1099-MISC income as a former employee

[elatkr36]

I got a 1099-MISC form for freelance work that I do as an independent contractor. When I was first entering the 1099-MISC information into Turbo Tax, it asked me whether any of this work was for a former employer. At first, I indicated that none of this work was for a former employer, and both my federal and state refund amounts increased. Then, I changed my mind and switched it to say that all of this work was for a former employer, and only my federal refund decreased but my state refund did not decrease. Should my state refund have decreased too when I indicated that all of this work was for a former employer?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

No.  That question is to determine QBI, which probably does not affect the state return.  If you receive a 1099-MISC from your employer, the IRS presumes that the income received should have been paid as wages and therefore not qualify for a QBI deduction.  This is why you are seeing the IRS refund decrease because the 20% QBI deduction is being disallowed.

However, most states do not recognize the deduction, so this Federal adjustment does not affect the state return.

However, if you were paid on a 1099-MISC when you were actually an employee, you should not pay self-employment tax on this income either.  You would pay 1/2 of social security and Medicare tax, and the company you worked for would have to pay the other 1/2.  To claim this would require you to file Form 8919.  To do this, click on the following link and follow the instructions provided by TurboTax Agent ChristinaS:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3658376