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

You've probably read these but it seems to be common for companies to report bonuses on the 1099C.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/ta...self/00/708455

I came across this and this is what the CPA is suggesting I do and what I want to do also. It seems as if the company does not want to pay their half of the 15% tax penalty and hence why they made sure it was received prior to DOH. I just don’t see how a bonus that comes with a contract could be considered self employment but like others have said I will let the professionals decide

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.