Reporting private income on taxes without my parents knowing: How do I disclose extra income to IRS but keep specific source hidden from parents who file my taxes?

8 The easiest solution is to file your own taxes this year. You're clearly an adult, and learning to handle your tax situation is an important life skill anyway. Most tax software makes this pretty straightforward. If you absolutely must have your parents file for you, you have a few options: You could report the income as "miscellaneous income" or "independent contractor" work without specifying the exact nature. The 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC you receive likely doesn't specify "sperm donation" on it - it probably just shows the company name and payment amount. You could also file a separate Schedule C for this income yourself, pay the appropriate self-employment taxes on it, and then provide your parents with your other tax documents while letting them know you've already handled a portion of your income separately. The cleanest solution is really to take over your own tax filing. There are many affordable or free tax software options that make this pretty simple, even for beginners.

17 I was in a really similar situation last year - not the same type of income but definitely something I didn't want my family knowing about. I tried using regular tax software but got confused with some of the forms and reporting requirements. Then I found https://taxr.ai which was seriously helpful for my situation. They have this service where they analyze your tax documents and special situations confidentially, and they helped me figure out exactly how to report my "sensitive" income properly without raising flags with my family. They walked me through the whole process of filing independently for the first time too. I know it sounds like an ad but it seriously saved me from a super awkward conversation with my parents.

5 Just wanted to follow up - I ended up using that taxr.ai service the other person mentioned, and it actually worked perfectly for my situation! It guided me through reporting my "special" income correctly while keeping the details private, and I was able to file completely on my own without my parents' help. The system asked me questions about my situation and then showed me exactly how to categorize everything properly. I even learned a ton about tax filing in general which made me feel like an actual adult for once. My parents asked why I wanted to do my taxes myself this year and I just told them I felt it was time to learn - they were surprisingly cool with it!

11 Let me tell you about my experience with a similar situation. I had some side income I didn't want my family to know about, and I needed to talk to someone at the IRS to make sure I was filing correctly. It took me FOREVER to get through - I was on hold for over 2 hours and then got disconnected. Super frustrating! Then I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in like 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent was actually super helpful and completely non-judgmental. They explained exactly how to report my income properly without my parents finding out the source. Basically confirmed what others here have said - file your own taxes and report the income as "independent contractor" or "miscellaneous income." The IRS doesn't care about the specifics of how you earned it, just that you're reporting it correctly.

22 I'm back to eat my words! After being skeptical about both services mentioned here, I decided to try Claimyr since I also needed to talk to the IRS about a sensitive income situation. Not only did it actually work, but I got through to an agent in about 20 minutes when I had previously spent THREE HOURS on hold and never got through. The agent walked me through exactly how to report my income in a way that satisfied tax requirements without revealing specific details to anyone helping with my taxes. For what it's worth, I ended up filing my own taxes for the first time, and it was actually way easier than I expected once I got proper guidance.

3 Why not just hand your parents all your tax forms EXCEPT the 1099 from the donation place, then file an amended return later adding that income? That way your parents never see it but you're still reporting everything to the IRS properly.

16 Another option nobody mentioned - you could just tell your parents you received a 1099 for some freelance work or consulting, but be vague about what exactly you did. "I helped a medical company with some research" isn't exactly a lie. They don't need to know all the specific details, just that you had reportable income.