Great question! I went through this exact situation when I purchased my duplex three years ago. The key thing to understand is that you'll be treating this as a mixed-use property - part personal residence, part rental business. For mortgage interest deductions, you'll allocate based on the percentage of the property used for each purpose (usually square footage). So if each unit is equal, 50% of your mortgage interest goes on Schedule A (subject to the $750k loan limit) and 50% goes on Schedule E as a rental expense (no limit). Don't forget about depreciation on the rental portion - that's a major tax benefit! You can depreciate 50% of the property's basis (excluding land) over 27.5 years. Also, make sure to track all expenses separately: utilities, maintenance, insurance, etc. The rental portion expenses are fully deductible against rental income. One tip: keep detailed records of your square footage calculations and any improvements made to each unit. The IRS may want to see your allocation method if audited. A simple floor plan with measurements works great for documentation. Since you're in the 35% bracket, the rental deductions will provide significant tax savings. Just remember that when you eventually sell, you'll have depreciation recapture on the rental portion and can only use the primary residence exclusion on your half.

One thing I want to emphasize that hasn't been fully covered is the importance of establishing your allocation method from day one and being consistent with it throughout ownership. The IRS allows several reasonable methods - square footage is most common, but you could also use number of rooms, fair rental value, or even assessed value if the units are significantly different. Whatever method you choose, document it thoroughly and apply it consistently to ALL shared expenses - not just mortgage interest and property taxes. This includes insurance, utilities (if shared meters), exterior maintenance, landscaping, driveway repairs, etc. Also, since you're in the 35% tax bracket, consider the timing of major repairs and improvements. Repairs to the rental unit are immediately deductible, while improvements must be depreciated over time. If you're doing work that affects both units (like a new roof), that gets allocated between Schedule A and Schedule E based your established percentage. One last tip: if you're handy and do maintenance work yourself, you can't deduct your labor on the rental portion, but you can deduct all materials and supplies at their full cost. Keep those receipts organized by unit from the start!

The W-9 form is definitely straightforward - just your basic taxpayer info so the museum can issue you a 1099-NEC at year end. But I totally understand your stress about the tax implications! One thing that really helped me when I transitioned to contractor work was setting up what I call a "tax automation system" from day one. Here's my simple approach: 1. Open a separate high-yield savings account just for taxes 2. Set up an automatic transfer of 30% from every payment I receive 3. Schedule quarterly payment reminders in my calendar for the exact dates (April 15, June 15, Sept 15, Jan 15) 4. Use a simple spreadsheet to track deductible expenses as they happen The 30% covers federal income tax, self-employment tax (15.3%), and gives you a buffer for state taxes if applicable. Since you got hit hard last year with freelance writing taxes, this systematic approach will prevent that surprise again. Don't forget to track business expenses from day one! As a researcher, you can likely deduct research materials, professional memberships, home office space, mileage to archives/libraries, and work-related subscriptions. These deductions can significantly reduce your taxable income. The key is treating tax management like any other business expense - systematic and automatic rather than something you figure out later. You're asking the right questions upfront, which puts you way ahead of most new contractors!

Welcome to the independent contractor world, Amina! I made this same transition a few years ago and remember feeling completely overwhelmed by all the tax responsibilities. Everyone here has given you excellent advice about the W-9 form (which really is just basic info) and setting aside 25-30% for taxes. One thing I'd add that saved me a lot of stress: consider making your first quarterly payment a bit higher than calculated, just to be safe. When I started, I was so worried about underpaying that I rounded up my first few quarterly payments by $100-200. Any overpayment just becomes a refund or credit toward the next quarter. Also, don't be afraid to call the IRS Taxpayer Assistance line if you have specific questions about your situation. Yes, the wait times can be brutal (which is why some folks here mentioned Claimyr), but the agents are actually quite helpful for basic contractor tax questions. Since you're doing research work, you'll probably have more legitimate business deductions than you realize - conference fees, professional journals, software subscriptions, even the portion of your internet bill used for work. Start tracking everything now, even small expenses. They add up! The learning curve feels steep at first, but once you get your system down, it becomes second nature. You're being proactive by asking these questions upfront, which means you're already on the right track!

Same thing happened to me last week! TurboTax kept showing "pending" for like 4 days and I was freaking out. Then suddenly it switched to "accepted" and showed up on WMR the next day. The waiting is the worst part but it's totally normal - just hang tight!

Been there! Filed mine 3 days ago and was in the same panic mode checking every few hours lol. From what I've learned lurking here, the "pending" status is just TurboTax's way of saying they haven't finished processing it on their end yet. Once they actually send it to the IRS, you'll get an email confirmation and the status will change. The IRS systems are also super slow to update right now with everyone filing early. You're definitely not alone in this!

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I just reported all my babysitting income as "other income" on line 8 of Schedule 1 for years. No W2, no Schedule C, just reported the income and paid income tax on it. Never had an issue with the IRS. Sometimes the simplest solution works fine if the amounts aren't huge.

I went through this exact situation two years ago working for three different families as a nanny. Here's what I learned the hard way: First, don't panic - you're not the first person to discover this late in the game. The key is to act quickly since tax season is upon us. I'd recommend contacting each family with a brief, professional explanation of the situation. Most families genuinely don't know about household employment tax obligations. I found that sending them a simple email with a link to IRS Publication 926 helped them understand it wasn't just me making demands - it's actual tax law. Two of my families worked with their accountants to issue corrected W2s within about 3 weeks. The third family refused, claiming I was an "independent contractor" even though they controlled my schedule and provided all supplies. For that situation, I ended up filing Form 4852 (Substitute for Form W-2). It was actually not as complicated as I expected. The form walks you through calculating what should have been withheld, and I attached a letter explaining the situation and my attempts to get a proper W2. The most important thing is to NOT just report it as self-employment income if you were truly a household employee. You'll end up paying double the FICA taxes, and technically it's incorrect classification. The IRS has specific rules about household employees vs contractors. Start reaching out to those families this week - even if they drag their feet, you'll have documentation that you tried to resolve it properly before filing.

Anyone else think it's totally ridiculous that retail investors can buy something like USO thinking it's a normal ETF and then get hit with all this K-1 nightmare? Maybe I'm just being dramatic but there should be huge warnings before you buy these things. I clicked "buy oil ETF" and now I need to learn partnership tax law?? Not cool.

I completely understand the panic! I went through the exact same thing when I first received a K-1 from USO. Here's what helped me get through it: First, take a deep breath - you're not going to get audited just for having a K-1. The IRS expects these forms and knows they're confusing for new investors. For your specific situation with USO, the good news is that most of the income will likely be straightforward. The main items you'll see are: - Ordinary business income/loss (goes to Schedule E) - Capital gains/losses (goes to Schedule D) - Possibly some Section 199A deduction info TurboTax Premier can definitely handle this - I've used it successfully for USO K-1s. When you get to the investment section, look for "Partnerships and S-Corps" and select "Schedule K-1." The software will walk you through each relevant box. One important tip: Don't try to rush through this. Take your time reading what each section is asking for, and don't hesitate to use the help features in TurboTax. Also, for future reference, if you want to avoid K-1s entirely, consider oil ETFs structured as corporations like XLE (energy sector ETF) or funds that track oil through futures but are structured as RICs. You'll just get a simple 1099 instead of a K-1. You've got this! The first K-1 is always the scariest, but it gets much easier once you've done it once.