what tax form must i fill out for this income?

Question

this past year I worked for a guy doing cleaning work. He paid me for each day with a check from his buisness checking account, given usually at the end of the week. He told me I would have to claim my earnings at tax time. this total amount is $2000. Now I never filled out any w4s or any forms from him
so no taxes were taken out. He has now sent me a w2 stlyed form with this amount in the (wages,tips,ect). box, his name, buis. name, EIN #, ect. all in the correct spots but none of the other boxes filled in, obviously because nothing was taken out. I know this is not to be put on a w2 form even though it is printed on one, and assume he just printed it out this way because it was an easy template on his computer. but this gives me no indication of what form it should be on. Is this amount to be put on a 1099? if so which one, I know there are a few?

Answer 1

Answer: IRS schedule C

You were a private contractor doing freelance work... essentially running your own business. You need to pay income tax plus social security tax on this income. However, you can deduct any business expenses you incurred.

The person who paid for your services could provide you with a 1099-MISC, but it isn't required. You report the income on schedule C.

Answer 2

You will need to file a simple Schedule C, Self Employment tax form, and pay self-employment tax on the income you made. If it turns out that you owe extra taxes for this income, then for the next tax year, you will be expected to make estimated tax payments on a quarterly basis.

One thing that is helpful, if you have other jobs throughout the year, is to claim "0" dependents on your W2 forms for other employers, or to have an extra $15 taken out of your paycheck at your regular job each week. That way, the self employment taxes from your side work will be covered without you having to send in an estimated tax voucher each quarter, and you may even get a nice refund at the end of the year!

Answer 3

It does sound fishy to me. If you never filled out a W-4 to claim anything, and for that much money you could probably overlook it, but since he probably wrote you off as a business expense, you probably should file the income you earned from this.

I have never been in this situation before, but I go to H&R Block for taxes. They don't get us the best returns, I know, but I do have peace of mind that they filed our income conservatively and will probably not have to go through an audit.