1099-MISC received for job interview travel expense reimbursements - is this correct?

You're absolutely right to question this! Reimbursements for actual documented business expenses generally shouldn't be reported as income on a 1099-MISC. When a company reimburses you for legitimate business expenses that you incurred on their behalf (like interview travel), those reimbursements are typically not considered taxable income. The company likely made a mistake here. What probably happened is their accounts payable department processed the payment and automatically generated a 1099-MISC because they paid money to a non-employee. However, they should have coded it differently in their system since it was a reimbursement for actual expenses with documentation. I'd recommend contacting the company's HR or accounting department right away. Explain the situation and ask them to issue a corrected form that doesn't include the reimbursement amount. If they understand tax rules, they should recognize their error and fix it. If they won't correct it, you can still handle this on your tax return. You would report the 1099-MISC amount on your return, but then deduct the same amount as an expense on Schedule 1, line 24a (Other Income) with a note that it's "reimbursed business expenses incorrectly reported on 1099-MISC." This way, it nets to zero for tax purposes.

I had almost the exact same situation last year! After struggling to figure out what to do, I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped clear things up completely. I uploaded my 1099-MISC and explained the reimbursement situation just like yours. Their system analyzed everything and explained exactly how to handle it on my tax return. They confirmed what the previous commenter said - that reimbursed expenses with documentation shouldn't be taxable, and they provided me with the proper wording to include on my return. The best part was they also generated a letter I could send to the company explaining why they needed to correct the form. I sent it, and within a week, the company issued a corrected 1099-MISC that didn't include the reimbursement amount. Saved me a ton of stress and potential IRS headaches!

Just wanted to update on my experience with taxr.ai after checking it out based on the recommendation here. It was actually incredibly helpful! I uploaded my 1099-MISC for my conference reimbursement situation and all my receipts. The system identified exactly what was reimbursement vs. actual income and generated a letter for me to send to the company. The company responded yesterday saying they're issuing a corrected form. They also provided me with instructions for how to file if I don't receive the corrected form in time. I was worried about having to talk to someone about my tax situation, but the automated guidance was really clear and I could tell it was tailored to my specific circumstance. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind alone!

Been there! If your company is being difficult about correcting the 1099-MISC (mine was), I found that getting someone on the phone at the IRS to confirm the proper handling can really help persuade them. But as we all know, actually REACHING someone at the IRS is nearly impossible... After spending hours on hold and getting disconnected three times, I started using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They somehow get you to the front of the IRS phone queue. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Once I actually got through to an IRS agent, I explained the situation, and they confirmed in writing that reimbursed business expenses with documentation shouldn't be reported as income. Forwarded that to the company's accounting department, and they finally issued a corrected 1099-MISC. Sometimes you just need that official confirmation to make companies do the right thing!

I need to apologize and eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was desperate enough to try it for a different tax issue (multiple state filing question). I was SHOCKED when my phone rang about 45 minutes after signing up, and there was an actual IRS agent on the line! I didn't have to sit through the hold music or navigate the phone tree at all. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to know about handling multiple state W-2s. For what it's worth, I think the previous advice about the 1099-MISC reimbursement is correct, but having an official IRS statement makes it so much easier if you get questioned later. Never thought I'd say this, but the service actually delivered what it promised.

Another approach - I had the same issue when interviewing with a tech company last year. What I did was contact the company's payroll department directly (not HR), and explained that reimbursements for actual expenses shouldn't be reported on a 1099-MISC. The payroll person initially pushed back saying "that's just how our system works," but when I mentioned that incorrectly issued 1099s could trigger IRS penalties for the COMPANY (not just create problems for me), they suddenly got very interested in fixing the problem! If you can't get anywhere with HR, try going to payroll or accounting with this angle. Companies definitely don't want IRS issues, and incorrectly issued 1099s can flag their accounts for review too.

Am I the only one who just reports these things as income and then deducts them as job search expenses on Schedule A? Since job hunting expenses aren't deductible anymore (thanks Tax Cuts & Jobs Act), I'd probably just pay the tax on it and move on rather than fighting with the company. It's annoying but sometimes the hassle of trying to get a corrected form isn't worth the tax savings, especially if it's not a huge amount. Just my two cents!

I went through this exact same situation two years ago with a Fortune 500 company. The key thing to understand is that this is actually a pretty common mistake companies make - their accounting systems often automatically generate 1099-MISC forms for any payment to non-employees without distinguishing between actual income and expense reimbursements. Here's what worked for me: I called their accounts payable department (not HR) and spoke with someone who actually understood the tax implications. I explained that under IRS guidelines, reimbursements for documented business expenses under an "accountable plan" shouldn't be reported as income. Even though they didn't formally call it an accountable plan, the fact that you provided receipts and they reimbursed actual expenses qualifies. The accounts payable person immediately understood the issue and issued a corrected 1099-MISC within a week. They told me this happens several times a year and they have a standard process for fixing it. If you can't get them to correct it, definitely don't just pay tax on money that was rightfully yours to begin with. The offset method on Schedule 1 that others mentioned is correct, but getting the company to fix their mistake is always the cleaner solution. Don't let them pass their accounting error onto your tax bill!