I got a 1099-Misc that I had to claim and....?

after entering this (through turbotax) was asked for my principal business code, along with business name & address. Problem is I don't have a business, or even a job (lazy college student).

How do I enter a principal business code if I don't have one? Did I just enter the 1099-Misc form incorrectly? The only box on the form with any numbers in it is box 7, so I entered that where told to.

Read through the list of codes in the instruction book, and enter the code that's closest to whatever you did to earn that money.

If you got a 1099-misc with a number in box 7, then by tax terminology you do have a business.

You are self employed so that is a business even if you didn't earn much and only had one customer. You need to find a code and use your home address.

I worked for the IRS as a Tax Law Specialist. Although now retired and bit rusty, I can tell you that any 1099 is income that you did not earn as an employee whose wages are subject to income-tax, FICA, and Medicare withholding. Since your income was not subject to withholding (and I doubt you paid any of these taxes on a Form ES voucher (estimated tax), you must account for the income and pay the taxes now.

What did you do to earn the income? Look in the table for a classification into which whatever you did seems to fit best.

If you cannot find anything, use 9999. Copy the amount on the Form 1099-MISC to the appropriate line on Schedule C-EZ (a short version of Schedule C), and be sure to deduct any expense(s) (including mileage) that you incurred in order to earn the income.

Turbo Tax will automatically generate a Schedule SE, which is the Social Security (SECA) tax that will be added to your income tax on the income earned.