Can I report personal 1099-MISC income on Schedule C for my Sole Proprietorship in the credit card rewards business?

Yes, you can include those 1099-MISCs on your Schedule C, even though they're in your personal name. What matters for Schedule C reporting is whether the income was earned through your business activities, not whose name is on the form. Since these credit card referrals are part of your regular business operations in the credit card rewards space, they should be reported on Schedule C along with your affiliate income. This approach is consistent and shows the IRS the complete picture of your business income. For your spouse's 1099-MISCs, that's a bit trickier. If your spouse isn't officially part of your business (not a partner or employee), then technically those earnings belong to her. The IRS might question why business income in her name is appearing on your Schedule C. You have a few options: 1) She could file her own Schedule C for her portion, 2) You could formalize a partnership arrangement, or 3) You could make her an employee of your business. Each has different tax implications.

I had this exact same problem last year with my points-hustle side business! I was so confused about how to report everything properly. I tried using TurboTax but kept second-guessing myself on where to put these 1099s. I finally used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my 1099 forms and business documentation. Their system helped me understand exactly how to categorize each income source based on my specific situation. They confirmed I could include my personal 1099-MISCs on my Schedule C since they were directly related to my business activities. What really helped was uploading my previous year's return along with all my current documents - their AI compared everything and identified which income streams belonged on which forms. Saved me hours of researching and worrying!

I just wanted to update everyone after trying taxr.ai based on the recommendation above. My situation was really similar - I run an affiliate marketing business with various types of income including points and referral bonuses. The service was seriously helpful! I uploaded all my 1099 forms (had about 8 of them, some in my name, some in my business name) and it clearly showed me which ones could go on Schedule C. Turns out I had been reporting some business income incorrectly in previous years. What I found most useful was the detailed explanation of WHY certain income qualified as business revenue even when the 1099 was issued to me personally. It helped me understand the distinction between business and personal income in a way that finally made sense. Definitely recommend if you're dealing with this kind of mixed income situation!

I had a similar issue with Chase and Amex referrals. Called the IRS three times trying to get a straight answer about how to handle the 1099-MISCs in my spouse's name, and kept getting put on hold forever or disconnected. Super frustrating! Finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent who could help. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when they get a human. The IRS agent confirmed that my spouse's referral income could be reported on Schedule C as long as it was genuinely part of the same business activity. She recommended keeping good records showing how all the referrals are part of one cohesive business operation in case of audit.

Ok I need to eat my words from my earlier comment. After struggling for THREE DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about my own 1099 issue, I broke down and tried Claimyr from the link above. I honestly didn't think it would work, but I got a call back in about 90 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent was able to confirm that for my situation (which is similar to the OP's), I could include all my credit card referral 1099-MISCs on my Schedule C as long as the activity was part of my regular business operations. The agent also warned me to keep very detailed records showing how all these different income streams are related to the same business, especially for the ones in different names. She said this is a common audit trigger point when they see 1099s with different names appearing on one Schedule C.

I've been in the credit card rewards game for about 5 years now, and here's what my CPA advised me: For the 1099-MISCs issued in your personal name, you're good to include them on Schedule C if they're genuinely part of your business activity. The business substance matters more than whose name is on the form. For your spouse though, we set up a separate Schedule C for her portion. It's the cleanest way to handle it with minimal risk. Yes, it means she pays her own SE tax on her earnings, but it avoids any questions about commingling income. Another option: if you want everything under one Schedule C, consider setting up a formal partnership agreement between you and your spouse. We chose not to go this route because it added more complexity than just doing two separate Schedule Cs.

Kinda late to this thread but something nobody has mentioned - if your spouse isn't actively involved in running the business and just lets you use their referral links, the IRS might see this as assignment of income which is a no-no. You can't just move income between people even if you're married. Make sure your spouse is actually doing something in the business if you're going to claim their 1099-MISC income as business income on either your Schedule C or theirs.