How does my side job affect my taxes?

You’re considered self-employed—even if it’s just something you do on the side, like drive for Uber, babysit, or blog.

Your taxes are handled differently than when you’re an employee of a company.

As a self-employed individual you:

• will pay self-employment tax (because income tax and Social Security aren’t deducted from your pay)
• will get a 1099-MISC or 1099-K (unless you only accept cash or personal checks)
• file a Schedule C, Form 1040 (this is how you report business expense or loss of income)
• can deduct money you spent on work-related expenses (like mileage, home office expenses, and cell phone use)
• can estimate the taxes that are due and make quarterly estimated tax payments during the year

Get started by entering your income from self-employment. We’ll handle the rest, from creating the forms you need to reviewing work-related expenses that can help reduce your taxes.

Related Information:

• Where do I enter Schedule C?
• What self-employed expenses can I deduct?
• What is the self-employment tax?
• What is this new 20% business deduction?