This entire thread has been incredibly educational! As someone who's relatively new to handling contractor payments and tax forms, I had no idea that sole proprietors could use either their SSN or EIN on Form W-9. What really strikes me is how common this misconception seems to be - it sounds like many finance departments are operating under outdated or incorrect assumptions about IRS requirements. The fact that multiple people here have had to fight similar battles with their own accounting teams suggests this is a widespread issue. I appreciate everyone who took the time to cite specific IRS publications and regulations. Having those concrete references makes it so much easier to have productive conversations with skeptical colleagues. The point about identity theft protection is also really important - in today's environment, we should be supporting contractors who want to protect their personal information rather than forcing them to share their SSNs unnecessarily. For anyone else dealing with this issue, it seems like the key is having the right documentation ready and being persistent about educating internal teams on current IRS guidelines. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions!

I just want to echo what everyone else has said here - your contractor is absolutely right, and your finance director needs to update their understanding of current IRS regulations. This is actually a pretty common knowledge gap I've seen in smaller companies. What might help is framing this as a compliance and risk management issue for your finance director. By refusing to accept valid EINs, your company is potentially: 1. Creating unnecessary friction with qualified contractors 2. Forcing contractors to share more sensitive personal information than required 3. Operating under outdated tax compliance practices The IRS Form W-9 instructions are crystal clear on this - sole proprietors can use either identifier. I'd recommend printing out the relevant pages from the official IRS instructions and highlighting the specific language that addresses this. Sometimes seeing it in black and white from the source makes all the difference. Also, you might point out that if the IRS audits your 1099 reporting, they won't flag properly completed W-9 forms that use EINs from sole proprietors - because it's completely legitimate. The audit risk comes from improper documentation, not from following IRS guidelines correctly. Stick to your guns on this one - the regulations are on your side!

This is a classic ADP W4 processing error that I see frequently! The fact that you're getting zero federal withholding at a $190k salary is definitely not normal, even with your dependents and tax credits. What's almost certainly happening is that ADP's system misprocessed your $9,000 in Step 3 tax credits. Either they entered it as a per-paycheck amount instead of annual (which would be $346 per paycheck), or there's been some other data entry error that's completely eliminating your federal withholding calculation. Here's what you need to do immediately: 1. Contact HR/payroll and ask for a printout showing exactly what W4 information is entered in their ADP system 2. Compare that line-by-line with your original W4 submission 3. Request they show you the detailed withholding calculation to see how they're arriving at zero At your income level with biweekly pay, you should be seeing at least $1,000-1,200 in federal withholding per paycheck even with your credits and dependents. The sooner you get this fixed, the less catch-up withholding you'll need later to avoid underpayment penalties. Keep detailed records of your paystubs and original W4 in case you need to document this was an employer error for the IRS. Most HR departments are helpful with fixing these system glitches once they understand what's wrong!

I'm seeing a lot of great advice here about ADP system errors, but I wanted to add something that might help prevent this in the future. As someone who's dealt with multiple payroll systems over the years, one thing I've learned is to always request a "test run" or preliminary calculation from HR before your first official paycheck. Most payroll departments can run a mock calculation based on your W4 information and show you approximately what your withholdings should look like. This would have caught the $9,000 annual vs. per-paycheck error immediately, before it affected multiple pay periods. Also, for anyone dealing with this situation - don't just rely on HR to fix it. Use the IRS withholding calculator yourself to verify what your correct withholding should be, then compare that to what HR says they're going to adjust it to. I've seen cases where HR "fixed" the problem but still didn't get the numbers quite right. The good news is that these ADP W4 processing errors are usually straightforward to fix once identified. Just make sure you're documenting everything and staying on top of the resolution timeline so you don't end up with underpayment penalties next year!

Everyone keeps talking about whether you need to file, but nobody's mentioned that you might WANT to file even if you're not required to. If you had any federal tax withheld on those dividends (check box 4 on your 1099-DIV), you'd need to file to get that money back as a refund. Filing is free at your income level, so I'd just do it to be safe.

Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like you definitely need to file since your $1,800 in dividends exceeds the $1,250 threshold for unearned income that others mentioned. I'd also suggest checking your 1099-DIV form for any federal tax withholding in box 4 - if there's money there, filing would get you that back as a refund. The IRS Interactive Tax Assistant that Malik mentioned seems like a great starting point to confirm your filing requirement, and it's free and official. Even though you won't owe any taxes due to the standard deduction, filing keeps you compliant and might even put money back in your pocket if anything was withheld.

I'm confused about the child tax credit situation with Form 8332. If I let my ex claim our kids using this form, does that mean they get ALL the tax benefits? Or do I still get some of them?

Just want to add one more tip that saved me a lot of trouble - make sure you keep detailed records of when you give the completed Form 8332 to your ex. I take a photo of the signed form and send it via email so there's a timestamp, then also give them the original. Last year my ex lost the form right before filing and we had to scramble to get another one signed. Having that digital backup with the date stamp helped prove I had provided it on time. Also helped when the IRS had questions later - I could show exactly when the form was completed and delivered. The whole process is stressful enough without having to worry about lost paperwork!

I had a friend who didn't report about $1200 in side income from these apps. The IRS sent him a letter 18 months later asking about it! Turns out the person who paid him filed it as a business expense, which created a mismatch. Not worth the stress IMO.

Thanks for asking this question - I was wondering the same thing! Based on all the responses here, it's clear that even small amounts like your $650 need to be reported. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences with the various tools and services mentioned. One thing I'd add is to make sure you keep good records of what the payments were for. If it was truly income from work/services, you'll need to report it. But if any of those CashApp payments were reimbursements from friends (like splitting dinner bills) or gifts, those might not be taxable income. The key is being able to document the nature of each payment. It sounds like the safest approach is to report everything and let the IRS sort it out rather than risk getting a letter later asking questions you can't easily answer.