How do I report my income if I’m self-employed?

There are lots of ways to track  your income if you are self-employed depending on the work you do and how you are paid. You’ll want to gather information about how much you were paid, as well as expenses, if you have any. It’s really important to file a tax return if you were self-employed. Even if you think you didn’t make much money, you must file a return if you make over $400 during the year through self-employment or gig economy work. 

Sometimes, your employer will help keep track of your income and will send you a 1099 form, usually a 1099-NEC or 1099-K, or sometimes both. If you are paid in cash, you’ll usually need to keep track of that on your own. It’s good to keep track during the year but you can also look through bank transactions if you didn’t.

Many people who are self-employed are also allowed to include expenses on their tax return. This can reduce the amount of tax you pay each year. Common expenses are things like mileage and supplies. It’s also good to keep a log of expenses during the year. 

If you work a gig-economy job like Uber, Lyft, or Door Dash, some of this information will be saved in your portal or app. 

All of this information will be included on your tax return on a Schedule C form. Once you get in the habit of tracking and filing these types of tax returns, it gets a little easier but if it’s your first time filing this type of return we recommend you try our File with Help option to work with a tax team to be sure you include all of the income and expenses that you should.