I left my former employer in May. When I left, my supervisor asked me to help the office do some additional work as an independent contract. He has been nice to me. So I agreed and signed an contract with the former employer. The work was paid hourly and I received a check of $124 for the additional work I done.

My question is do I have to pay self-employment tax and file Schedule SE (Form 1040). I checked the IRS website, it seems I don't have to because I earned less than $400. But if I don't have to file, is there anything I have to do ?

Any suggestions and help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

You DO have to report the income on Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ, even if the employer fails to generate a Form 1099-MISC, but you do NOT have to pay self-employment tax since it is below the $400 threshold.

ATE, thank you so much.

Glad to help!