Do I need an EIN for hobby photography when a company wants a W-9 but I don't plan to make it a business?
I'm a hobbyist photographer and recently a company approached me about buying some of my work. They're offering to pay me $600 for a few pieces, which is awesome! But now they're asking me to fill out a W-9 form with my SSN. I have absolutely zero intention of turning photography into a business. I love my regular job and just want to keep photography as something I do for fun on the weekends. I'm totally fine paying taxes on this income and don't really care about deducting expenses (honestly, the amount is so small it's not worth setting up a whole bookkeeping system for it). My main concern is I'm not super comfortable giving out my SSN to this company. I was thinking maybe I should get an EIN instead to protect my personal information. Here's what I'm wondering: 1. If I go ahead and get an EIN, does that automatically mean I have to file a Schedule C for business income? 2. Can I still report this as hobby income on my 1040 Schedule 1 line 8 "other income" even if I have an EIN? 3. Would creating an LLC with an EIN somehow force me into treating this as a business rather than a hobby? I just want to protect my SSN while keeping things simple tax-wise since this is truly just a one-off hobby payment.
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Adrian Connor
You've got a common dilemma for hobbyists who occasionally sell their work! Let me help clarify: Getting an EIN to protect your SSN is actually a smart move and doesn't automatically turn your hobby into a business. The IRS allows individuals to obtain EINs for various reasons, including privacy protection when providing tax ID info to others. Having an EIN doesn't force you to file Schedule C, though it might make sense to do so anyway. The key factor isn't whether you have an EIN, but whether your activity is considered a hobby or a business based on IRS criteria (profit motive, time spent, expertise, etc.). For hobby income, you're correct that it typically goes on Schedule 1, Line 8 as "other income." However, since 2018's tax law changes, hobby expenses are no longer deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions, which is why some people prefer to treat occasional income as business income. If you truly want to maintain hobby status, getting an EIN is fine - just be consistent in how you report the income on your tax return.
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Aisha Jackson
•Thanks for the info! Quick question though - if they're only paying $600, wouldn't they issue a 1099-NEC? And if they do, wouldn't the IRS expect to see that income on Schedule C since 1099s are usually for self-employment? Would using just an EIN but putting the income on Schedule 1 line 8 cause a mismatch in IRS systems?
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Adrian Connor
•Yes, for $600 or more, they would likely issue a 1099-NEC, and you're asking a good question about potential mismatches. The IRS computer systems do try to match 1099 income with what's reported on your return, but they don't automatically require Schedule C filing just because you received a 1099. When you receive a 1099-NEC but are reporting the income as a hobby on Schedule 1, it's a good practice to include a simple statement with your tax return explaining that the 1099 income is being reported as hobby income on Schedule 1, Line 8. This helps prevent automated notices from the IRS about "missing" income.
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Ryder Everingham
I was in almost the exact same situation last year with my woodworking hobby! A local boutique wanted to sell some of my pieces and asked for a W-9. I was really concerned about giving out my SSN too. I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out the whole hobby vs. business distinction and what I needed to file. They analyzed my situation and showed me that I could get an EIN without committing to being a business. Their system asked me questions about my intent, frequency of sales, and profit history, then gave me personalized guidance. They even explained exactly how to report the income correctly so it wouldn't trigger unnecessary IRS attention. Totally worth checking out if you're confused about how to handle occasional income from creative work!
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Lilly Curtis
•Wait, can they really help with this specific hobby photography situation? I'm in a similar boat (occasional paid gigs but definitely not a business) and worried about messing up my taxes.
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Leo Simmons
•I've never heard of this service. Is it actually legitimate? Seems like there are lots of tax scams out there and I'm naturally wary of random tax websites.
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Ryder Everingham
•They absolutely can help with photography situations! Their questionnaire specifically covers creative fields including photography, and they have tailored advice for different types of occasional income. They'll help clarify exactly what you need to do based on frequency of gigs and other factors. As for legitimacy, I was skeptical too initially. They're a newer service but they have certified tax professionals reviewing everything. What convinced me was that they didn't make exaggerated claims - they actually pointed out when I didn't need certain forms rather than trying to upsell me on unnecessary services. Their document analysis saved me from misclassifying my income.
