Don't forget about bonus depreciation! For 2025, I believe you can still take 80% bonus depreciation on qualifying property with a recovery period of 20 years or less. This means things like appliances, carpet, furniture, etc. can have 80% of their cost deducted immediately and the remaining 20% depreciated over their normal recovery period.

Great question! As someone who's been through this with multiple rental properties, I can tell you that properly handling renovation depreciation is absolutely worth it - the tax savings add up significantly over time. Here's my practical approach for your $45k renovation: First, go through all your receipts and categorize everything. Things like flooring, built-in cabinets, plumbing fixtures, and structural work go on the 27.5-year residential rental schedule. But appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher, etc.), window treatments, and some fixtures can be depreciated over 5-7 years. The key is documentation. Keep detailed records of what was purchased for which room/purpose. For your kitchen and bathroom remodel, separate out any appliances or removable fixtures from the permanent improvements. One tip that saved me money: if you replaced multiple items as part of the renovation, you might be able to take advantage of the remaining bonus depreciation (80% in 2025) on qualifying shorter-life property. This can give you a substantial deduction in year one. Don't try to expense major renovations as repairs - the IRS will flag that. But definitely take the depreciation deductions you're entitled to. Consider using tax software designed for rental properties or consulting a CPA who specializes in real estate - the upfront cost pays for itself in tax savings.

This is such a helpful discussion! As someone who just started doing delivery work, I was completely baffled by how my paystub looked. Like the original poster, I thought something was wrong when my gross pay didn't match my total earnings. What really helped me understand this was realizing that mileage reimbursement isn't actually "pay" - it's the company paying you back for using your own car for their business. Think of it like if you bought office supplies for your employer with your own money - when they reimburse you for those supplies, that reimbursement isn't considered income because you're just getting back what you spent. The IRS recognizes that when you use your personal vehicle for work, you're incurring real costs (gas, wear and tear, maintenance, etc.). The standard mileage rate is their way of estimating those costs. So when your employer reimburses you at or below that rate, they're essentially saying "this money is just covering your vehicle expenses, not paying you additional income." Your employer is actually being really tax-smart by separating this out. If they included that $208 in your taxable wages, you'd be paying income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax on money that's really just covering your car expenses. That could easily add $50+ to your tax bill every week! I'd definitely recommend keeping your own mileage log as backup documentation, even though your employer is handling the reimbursement. It's good protection and helps you verify their calculations are accurate.

I just wanted to jump in and thank everyone for this incredibly detailed discussion! As someone who's been doing gig work for a while, I've seen so much confusion around mileage reimbursement and tax implications. One thing I'd emphasize is the importance of understanding your worker classification. If you're receiving a W-2 (employee) vs 1099 (independent contractor), the tax treatment is completely different. Employees getting proper mileage reimbursement like the original poster are in a good spot - they're getting tax-free reimbursement and can't double-dip with deductions. But for those classified as independent contractors, you'll want to track EVERYTHING because you're responsible for deducting your own business expenses. This includes not just mileage, but also phone bills (portion used for work), insulated bags, phone mounts, etc. Also, a quick tip for anyone doing delivery work: if your company's reimbursement rate is below the current IRS standard rate, you might be able to deduct the difference. For example, if IRS rate is $0.67/mile but you only get $0.60/mile reimbursement, you could potentially deduct that $0.07/mile gap. Definitely consult a tax professional about this though. The key takeaway is that proper mileage reimbursement (at or below IRS rates) should NOT be included in your taxable income. If your employer is doing this correctly, they're saving you significant money in taxes!

Just want to add something no one mentioned yet - if you're self-employed, don't forget about the self-employment tax (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare)! Deducting education expenses on Schedule C doesn't just save you income tax, it also reduces your self-employment tax. Sometimes that makes the business deduction more valuable than education credits, depending on your situation.

This is such a helpful thread! As someone who's also navigating the self-employment + student combo, I wanted to add that timing can really matter here. If you're planning to graduate soon and your income is expected to increase significantly after graduation, it might be worth considering whether to take the business deduction this year (which reduces your current SE tax burden) or save some expenses for next year when you might be in a higher tax bracket. Also, keep really detailed records of which specific courses relate to your consulting work. The IRS likes to see a clear connection between the education and your business activities. I keep a simple spreadsheet noting how each class directly applies to the services I provide - makes it much easier come tax time! One last thing - if you're paying for textbooks, software, or other course materials that you also use for your freelance work, those can often be deducted as business expenses too, separate from tuition.

Just got my Green Dot deposit this morning! My DDD was 2/26 but the funds were available at 4:38am today. The Early Access feature they advertise actually worked as promised. I set up account alerts so I got a text notification as soon as it posted. Such a relief after checking my account practically every hour for the past three days!

Green Dot usually releases funds 1-2 days before the official DDD when the IRS batch releases come through! Since your transcript shows 2/24 as the deposit date, you might see it hit your Green Dot account as early as 2/22 or 2/23. I've been using Green Dot for tax refunds for 3 years now and they're pretty consistent with early access - usually get a notification between 3-6am when it posts. Make sure you have push notifications enabled in the Green Dot app so you don't miss it! The waiting game is rough but Green Dot has been reliable in my experience. Good luck! 🤞

24 Has anyone compared whether it's better to claim ABA therapy under the medical expense deduction instead of the dependent care credit? I heard you can't double-dip and claim the same expenses for both.

Great question about comparing the medical expense deduction vs dependent care credit! I actually ran into this exact dilemma last year with my daughter's speech therapy costs. Here's what I learned: The dependent care credit is usually better because it's a direct credit (reduces taxes owed dollar-for-dollar) vs a deduction (only reduces taxable income). Plus, medical expenses only help if you itemize AND they exceed 7.5% of your AGI. For example, if you're in the 22% tax bracket and claim $3,000 in medical deductions, you save about $660 in taxes. But if you use that same $3,000 for the dependent care credit at 20%, you save $600 directly off your tax bill - and potentially more if you qualify for a higher credit percentage based on income. However, if you already have massive medical bills that put you over the 7.5% threshold anyway, then adding the therapy to medical might make sense. I'd recommend calculating both scenarios to see which gives you better overall tax savings!