Originally Posted by
v1flyer
I get that but just trying to gather knowledge instead of just blindingly believing what a CPA might say. Option a, filing it as self employment, would make me pay self employment fees which is relatively expensive (in my case it would make a difference of $5000 fee vs a refund). Option b, makes me blame the company and petition IRS to query them why they didn’t report it on W2 and risk ****ing someone off. So just wondering what people did in the past to make an informed decision
Your CPA is correct. A company cannot pay you a bonus (which is a form of compensation for doing your regular job) on a 1099. Whether or not you’ve been entered into their payroll system yet (or whatever reasoning they use) is completely irrelevant. See also
IRS Rev. Rul. 2004-109.
You also correctly observe that by filing form 8919, you are basically telling the IRS to go get their money from your employer. This may not make your employer happy.
Ideally you’d ask for a corrected W-2 with the bonus included. They will likely decline.