Getting a 1099-NEC for Speaking Engagements - Do I Need to Complete Schedule C?

Yes, you do need to file a Schedule C for this income. When your husband received a 1099-NEC, the IRS considers this self-employment income, even if he doesn't think of himself as having a "business." For the business questions, you can keep it simple: - General field: "Educational Speaking" or "Academic Consulting" - Product/service: "Speaking Services" or "Academic Presentations" - Business code: You can use 711510 (Independent Artists, Writers, & Performers) - Accounting method: Most individuals use "Cash" - Start date: Just put the date of the first speaking engagement - For retirement plan, just select "No" if he doesn't have a self-employed retirement plan Don't worry about making it more complicated than it needs to be. The main purpose is to properly report the income and take any legitimate deductions for expenses related to these speaking engagements (travel, materials prepared, etc.). Also, since this is self-employment income, he'll need to pay self-employment tax on it (Social Security and Medicare taxes). The Schedule C will flow to Schedule SE to calculate this.

Just wanted to share my experience with a similar situation. I was literally in the same boat last year when I got paid for doing some professional development workshops. I got stuck on all those business questions too until I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that walked me through exactly what to put on Schedule C for occasional 1099 work. The best part was I could upload my 1099-NEC and it analyzed it to tell me what deductions I could take for that specific type of work. Turns out I could deduct a portion of my home internet, my subscription to the presentation software I used, and even some books I bought for research. Ended up saving about $300 in taxes I would have otherwise paid. Wish I'd known about it sooner!

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. It was actually really helpful for my situation. I had a bunch of random 1099s from different side gigs (online tutoring, some freelance writing, and a focus group payment). The tool immediately identified all my 1099 income types and suggested the right business codes for each one. What surprised me most was how it flagged deductions I had no idea I could take - like my Zoom subscription for tutoring and even some books I bought for research. The step-by-step walkthrough for occasional 1099 work was exactly what I needed. Definitely easier than trying to piece together information from random tax websites!

Seems like you're getting some solid advice here, but I wanted to add that if you get stuck with any questions when filling out Schedule C or have issues with how the 1099-NEC is being reported, you might want to contact the IRS directly. Just a heads up though - I tried calling them last month about a similar issue and was on hold for nearly 2 hours before giving up. I ended up using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) after someone recommended it to me. They have this system where they wait on hold with the IRS for you and then call you when an agent is on the line. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was skeptical but figured it was worth a try since I wasn't getting anywhere on my own. Got a call back in about an hour with an actual IRS agent on the line who cleared up my Schedule C questions in about 10 minutes. Saved me hours of frustration and googling tax rules.

I have to admit I was really skeptical about that Claimyr service mentioned above. After trying unsuccessfully to reach someone at the IRS for weeks about my 1099 issues, I was desperate enough to try it this morning. The process was exactly as described - I entered my phone number, they called the IRS, and I got a call back about 45 minutes later with an IRS agent on the line. I was honestly shocked it worked. The agent helped me figure out the exact business code to use for my situation (turns out I had been using the wrong one for 2 years) and confirmed I was right about which expenses were deductible. Just wanted to confirm it's legit for anyone else stuck in IRS hold-time hell.

Just want to throw in another potential option - your husband might not necessarily need to file a full Schedule C if the speaking was very minimal and he doesn't plan to do it again. There's something called the "simplified Schedule C" or Schedule C-EZ that might be available. Some tax software will still walk you through the full Schedule C questions but produces the simplified version if you qualify. I believe the requirements are: no inventory, no employees, business expenses under $5,000, no home office deduction, no depreciation, and net profit. Might be worth checking if your software offers this option!

Don't forget that with self-employment income, even just from occasional speaking gigs, you'll need to pay the self-employment tax (15.3%) on top of income tax. That can come as a shock if you're not prepared for it. The good news is that you can deduct half of the self-employment tax on your 1040, and you can also take deductions for business expenses that will reduce the taxable amount.