Check mailed in 2009, received in 2010

[Rich Carreiro]

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 rlc-...@rlcarr.com

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[Mark Bole]

Rich Carreiro wrote:
> 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.

[...]

> So how does she report it?

The same way it was reported last year.

-Mark Bole