[mjarnold]

My daughter earned $550.00 in 2008 working as a "seasonal employee". They did not issue a 1099. Should they have? Also, if I file a 1040EZ for her, where would I put this amount?

[MukatA]

The employer is not required to issue 1099-misc form if the payment is below $600.

1099-misc income: You are self employed or independent contractor. You must file your tax return if yourself employed income is $400 or more. You will report your income and expenses on schedule C or C-EZ (Form 1040). Then you put net income (or loss) on line 12 of Form 1040. This income is subject to SE tax at 15.3% (this is shown on line 57 of Form 1040). Half of SE tax is deductible on line 27 of Form 1040. Read: Your U.S. Tax Return: Tax Filing by Self Employed Sole Proprietor or Independent Contractor

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

I have to disagree with Mukata on this one.

While your daughter technically should file, you can probably find at least $151 worth of valid deductions on her Schedule C. That will bring her net income to under $400, which means NO self-employment tax will be due.

This being the case, filing a tax return would be a waste of time and effort, and, since there is no Form 1099-MISC, the IRS will NOT be expecting a tax return from her to begin with.