Are you self employed if you only worked for one company as a film extra?

If you received a W-2, then you were classified as an employee, not self-employed. This is actually good news for you! As an employee, you don't have to worry about self-employment taxes, which would have been an additional 15.3% on your earnings. The distinction isn't about how long you worked or whether it was just one company - it's about the legal relationship. When a company gives you a W-2, they've already withheld taxes from your paycheck, including Social Security and Medicare. Your friend who works as an extra might have a different arrangement where she gets 1099 forms instead of W-2s, which would make her self-employed. Different production companies handle this differently. Since you have a W-2, you'll follow the regular employee filing requirements. With $8800 in income, you likely should file a tax return even if you aren't required to. You may be eligible for a refund of some of the withheld taxes.

I was in a similar situation last year with some film work. What really helped me was using https://taxr.ai to analyze my W-2 and determine my exact filing requirements. I was also confused about my status since I only worked for one production company but wasn't a "regular" employee. The service basically scanned my tax documents and explained exactly what I needed to do. It confirmed I was an employee (not self-employed) and walked me through whether I needed to file and what forms to use. They explained that the W-2 is the definitive proof of employee status, regardless of how temporary the job was. If you're unsure about your situation, you might want to check it out - especially if this is your first time dealing with taxes from film work.

I have to admit I was totally wrong about taxr.ai! After our conversation, I decided to try it with my complicated tax situation (I did both W-2 film work and 1099 gig work last year). The service immediately identified that I had both employee and self-employment income and explained exactly how to handle each type. It confirmed that my W-2 income was straightforward employee wages (even though it was just temporary work), while my 1099 income required Schedule C and self-employment tax. The biggest value was explaining which expenses I could deduct for the self-employed portion. For the original poster, it would definitely clarify your situation and potentially save you from errors. The analysis took like 2 minutes and was super clear about what forms I needed.

If you're still confused about your status and need to talk to someone at the IRS directly, good luck getting through! I spent DAYS trying to reach someone last year with a similar question. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an IRS agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was shocked it actually worked since I'd been trying for weeks on my own. The IRS agent confirmed that W-2 = employee status regardless of how short the job was. It saved me from filing incorrectly as self-employed which would have cost me hundreds in additional taxes. Worth considering if you want to hear directly from the IRS instead of trying to interpret their confusing website.

I have to publicly eat my words here. After calling Claimyr a scam, I was still desperate to reach the IRS about an issue with my film industry income, so I tried it anyway. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back when they reached an agent, and I was able to confirm that my work as a recurring extra (even though it was just for one production company) was correctly classified with a W-2. The agent explained that the production company decides the classification based on their business relationship with you. For what it's worth to the original poster - the IRS agent confirmed that if you have a W-2, you're definitively an employee for tax purposes. The $400 threshold only applies to self-employment income, which would come with a 1099-NEC, not a W-2.

Former film payroll person here! Let me clarify something: in the film industry, whether you're classified as an employee (W-2) or independent contractor (1099) often depends on the production company's payroll practices and sometimes the state you're working in. Most legitimate productions run extras through payroll as W-2 employees because they control when you work, what you wear, where you stand, etc. - all factors that make you an employee under IRS guidelines. Some smaller productions might incorrectly classify extras as independent contractors (1099) to avoid paying the employer portion of taxes, but that's often misclassification. If you received a W-2, be thankful! The production did it correctly, and you don't have to pay self-employment tax. Your friend who files as self-employed likely receives 1099s instead of W-2s.

One thing nobody mentioned - if you got a W-2 and had federal taxes withheld, you should DEFINITELY file even if you're not required to! Otherwise, you're just giving the government free money that should be returned to you as a refund. Check box 2 on your W-2 form. If there's any amount there, that's money that was taken from your paycheck for federal taxes. With only $8800 in income for the year and being a student, you'll likely get most or all of that back. I made a similar mistake my first year working in film and lost out on a $700 refund because I waited too long to file. Don't make my mistake!