The vast majority of a relative's self-employment income is book royalties from a particular publisher.
Said publisher mailed the Q4 royalty check on December 30 from California (we have the envelope with the cancellation mark showing the date and post office). Not surprisingly, it arrived out here on the east coast on Jan 2.
Presumably the publisher will (quite legitimately) 1099-MISC my wife that income in 2009 since that's when the publisher wrote the check. And it is legitimately 2010 income for my relative because that's when she got the check.
So how does she report it? Simply not reporting it in 2009 will result in gross receipts being less (by roughly 25%) than the total reported on 1099-MISC which will presumably bring the IRS a-calling. Do it that way anyway? Do it that way and attach a note? Report the full 1099-MISC amount and enter a misc expense equal to the amount of the received-in-2010 check? Something else?
-- Rich Carreiro snipped-for-privacy@rlcarr.com