What Do I Put in the "Other Income" Box on My Tax Return?

The "Other Income" box (usually on Line 8z of Form 1040, Schedule 1) is for reporting income that doesn't fit elsewhere on your tax return. This includes things like: - Jury duty pay - Gambling winnings - Prizes and awards - Income from a hobby - Canceled debts - Alaska Permanent Fund dividends For your Facebook Marketplace sales, you generally don't need to report those if you sold the items for less than you originally paid for them. That's considered a personal loss, not income. However, if you sold something for more than you paid, the profit technically should be reported. The $200 Venmo for concert tickets isn't income if you're just being reimbursed for what you paid. If you bought tickets for $180 and your friend gave you $200, technically that $20 profit could be reported as other income, but many people wouldn't report such a small amount from a one-time personal transaction.

After spending hours reading through confusing tax stuff about "other income," I finally found a better way to handle this. I uploaded a photo of my tax documents to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed everything for me. The site explained that for casual Facebook Marketplace selling of personal items at a loss, I didn't need to report anything since it wasn't income (actually lost money on that old furniture!). It also clarified my questions about some freelance writing I did ($350) that definitely needed to go in the other income box with a description. The AI even explained exactly where to put it on Schedule 1 and how to describe it. Saved me so much headache trying to interpret IRS jargon!

Just wanted to follow up about using taxr.ai since I was asking about it earlier. I decided to try it with my messy notebook of side income and omg it actually worked! I uploaded pictures of my chicken-scratch notes from dog sitting ($840), yard work ($275), and craft sales ($1200) and it identified everything perfectly. It explained that my craft sales needed to go on Schedule C since that's more of a business activity with profit motive, while the dog sitting and yard work could go as other income on Schedule 1. It even caught that I should be considering self-employment tax on some of this! Definitely worth it since I was totally confused about what goes where.

Anyone else spend hours trying to get through to the IRS on the phone for clarification about the "other income" section? I gave up after being on hold for 2+ hours! Then a friend suggested trying https://claimyr.com and showed me this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super skeptical but tried it anyway. It actually got me a callback from the IRS in about 45 minutes (instead of waiting on hold forever). The agent explained exactly what needed to go in the other income box for my situation (plasma donations and some online focus group payments). Honestly felt like a life hack for dealing with the IRS.

I need to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment yesterday, I decided to try it myself because I was desperate to talk to someone about my "other income" issues (had questions about cryptocurrency staking rewards that didn't fit anywhere on the form). I still can't believe it, but I got a call back from an actual IRS person in about an hour. The agent was super helpful and explained that crypto staking rewards should go in the "other income" section with a description. He even walked me through exactly how to report it. I've literally never been able to get through to the IRS before without waiting 3+ hours. Consider me shocked and converted.

For "Other Income," don't forget about things like jury duty pay, canceled debts, and recovery of previously deducted expenses. I had to report income from a class action lawsuit settlement last year. Also, if you're reporting losses from the sale of personal items, that doesn't actually go in the "other income" box - those aren't deductible so they don't go anywhere.

Does anyone know if cash tips that weren't reported to your employer should go in "other income"? I worked as a dog walker and got about $490 in cash tips throughout the year, but it wasn't through the app so nothing was officially reported.

This thread has been super helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation but have a specific question about reporting income from selling handmade items. I started making jewelry as a hobby during the pandemic and sold about $850 worth through Instagram and local craft fairs this year. The materials probably cost me around $300 total. Should this go in "other income" or do I need to file Schedule C since I was actively trying to make sales? I wasn't really thinking of it as a "business" but I did keep track of expenses and was definitely trying to make a profit. The line between hobby and business seems really blurry here and I don't want to mess this up!

This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been putting off doing my taxes because I was so confused about this "other income" section. Based on everyone's responses, it sounds like I need to be more systematic about this. I have a few different situations: I sold my old textbooks for about $320 (definitely less than I paid for them originally), got a $100 referral bonus from my bank, and made $180 helping my neighbor build a deck. From what I'm reading here, the textbook sales don't need to be reported since I sold at a loss, but the bank referral bonus and the deck work should go in "other income." One question though - should I put each item on a separate line with descriptions, or can I combine them? Like "Bank referral bonus $100, Construction work $180" all on line 8z? The forms don't seem super clear about whether you need to itemize each source separately or if you can group similar things together.