It’s a whole different league when you are dealing with self employment income.

And the state may have a different threshold.

You may also want to find out what the MISC thingie was.  1099-NEC was used starting in 2020, though some (e.g. a property manager) were so gung-ho that they used it to report rental income for a landlord client....  

"The main concern is that the tax payer did not make more than 8k last year as total."

It's not clear how this is a concern. It's just part of the picture. For instance, if this person would like to see that value used for Self-Employment reporting, which means it becomes taxable and also is reported for purposes of Social Security credits, and for Retirement contribution, and any other credit which qualifies (and you never know until you work through the forms if something might be a refundable credit), you won't have any of this happen if it is not reported.

Whether it is subject to self-employment tax is not a choice.

It's always wonderful if the original asker would return and follow up with missing info. 1099-Misc for what sort of payment? @solicito need to provide more details.

In case someone else stumbles onto this topic, this statement: "for single filing status if under age 65 is $12,400. If your income is below that threshold, you generally do not need to file a federal tax return." is clearly wrong just based on the layout of the 1040. The standard deduction is line 12. There's still a whole 'nother page to finish.

Hi qbteachmt, 

the 1099-MISC was for contracting labor payment. 

Go directly to Sch C and pay SE tax… do not pass go

Thanks a lot