How do I claim this unique income?

[Jayco]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NC


How do I claim this income, and what can I deduct? A local TV station approached me about placing a TV camera at my home to give them a skyline beauty shot for their newscasts. They pay me a fee each month to provide a location for the camera inside my home that looks out of a window. Out of that fee I provide the electricity to power the camera and its related gear and I pay for a data connection that sends the signal back to the TV station. All costs to run the camera come out of the monthly fee I receive. So do I claim this as MISC income, is it a rental income for the space and utilities I provide? Do I need to separate this income from my regular income and set it up as a separate company? Thank you.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NC


How do I claim this income, and what can I deduct? A local TV station approached me about placing a TV camera at my home to give them a skyline beauty shot for their newscasts. They pay me a fee each month to provide a location for the camera inside my home that looks out of a window. Out of that fee I provide the electricity to power the camera and its related gear and I pay for a data connection that sends the signal back to the TV station. All costs to run the camera come out of the monthly fee I receive. So do I claim this as MISC income, is it a rental income for the space and utilities I provide? Do I need to separate this income from my regular income and set it up as a separate company? Thank you.

How much money are we talking about?

 

[Jayco]

about $3600 a year

 

[LdiJ]

about $3600 a year

I am leaning towards treating it as rental income on Schedule E, with the expenses directly associated with it also being deducted on Schedule E. I would be hesitant to attempt to allocate any expenses other than direct expenses as it does not appear to be actually taking up any space in your home.

 

[Jayco]

True, it takes up very little physical space, maybe 2 square feet for the camera and another square foot for the electronics that provide the data connection. The largest expense is the data, followed by the electricity.

 

[davew128]

Definitely rental income.

 

[FlyingRon]

Don't forget to depreciate

 

[LdiJ]

Don't forget to depreciate

I do not think that he owns the camera, so what would he be depreciating?

 

[Zigner]

I do not think that he owns the camera, so what would he be depreciating?

2 square feet of roof

 

[LdiJ]

2 square feet of roof

That kind of thing is what I was talking about when I said that I would be hesitant to allocate any other expenses to the schedule E. If he has a 2000 sq ft home 2 square feet would be 1/10 of 1% of the area. If the house was valued at 200k that would be 2k depreciated over 27.5 years.

 

[FlyingRon]

I do not think that he owns the camera, so what would he be depreciating?

Zig nailed it. That was what I was getting at and it was tongue in cheek.

 

[LdiJ]

Zig nailed it. That was what I was getting at and it was tongue in cheek.

Arg...sorry for not picking up on the "tongue in cheek". However, that might have really sent the OP in a tailspin trying to figure out depreciation...LOL.