Great question! I went through this exact same situation when I started my vending business two years ago. Here's what I learned: You definitely need Schedule C - this is a legitimate business operation. For the machines, I'd recommend Section 179 if you have enough other income to offset the full deduction (sounds like you do with your day job). The $7,500 total is well within the limits and will give you immediate tax relief. One thing others haven't mentioned - don't forget about self-employment tax! You'll owe about 15.3% on your net profit for Social Security and Medicare taxes on top of regular income tax. This is why quarterly estimated payments are so important. For inventory tracking, I keep a simple spreadsheet of what I buy vs what I sell each month. Only the cost of goods actually sold is deductible, not your full inventory purchases. Also consider getting a business credit card specifically for this venture - makes expense tracking much easier and helps build business credit history. Good luck with your vending business!

One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned much - make sure you're keeping detailed records of your machine maintenance and repair costs. Things like cleaning supplies, minor repairs, and even your time spent servicing the machines can be deductible business expenses. Also, if you're driving to multiple locations to restock and service machines, definitely track that mileage! At the current IRS rate (around 67 cents per mile), those trips can add up to significant deductions. I use a simple mileage log app on my phone to track business vs personal miles. For what it's worth, I started with just tracking everything in a basic spreadsheet for my first year, but as the business grew, investing in proper bookkeeping software (like QuickBooks mentioned above) really paid off. The time savings during tax season alone made it worthwhile. Good luck with your vending venture - sounds like you're asking all the right questions upfront, which puts you way ahead of where I was when I started!

Has anyone used TurboTax for filing as a non-resident alien? I'm in the same boat as OP (just under 183 days) and wondering if the standard tax software handles these situations well?

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and can confirm what others have said - the IRS does NOT round up the substantial presence test calculation. At 182.33 days, you're under the 183-day threshold and would not be considered a US tax resident. However, I'd strongly recommend double-checking your day count because being this close to the line is risky. A few things to verify: Are you counting partial days correctly? If you arrive late at night or leave early morning, those still count as full days. Also make sure you're not missing any brief trips back to the US that might push you over. One other thing - since you mentioned wanting to avoid taxation on global income from before you moved, make sure you understand the rules about when income is sourced to the US versus your home country. Even as a non-resident, you'll still owe US taxes on US-source income during the time you were physically present here. Keep very detailed records of all your travel dates with supporting documentation (flight records, passport stamps, etc.) in case the IRS ever questions your residency determination.

Does anyone know if I can take the home office deduction IN my camper? I work remotely and have a dedicated workspace set up in my fifth wheel. I've been living in it full-time for about 9 months now due to my job requiring constant travel.

Based on what you've described, your camper trailer should definitely qualify for the mortgage interest deduction as a second home! Since you're living in it 8 months out of the year and it has all the basic living facilities (kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area), you meet the IRS requirements. A few key things to keep in mind: Make sure your loan is secured by the camper itself - it sounds like it is since you mentioned a camper loan. You'll want to get documentation of the interest paid from your lender (Form 1098 if they issue one, or at least a year-end statement). Also, don't forget that any personal property taxes you pay on the camper may be deductible too. Since you're using this for work travel, you might also want to explore whether any portion could qualify for business deductions if you're self-employed or an independent contractor. Just make sure to keep detailed records of your work-related travel versus personal use. The documentation will be crucial if the IRS ever has questions about your deductions.

I think you might be overthinking this. Just enter the original purchase price, the sale price, and let TurboTax figure out the depreciation part. That's what I did last year when I sold my business truck and it worked fine.

Based on what you've described, this is definitely a situation where you need to be careful about calculating your adjusted basis correctly. Since you used the SUV 100% for business, you were required to take depreciation during those 7 months of operation - even if you didn't actually claim it on your tax return. For a $62k business vehicle, you likely would have been eligible for Section 179 expensing or bonus depreciation in the year of purchase, which could significantly affect your basis calculation. If you took the full Section 179 deduction, your adjusted basis would be close to $0, meaning the $39k sale would actually result in taxable income (depreciation recapture) rather than a deductible loss. However, if you only took regular MACRS depreciation over those 7 months, your adjusted basis would be much higher, resulting in a deductible business loss. The key is figuring out exactly what depreciation method you used (or should have used) when you originally purchased the vehicle. You'll need to look at your tax return from the year you bought the SUV to see how you handled the depreciation. This information is crucial for Form 4797 (Sales of Business Property) where you'll report the transaction. I'd strongly recommend consulting with a tax professional or CPA who can review your specific situation and prior year returns to ensure you calculate the basis correctly. Getting this wrong could result in significant under-reporting or over-reporting of income.

I went through this nightmare scenario about 6 months ago and want to share what ultimately worked after trying everything else mentioned here. The background check company kept rejecting all my documentation - letters from clients, email chains, bank statements, everything. What finally broke through was getting an official "Verification of Non-Employee Compensation" letter from my client's accounting department (not just HR or management). I had to specifically request this by name because it's a formal document type that accounting departments are familiar with for contractor relationships. The letter included: 1) My start date as a contractor, 2) Total compensation paid in the most recent tax year, 3) Statement that I'm classified as 1099 contractor, 4) Confirmation that no employment start/end dates exist because I'm not an employee. Having it come from their accounting department gave it more official weight. I also attached a one-page explanation referencing IRS Publication 15-A which clearly states what information is and isn't included on 1099 forms. The combination of the official accounting letter plus the IRS publication reference finally convinced them to accept my documentation. The key was using the specific terminology "Verification of Non-Employee Compensation" - accounting departments know exactly what this means and background check companies recognize it as legitimate employment verification for contractors.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently dealing with a similar situation where my background check company is asking for employment verification that simply doesn't exist for my 1099 contractor work. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear this is a widespread issue that stems from background check companies being designed primarily for W-2 employees. The terminology "Verification of Non-Employee Compensation" that Andre mentioned is gold - I had no idea such a specific document type existed for contractor relationships. I'm going to try a combination of approaches: requesting that specific letter from my client's accounting department, creating a comprehensive packet with my 1099-NEC plus supporting documentation, and including references to IRS Publication 15-A to educate the background check staff. Has anyone found that certain background check companies are better than others at handling contractor documentation? I'm wondering if some are just more experienced with the gig economy than others, or if this is universally frustrating across all providers. Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions - it's reassuring to know this problem is solvable with the right approach and persistence!