Income from Babysitting

[stlrsgirl]

In August I will start babysitting for a friend at my house. She will pay me $115 a week. So I will get about $2300 for 2012. She wants to claim this on her taxes, and I need to show I have income coming in. How do I go about doing this? Do I just fill out a self employment tax form and giver her my SSN?

[flyingron]

She is obliged to file a 1099 for the money she gives you. She'll inquire what your SSN is (usually via a W-9, but it might be less formal). As an independent contractor, it is up to you to make the quarterly estimated taxes throughout the year and then file the appropriate schedules(E/SE) at the end of the year to report the actual income (what she paid you less any allowable expense).

[Bubba Jimmy]

Only businesses issue 1099 forms for such payments. Individuals do not. However, in order for her to claim the child and dependent care credit on her tax return, she will need your SSN and the W-9 form is the formal way to request this from her. The IRS will expect to see the same amount show up on your tax return. Schedule E is for rental real estate, you will be filing Schedule C for self-employemtn income and Schedule SE for the self-employment tax.

So, keep good records of how much she pays you and your expenses. Make sure the amount she tells them she paid you is the amount you report, or one of you is likely to be audited. They like things to match up that way.

[flyingron]

Sorry Bubba, but you are WRONG. Individuals are very much obliged to issue a 1099 if they pay a non-corporation, non-employee (employees are a whole 'nuther ball of wax) more than $600 in a tax year. However a lot of individuals don't know this, are mistaken, or just ignore the law. You're still obligated to keep track of your income and pay your taxes. A 1099 only comes at the end of the year anyhow on the best of circumstances and you'll need to track your income for the quarterly payments.

[Bubba Jimmy]

Sure, you are technically right. I didn't say individuals are not supposed to, I said they don't, and they don't. Every person in America who rents their residence and pays anyone other than a corporation is supposed to issue a 1099-MISC. Do you think they do so? Individuals do not issue these, and the IRS never pursues them for not issuing them. What I was trying to do is to set the OP's expectation that they will not receive one, and in all likelihood they won't. Individuals don't issue 1099's to their lawn mowing service providers, their handymen, and countless other people they pay. The IRS has never undertaken to enforce this theoretical requirement on anyone except those entities that wish to deduct the payments as business expenses.