weren't issued a Form 1099, the income is still taxable. If you receive $400 or more in net income from self-employment, after expenses, you may have self-employment taxes (which will add to your Social Security account).

You can enter your cash income in TurboTax as follows, in Federal Taxes:

1. Go to Wages & Income
2. In the Self-Employment section (you may need to click Show more), next to Income and Expenses, click Start (or Revisit)
3. When asked "Did you have any self-employment income or expenses?" select Yes
4. You'll see the screen titled "Tell us the type of self-employment work you do." Enter your description, then Continue. Follow the prompts to set up a line of work and enter income.

In order to properly report a Schedule C with income and expenses, use the Self-Employed online product or the Home and Business desktop product. See here for more information about online products and here for more information about desktop products.

Click here for more information about reporting self-employment income and deductions using TurboTax.

[jsspbusiness]

Thank you for your response. Are your instructions for entering self employment income described for the online product? I have the Premier product, is it possible to enter it somewhere using that product or do I need the Home/Business version?

[MichelleLO · Accepted solution]

Yes, you will need to upgrade to TurboTax Home and Business Desktop to report self-employment income.  You can upgrade your software by following the steps in the below TurboTax help article.

How do I upgrade my TurboTax for Windows software?

[jsspbusiness]

We use the Mac product, I found the Upgrade menu item at the top of the screen and went through the upgrade process but did not see an upgrade happen. And the banner at the top of the return still showed Premier. Where do I go to get the upgrade? 

[jsspbusiness]

You can ignore my last reply. I found the download in our online account.

[Critter-3]

You ONLY need to upgrade to the Self Employed ONLINE version to enter the income and expenses on the Sch C.

If you use the Downloaded/CD version you can use ANY of them since all downloaded programs handle all the same tax forms.   Upgrading to Home & Business is "recommended"  but it is NOT required.

[jsspbusiness]

I was not able to find any spot for an entry for self-employed income in the Premier product; at least not one with a description that matched (or was close) to our situation. Perhaps I need to go directly to the Schedule C form to make the entry?

[MichelleLO]

The below TurboTax help article provides information and instructions for completing your Schedule C. 

Where do I enter Schedule C?