An independent contractor or self-employed individual should report income on Schedule C (Form 1040) Profit or Loss From Business. You may need to file other schedules and forms, including Schedule SE (Form 1040) Self-Employment Tax on income from a trade or business. You must report all income, even if you did not receive a Form 1099-MISC Miscellaneous Income. See IRS Instructions for Schedule C for more information.

To enter or edit Schedule C information:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then click Federal.
2. Click Business Income in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu to expand, then click Business income or loss from a sole proprietorship.
3. Click + Add Schedule C to create a new copy of the form or click Edit to review a form already created.
4. Continue with the interview process to enter all of the appropriate information.

If you received a Form 1099-MISC instead of a W-2, the payer of your income did not consider you an employee and did not withhold income tax or social security and Medicare tax. You are treated as an independent contractor for tax purposes, and this income is considered self-employment income. See the IRS 1099-MISC FAQ and the recipient instructions on page 5 of Form 1099-MISC for more information.

To enter or edit information reported to you on Form 1099-MISC, Box 14:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then click Federal.
2. Click Form 1099-MISC in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu, then click + Add Form 1099-MISC to create a new copy of the form or click Edit to review a form already created.
3. Continue with the interview process to enter all of the appropriate information.
4. On the screen titled 1099-MISC: Enter information on form, enter the Box 14 - Nonqualified deferred compensation amount, then click Continue.
5. On the screen titled What schedule or form should the income from this Form 1099-MISC be reported on?, select which schedule you will use from the Assigned schedule or form drop-down, then click Continue.
6. On the screen titled Please confirm that the income on this Form 1099-MISC is non-business income, check to confirm this is not subject to self-employment taxes, then click Continue.

If you are not sure whether you are an independent contractor or an employee, see Employee or Independent Contractor.

Related Links

• IRS Publication 15-A Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide
• IRS Publication 1779 Independent Contractor or Employee
• Topic No. 762 Independent Contractor vs. Employee

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.