Steph, how does your employer categorize the income? Do they include it on your W-2? Give you a 1099?

So, report it as a bonus? Or is there a more appropriate category?

What form is your employer going to give you for the income? 1099?

Steph, how does your employer categorize the income? Do they include it on your W-2? Give you a 1099?

They don't include it on my W-2, and they don't give me a 1099. My W-2 just has my standard 80-hour-a-week salary info.

I *said* it was financially shifty.

Um. I would guess that reporting it as a bonus would be simpler for you, tax-wise. (Simpler in terms of paperwork, not taxable amount. I have no idea about that). If you report it as self-employment income, you'll have to calculate the tax on it and fill out a Schedule SE.

I'm just not sure how you report it as a bonus.

If you report it as self-employment income, you'll have to calculate the tax on it and fill out a Schedule SE.

But can I report self-employment income from the same employer for whom I'm a full-time salaried employee? That doesn't seem possible. Don't you have to be one or the other, in terms of who pays you?

And Steph--they paged both my GP and my specialist--not sure how long it took my GP to get back to them, but it was more than an hour for the specialist. My hope is that the specialist (who's remarkably unavailable--1/2 a day of clinic per week) talks to the GP who's a little more findable, and the GP can speak with authority and in a timely manner, whether prompted by me or ER staff.

Means I'll have to go the hospitals I really don't want to, but there's a limit to how much I can like a hospital where I get either really good or totally inadequate care and there's no way to find out which beforehand (I tried calling--they were hip to my tricks).

Tep, I'd totally report it as a bonus, and you should have your boss structure the payment that way.

I'm not sure, honestly. I guess using the same Employer ID would probably catch the attention of the IRS, but apparently that happens a lot with your company.

Google's no help. If you get desparate, I probably know someone I can ask or direct to your LJ.

Yeah, it's a problem, Steph. 'Cause as I understand it, there are pretty strict rules about how a person gets classified as an employee or as a contractor (and if you're not getting a 1099, you're not even talking contractor here). Some of which include, does the employer set your tasks and control your hours.

Part of the problem is going to be, the government is owed not only your taxes on it, but your employer's side taxes (companies match your social security and medicare taxes that get withheld), which it seems clear they're trying not to pay. If you were self-employed entirely, you'd be making up that portion in your own taxes. For us, as a company, we pay those payroll taxes as well as, you know, not getting the employee portion in our salary income.

Steph, I think that bonus income is supposed to be reported on a W-2 if you're an employee and if you're not than on a 1099.