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Lilly Curtis
Just wanted to follow up after using taxr.ai that someone recommended above. It actually cleared up my confusion about hobby vs. business classification! They analyzed my photography sales pattern (like 3-4 paid gigs a year) and confirmed I could safely use an EIN without being forced into business status. The best part was they explained exactly how the 1099 income matching works in IRS systems and provided specific wording to include with my tax return to avoid triggering automated letters. They also showed me how to structure things so if my photography income increases in the future, I'd have a clear path to transition to Schedule C reporting without raising red flags. For anyone else confused about this hobby income situation, it really helped clarify the right approach based on my specific circumstances!
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Lindsey Fry
I had a similar issue but with selling handmade jewelry. When companies started asking for W-9s, I was getting nowhere with the IRS phone line trying to figure out if I needed an EIN or if I'd be forced into filing business taxes. After days of frustration, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS representative in about 15 minutes! They have this cool system where they wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when they reach a live person. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that getting an EIN for privacy protection is totally legitimate even for hobby income, and explained exactly which forms I needed to file. Saved me hours of hold time and confusion!
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Saleem Vaziri
•How exactly does that service work? Do they just call the IRS for you? I'm confused how that would be any different than me calling myself.
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Leo Simmons
•This sounds like BS honestly. The IRS wait times are ridiculous by design. No way some random service can magically get through when millions of people can't. What's the catch here?
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Lindsey Fry
•It works by using their system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold so you don't have to. You basically register on their site, provide your phone number, and they call the IRS. When they finally reach a human agent (which can take hours), their system calls you and connects you directly to that live IRS agent. You never have to wait on hold yourself. The difference from calling yourself is that you don't waste hours of your day listening to hold music. You just get a call when there's actually someone to talk to. I was skeptical too until I tried it - the IRS wait times are still the same, but you're not personally sitting there waiting.
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Leo Simmons
Ok I need to eat my words about that Claimyr service from above. After being totally skeptical, I decided to try it because I've been trying to reach the IRS for 3 weeks about a similar hobby income question. I signed up yesterday, and this morning I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent! I was honestly shocked. The agent confirmed that having an EIN for my occasional hobby sales is perfectly fine and won't force me into business status. She explained that the key determining factor is how I treat the activity and report the income, not whether I have an EIN. She also walked me through exactly how to report hobby income that comes with a 1099-NEC to avoid any mismatches in their system. Saving 3+ hours of hold time was absolutely worth it. Never thought I'd be recommending a tax service but here we are!
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Kayla Morgan
Just my two cents as someone who does photography as a side gig - you might actually be better off filing Schedule C even if you consider it a hobby. Since the 2018 tax law changes, you can't deduct hobby expenses anymore, but with Schedule C you can deduct your camera equipment, editing software, etc. Even if you're not trying to make it a business, if you occasionally sell photos, the IRS might view it as a business activity anyway. Plus having an EIN and treating it as self-employment gives you more credibility with future clients. Just something to consider! The tax savings from deducting even basic equipment costs might be worth the slightly more complicated filing.
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James Maki
•But doesn't filing Schedule C mean you have to pay self-employment tax on top of regular income tax? That's an extra 15.3% right? Wouldn't that wipe out any benefit from the deductions unless you have a ton of expenses?
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Kayla Morgan
•You're right about the self-employment tax, which is about 15.3% on net profit. But photography equipment is expensive! If you've purchased a decent camera, lenses, tripod, editing software, etc., those deductions can significantly reduce your taxable profit. For example, if you made $600 but had $400 in legitimate expenses, you'd only pay self-employment tax on $200. That's much better than paying regular income tax on the full $600 with no deductions. Plus, you can deduct mileage to photo locations, a portion of your home internet if you use it to transfer/upload photos, cloud storage costs, etc. Just keep good records of your expenses and make sure they're genuinely related to the photography work. Even with occasional sales, the deduction benefits often outweigh the self-employment tax costs.
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Jasmine Hancock
Wait a minute, I'm confused about something. If photography is truly just a hobby and not a business, isn't there a limit to how much you can deduct? I thought you couldn't claim losses on a hobby - like your deductions can't exceed your income from the hobby. Is that still true?
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Cole Roush
•You're mixing up two different concepts. If you file as a business on Schedule C, you can claim losses (expenses exceeding income). If it's a hobby, you used to be able to deduct expenses up to the amount of income, but that was eliminated with the 2018 tax law changes. Now hobby expenses aren't deductible at all - you report all the income but get no deductions. That's why many people with "hobby" income now choose to file Schedule C instead - to actually get the deductions. But the IRS has a "hobby loss rule" where if you show losses for too many years (generally 3+ out of 5), they may reclassify your business as a hobby and disallow those losses.
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