Where should I report self employed income from random side gigs?

This definitely counts as self-employment income! You'll need to report it on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) attached to your Form 1040. Even though you don't have a formal business setup, the IRS considers these side gigs as self-employment. Since you don't have 1099 forms, you'll need to keep track of all the cash payments yourself. I recommend creating a simple spreadsheet or even just writing down each payment with the date and amount. You don't need receipts from your clients, but having your own records is important in case of questions later. Remember that you can also deduct any expenses directly related to these side jobs - like if you bought tools for repairs or supplies for yard work. This will reduce your taxable income.

After struggling with this exact situation last year, I found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped me figure out my self-employment reporting. I was doing handyman work and pet sitting, getting paid in cash just like you, and had no idea how to handle it. The site helped me understand exactly where to report my cash income and which deductions I could take for my situation. I was able to upload photos of my handwritten income notes and it organized everything for me. It also walked me through the Schedule C form so I didn't miss anything important.

Ok I was totally skeptical about taxr.ai but I gave it a try after my initial comment. I'm eating my words now. This thing actually helped me sort out my side income from tutoring that I've been avoiding dealing with. The interface is super straightforward and asks you simple questions about what kind of work you do. I thought I wouldn't get any deductions at all from my tutoring work but it showed me several that applied to my situation I had no idea about. Ended up saving a decent amount in taxes. The best part was that it explained everything in regular human language instead of confusing tax speak.

For anyone struggling to get through to the IRS with questions about self-employment reporting, I had a really good experience using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). After spending literally hours on hold trying to confirm some details about my side income from food delivery, I was about ready to give up. Someone on another forum suggested Claimyr, and they have this system that somehow gets you through the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. When an agent was finally available, I got a call back and was connected right away. Saved me hours of waiting on hold!

I'm here to eat crow about my comment on Claimyr. I was completely wrong, and I apologize for being so dismissive. After my skeptical comment, I actually tried the service because I was desperate to resolve an issue with reporting my Etsy shop income. I had the same experience as the other commenter - the service called the IRS, waited on hold for over 2 hours (which I didn't have to do!), and then called me when an actual agent was on the line. The IRS agent I spoke with was able to clarify exactly how to categorize my various income streams. Would have taken me multiple attempts and probably a full day of being on hold to get this resolved on my own.

Just want to add that if your self-employment income is only from these cash jobs and totals less than $43,000 for the year, you might qualify to use Schedule C-EZ instead of the regular Schedule C. It's a simplified version for sole proprietors with simple business situations. But either way, definitely track all your income carefully and save receipts for any expenses related to the work. The IRS can get really picky about cash businesses since there's no paper trail.

Quick question - does anyone know if tax software like TurboTax handles this kind of cash income reporting well? Or is it better to use a specialized self-employment tool?

Just wanted to share my experience since I was in almost the exact same situation last year! I was doing landscaping and pet sitting for neighbors, all cash payments, and made about $3,800. You definitely need to report it all on Schedule C - there's no minimum threshold for reporting income, even if it's just $50. What really helped me was setting up a simple notebook where I wrote down every payment as soon as I got it. Date, amount, what the work was for. Super basic but it saved me when tax time came. One thing that caught me off guard was the self-employment tax. Since you made over $400, you'll owe about 15.3% of your net earnings for Social Security and Medicare on top of regular income tax. It's calculated on Schedule SE. But remember you can deduct business expenses - gas for driving to jobs, tools you bought specifically for the work, even supplies for dog sitting like leashes or treats if you provided them. The whole thing seemed overwhelming at first but once I got through it the first time, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Just keep good records and you'll be fine!