For the question about individual incomes (per parent, or per student and their spouse), we instruct you to look at line 1 of your W-2 form.
However, if you're a contractor or freelancer, instead of getting a W-2 (which is for employees), you might get a 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC form.
In this case:
Your income from salary/wages/tips is $0.
You do not need to look at your 1099 form.
As an independent contractor, you legally are the owner of your own "sole proprietor" company and therefore will have "Business income" reported in Schedule 1, line 3. You will need to look at this Schedule 1 form for that information. If the number there is a positive number (greater than 0), enter that. If it's a negative number (with a minus sign in front), then just enter 0, as the FAFSA® doesn't allow you to report negative numbers.
