One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the potential for cost segregation studies on your new butchering facility. Since this is a specialized agricultural building with specific equipment and systems for poultry processing, a cost segregation analysis could identify components that qualify for accelerated depreciation. For example, your electrical systems for refrigeration, specialized lighting, ventilation systems, and processing equipment might be classified as 5-7 year property instead of the standard 20-year building depreciation. This could significantly increase your immediate tax deductions, especially combined with bonus depreciation. The cost segregation study typically costs a few thousand dollars but can often save tens of thousands in taxes by properly classifying building components. Given that you're doing a complete rebuild specifically for business use, this might be worth exploring with a tax professional who specializes in agricultural operations. Also, don't forget to document the business necessity for the demolition and rebuild. Photos of the old barn's condition and records showing why renovation wasn't feasible can help support your tax positions if the IRS ever questions the timing or necessity of the project.

This is such a timely question for me! I'm in a similar situation with our family farm - we're planning to tear down an old dairy barn and build a new poultry processing facility next year. One thing I learned from my tax advisor is to make sure you're tracking the original cost basis and accumulated depreciation on the old barn carefully. If you've been depreciating it for business use, you'll need to account for depreciation recapture when it's demolished. But the good news is that all those demolition costs get added to your land basis, which could be beneficial for future property transactions. For the new construction, since it's 100% business use, you should be able to take advantage of the current bonus depreciation rules. Even though it's dropping to 80% in 2025, that's still a substantial immediate write-off on a major construction project like this. I'd also recommend checking with your state's Department of Agriculture - many states have specific tax incentives for farm infrastructure improvements, especially for facilities that support food processing and safety. In our state, we qualified for additional credits because our new facility will meet USDA processing standards. The key is getting everything properly documented before you start construction. Having a clear business justification for why the old structure needed to be replaced versus renovated will be important for your tax filings.

This happened to me! It was driving me crazy. For anyone else with this problem - you literally need to clear your browser cookies COMPLETELY and then create a new account with a different email. I thought I was going crazy because I kept getting the same error even though I was going through the IRS site. Turns out FreeTaxUSA's system had somehow "remembered" me even though I'd never completed filing with them before. It was some cookie tracking thing.

I had this exact same issue last month! What worked for me was going into incognito/private browsing mode, then going directly to the IRS Free File page and starting completely fresh. Don't use any saved passwords or auto-fill - manually type everything. The problem seems to be that FreeTaxUSA's system can get confused between their Free File portal and their regular commercial site, especially if you've ever browsed their main website before (even just looking at it). Their cookies and tracking can flag your browser as having accessed their paid services. If that doesn't work, try using a completely different device or browser that you've never used to visit any tax sites before. It's annoying but it should bypass whatever is causing the eligibility confusion in their system.

Just so you know, you might want to look at alternatives to TurboTax too. I used H&R Block Premium last year for a very similar situation (3 rental properties, side business, backdoor Roth) and found it handled everything well for a lower price than TurboTax Self-Employed.

Based on your complex tax situation, you definitely need TurboTax Self-Employed. Here's why: Your rental properties in multiple states require multi-state tax filing capabilities that only Premier/Self-Employed versions handle well. The Self-Employed version is better for this since you also have 1099 consulting income. For your Canadian accounts ($80k CAD retirement + $35k CAD checking/savings = $115k CAD total), you'll need to file FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) since you exceed the $10,000 USD threshold. Self-Employed includes guidance for these foreign account reporting requirements. The backdoor Roth IRAs (both regular and mega) require careful Form 8606 reporting to avoid double taxation, and Self-Employed has better guidance for these transactions. Your Airbnb STR situation using the 14-day rule needs proper reporting to avoid audit flags - Self-Employed handles short-term rental income better than lower tiers. The consulting work from home likely qualifies for home office deductions, which Self-Employed specializes in calculating correctly. Given all these moving parts (multiple income streams, multi-state rentals, foreign accounts, complex retirement contributions), the Self-Employed version will save you more in properly claimed deductions than the extra cost over Premier. The specialized guidance alone is worth it for your situation.

I had something similar happen last year. I received both a W-2 and 1099-NEC from the same company and my tax preparer filed it wrong too. It got fixed with an amendment and literally nothing happened. No audit, no questions, nothing. The IRS is so backlogged right now they're not going after these small issues, especially when you fix them yourself. The only thing you might want to check is if you need to file an amended state return too if your state has income tax. Sometimes the state revenue departments can be even more behind than the IRS in processing.

I understand your panic - I went through something very similar two years ago with a misclassified 1099. The key thing to remember is that you've already done the right thing by filing an amended return quickly. From my experience working with small business tax issues, the IRS typically only initiates employer investigations when they see systematic problems across multiple employees or significant dollar amounts involved. A single corrected filing, especially one that you self-reported and fixed, rarely triggers broader scrutiny. Your amended return essentially tells the IRS "disregard the original Form 8919 - the income was correctly classified as independent contractor work." Since you're paying the additional taxes owed and showing good faith compliance, this should close the loop from their perspective. The fact that your employer legitimately uses both W-2 and 1099 workers (you have separate roles) actually works in your favor here. If anything ever did come up, your employment situation would be easy to explain and justify. Try not to stress too much - you caught the error quickly and handled it properly. That's exactly what the amendment process is designed for.

Pro tip from someone who used to work at H&R Block: If you're mailing double-sided documents, use a highlighter to mark "CONTINUED ON BACK" at the bottom of each page that continues on the reverse. This little trick helps ensure nothing gets missed during processing. Also, use certified mail with return receipt. The extra $7-8 is worth the peace of mind knowing exactly when the IRS received your documents.

Yellow highlighter works fine - it's what we recommended when I worked there. Avoid red, dark blue, or green as those can interfere with scanning. Fluorescent yellow shows up clearly to human reviewers but doesn't confuse the optical character recognition systems. One more thing I forgot to mention: if you're including multiple 1099-B forms, arrange them in chronological order by date issued, not alphabetically by broker. The IRS processors appreciate this organization and it can speed up your processing time. Also make sure any corrected forms (1099-B-C) are clearly marked and placed immediately after the original they're correcting.