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File taxes when you have both 1099 and W-2 income

by Intuit• Updated about an hour ago

Learn what to do if you need to file a 1099-MISC and W-2 during tax season.

Self-employed individuals don't always just work for themselves. Many also work for an employer as a formal employee. You get a W-2 to report this type of income. Here’s what to expect if you get a 1099-MISC/NEC and W-2, and how to handle them in QuickBooks Money.

Learn about 1099 and W-2 income

Both the

1099-MISC/NEC

and

W-2

are tax forms, but they report different types of income.

A 1099-MISC/NEC is what you get from the client or individual you're contracted to work with. It reports your self-employed income.
A W-2 is what you get from your employer when you're a formal employee. It reports the income you make as an employee.

One major difference is how both types of income are taxed. If you work for someone as an employee, your employer usually takes taxes out of each paycheck. This is known as "withholding." Your W-2 includes your total earnings and how much was withheld for taxes and sent to the government.

When you work for someone as an independent contractor, they usually don't withhold taxes. That means you need to do your own withholding and pay for taxes. Your 1099-MISC/NEC includes your total earnings since no taxes were taken out.

How your income is taxed

Everyone pays a percentage of their income to cover Social Security and Medicare taxes. As an employee, you split the cost with your employer. You usually pay around half and your employer covers the other half.

If you're self-employed, you cover all of your taxes. This may mean you pay more taxes than an employee for the same amount of income. However, you can usually deduct some of your business-related expenses. This can greatly reduce the amount of taxes you actually owe in the end.

The person who hired you as an independent contractor needs specific info to fill out and submit your 1099-MISC/NEC. If they use QuickBooks Online, they can invite you to fill out a W-9 form. This makes it easy to send your info and get your 1099-MISC/NEC when it's ready.

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