This is a question for anyone who has declared survey income on their taxes; do you have to pay Social Security tax on it? Does it get treated as independent contractor income or...?

Reps to anyone who can help!! :nod:

I'm not a tax professional but if you receive income from any 'company' in excess of $600 in any calendar year, that is considered taxable income which will be reported on a 1099-MISC. In turn that would have to be reported as self-employed income reported on a Schedule C. So, if you made over $600 with ANY company, they would all send you a 1099-MISC. This is a very complicated topic and beyond my scope but the bottom line is you pay 15.3% of your "net" earnings which is your gross minus any business expenses.

There's a lot of information here on the IRS.gov site.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98846,00.html

I'm not a tax professional but if you receive income from any 'company' in excess of $600 in any calendar year, that is considered taxable income which will be reported on a 1099-MISC. In turn that would have to be reported as self-employed income reported on a Schedule C. So, if you made over $600 with ANY company, they would all send you a 1099-MISC. This is a very complicated topic and beyond my scope but the bottom line is you pay 15.3% of your "net" earnings which is your gross minus any business expenses.

There's a lot of information here on the IRS.gov site.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=98846,00.html

Thanks for the very helpful info and link. I have always earned less than $600 from any given survey company.

This is a question for anyone who has declared survey income on their taxes; do you have to pay Social Security tax on it? Does it get treated as independent contractor income or...?

Reps to anyone who can help!! :nod:

Long-time Lurker, First-Time Poster. Former Librarian, now full-time Mom.

While the $600.00 threshold for a single company is true, you are still required to pay self-employment tax on survey income if you make more than $400.00 in total from all of your survey panels.

Check out this similar question posted on Yahoo! Answers. The winning answer came from an H&R Block Sr. Tax Advisor:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090110140135AA80TsM

So, you have to pay taxes on your survey money, declaring it under "additional income," and you have to file a Schedule C to pay self-employment tax.

When you pay the self-employment tax, the survey income declared shows up on the annual contributions statement you receive from the Social Security Administration.

My accountant told me to wait till I get the 1099 from the companies, before doing anything. I have only gotten 1-1099 from 1 survey company and it was cause it was alot more than 600 areally alot more.

i agree. wait for the 1099. i won a vacation, and you'd better believe i received the 1099, and paid the taxes.

I appreciate the ideas (and reps to all!!)... but there must be someone here who has actually claimed survey income on their taxes and can say what taxes they paid... right? Anyone?

I never even thought of claiming survey income on my taxes.

It's mandatory here. You enter it in as income and it goes into the total income. Now mind you, Indiana is kind of wierd. I also have to declare any purchases where no sales tax or less sales tax than the local rate is. I think they are just desparate for tax money. The state needs it.

So, you didn't pay Social Security aka Self-Employment tax?

I di it last year with Greenfield they sent me a 1099 and my account added it to income and combind the figures to make adj gross income then calculated the tax after that, no I did not have to pay SS tax seperately.

So, you didn't pay Social Security aka Self-Employment tax?

Not separately. It got lumped into the amount I am supposed to pay. They probably just pinched what I owed from some other part of my refund.

Not separately. It got lumped into the amount I am supposed to pay. They probably just pinched what I owed from some other part of my refund.

It might be different if you have a paying job, not sure I will ask the accountant for you. let me know if you are working or getting some other income that will help me to ask the question to him. PM if you want.

All I have is survey income and a little bit of interest and dividends; I file jointly with my husband. I think the crucial thing might be whether doing surveys counts as a "business or trade" or not, as that's how you apparently determine if something is self-employment income or not. It's so sweet of you to be willing to ask for me!! :hug:

I would recommend that you report your earnings from surveys IF you receive a MISC-1099that states earned income, or you have won a prize such as a car, vacation, etc., you would typically receive a tax form (another type of 1099 Form) directly from the Company you received the prize (vacation, or money). There is a $600 threshold with earnings. If you are doing survey's as a "business" then I would suggest you speak with a tax accountant. Having a "survey business" would be highly recommended if this is your part-time job, as long as you are not treating this as a hobby.

I appreciate the ideas (and reps to all!!)... but there must be someone here who has actually claimed survey income on their taxes and can say what taxes they paid... right? Anyone?

I must be compulsive, digging through several pages of threads to find the one I made a reply to earlier a few weeks earlier.:shake:

Sorry for finding this so late, but to answer your question, I did claim my survey earnings as additional income and I did file self-employment tax. You pay self-employment tax by filing a schedule C. My 2008 survey earnings then showed up on my 2008 annual contributions statement that I received a few months ago from the Social Security Administration. Survey money is my only income, so that was easy to trace.

Thanks and reps for your efforts!! One of the pivotal points on this issue seems to be whether or not you have any other income besides surveys... I guess if it's your only income they assume it has to be a "business or trade."