Can I file my 1099 income separately from my W2 forms?

Filing your taxes isn't an all-or-nothing situation, but you can't really split them up the way you're thinking. When you file your tax return, you need to report ALL your income on a single return - this includes both your W2 wages and your 1099 income. Filing two separate returns would essentially be filing twice, which could trigger issues with the IRS. What you might want to consider is filing your entire return yourself. Since you're 24, you're an adult and can take control of your own taxes. You'd need to get copies of your W2s from your employers or ask your dad for them. Then you can file everything together - W2s and 1099 - through tax software like H&R Block or TurboTax.

After reading the comments, I totally understand your situation. I was actually in a similar spot last year with some freelance work I was doing on the side. I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me figure out how to handle both my W2 and 1099 income together. It basically walks you through the whole process and explains what info you need from your forms. It's way less intimidating than trying to navigate the IRS website or regular tax software with no guidance.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that someone mentioned above. It was actually super helpful for my situation with both W2 and 1099 income! I uploaded my forms and it explained everything I needed to know about filing both types of income together. It also suggested deductions I had no idea about for my freelance work - apparently I could deduct part of my internet bill and even some of my apartment since I work from home! Ended up saving me like $740 compared to what I thought I'd owe. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the same boat.

Reading through this thread, I can see you're getting frustrated with the IRS guidelines. If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS about your specific situation (which might be smart before filing), I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent HOURS on hold with the IRS last tax season trying to get answers about my own 1099 situation until someone told me about this service. They actually get you through to an IRS agent, usually within 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Saved me a ton of stress when I needed clarification on how to handle some complicated income reporting.

I can't believe I'm saying this but that Claimyr thing actually works. I was super skeptical (as you can see from my comment above lol) but I was desperate to get an answer about my 1099 situation before filing. Decided to try it yesterday, and no joke, I was talking to an actual IRS representative in under 20 minutes. For context, I tried calling them directly THREE TIMES last week and never got through. The agent I spoke with was able to confirm exactly how I should handle reporting both types of income, which gave me peace of mind before filing. Didn't think I'd ever recommend anything IRS-related but here we are!

Everyone's focusing on the filing question, but I want to point out something important for your 1099 income - you probably need to pay quarterly estimated taxes if you're earning decent money from freelancing. The IRS expects you to pay taxes throughout the year, not just at filing time. I learned this the hard way and got hit with penalties my first year freelancing.

Just a heads up that your 1099 income is also subject to self-employment tax (Medicare and Social Security) on top of regular income tax. It's about 15.3% in addition to your normal tax rate. I got destroyed by this my first year freelancing cuz I had no idea 😭