My tax preparer told me that if your businesses are in the same "general field" you can file them together, but if they're completely different, you should file separately. She gave the example that her client who has a therapy practice and also does public speaking about mental health files on one Schedule C because they're in the same field. But her client who is both a dentist and owns a car wash files two separate Schedule Cs because those are totally unrelated businesses.

The "general field" rule that Emily mentioned is a good way to think about it. Your guitar performance and repair work definitely fall into the same general field of music/instruments, so you're absolutely fine continuing with one Schedule C. I'm a tax preparer and see this situation a lot. The IRS isn't going to split hairs over whether playing guitar and fixing guitars are "different enough" to require separate filings - they're clearly related activities that complement each other. One thing to consider is keeping internal records that separate the income and expenses for each activity, even if you're filing them together. This makes it easier if you ever need to analyze the profitability of each service or if the IRS has questions during an audit. You can do this with something as simple as different categories in your accounting software. The fact that you've been filing this way for years without any issues from the IRS is a good sign that your approach is reasonable and defensible.

Do any of the standard tax software packages handle oil and gas interests properly? I've been using TurboTax Self-Employed and it seems completely clueless about depletion allowances and proper treatment of different types of oil and gas income.

Great discussion everyone. As someone who's dealt with this exact scenario, I'd add that the choice between S Corp vs LLC/Partnership for oil and gas royalties often comes down to your specific circumstances and long-term plans. One angle I haven't seen mentioned is the impact on estate planning. LLCs/partnerships generally offer more flexibility for gifting interests to family members and implementing valuation discounts, which can be significant for substantial mineral portfolios. S Corps have stricter ownership transfer rules that can complicate succession planning. Also worth considering: if you're dealing with multiple states, partnerships/LLCs typically have simpler multi-state filing requirements. Some states impose franchise taxes or minimum fees on S Corps that don't apply to LLCs, which can add up quickly when you have interests across several producing regions. The competing preparer might be focused on a specific client situation where S Corp benefits outweigh these considerations, but for most oil and gas royalty scenarios, the LLC/partnership structure remains the more flexible choice in my experience.

This is exactly why I stopped sports betting last year. I had a similar experience where I was actually down money overall but still owed taxes on my winnings. The math just doesn't work for casual bettors. What really frustrated me was that other forms of entertainment spending don't get this treatment. If I buy $500 worth of concert tickets or video games, I'm not reporting that as a loss that can potentially offset other income. But with gambling, you're essentially being taxed on money you don't even have if you're a net loser. I think more people need to understand this before they start betting. The sportsbooks certainly aren't advertising the tax implications when they're trying to get you to sign up with their bonuses and promotions.

This is such an important warning that more people need to hear. I learned this lesson the hard way too, but not from sports betting - from playing poker at the casino. Had a few decent nights that put me up about $2,800 for the year, but I was actually down around $400 overall after all my losses. Come tax time, I had to report that $2,800 as income but couldn't deduct my losses because I take the standard deduction. Ended up paying about $680 in additional taxes on money I didn't actually keep. It felt like getting robbed twice - once by my bad poker luck and again by the tax code. The worst part is that this creates a perverse incentive where you're better off losing consistently rather than having any winning sessions at all. At least if you just lose everything, you don't owe taxes on money you no longer have. The whole system seems designed to discourage casual gambling through punitive tax treatment rather than addressing it directly.

I actually went through this exact situation two years ago with a $120K gift from my parents in the UK for my home purchase. The key thing that gave me peace of mind was being proactive with documentation from the start. Beyond just filing Form 3520, I created a comprehensive file with: the original gift letter, bank transfer records showing the exact conversion rates, screenshots of my uncle's bank statements (with his permission), and even a brief family tree document showing our relationship. This might seem like overkill, but having everything organized and readily available made both the mortgage process and tax filing much smoother. The IRS really isn't looking to make life difficult for people receiving legitimate family gifts - they just want to make sure foreign money isn't being used to hide taxable income or avoid other reporting requirements. As long as you're transparent and thorough with your documentation, you should be fine. The $140K amount, while substantial, isn't unusually large in the context of real estate down payments these days.

I'm in a similar boat - expecting a gift from family abroad soon and was really worried about triggering unwanted IRS attention. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring! It sounds like the key is just being thorough and transparent with the documentation. One question I haven't seen addressed yet: if you receive multiple smaller gifts throughout the year from the same foreign person that add up to over $100K total, do you still need to file Form 3520? Or is it only if a single gift exceeds the threshold? I'm wondering because my situation might involve a few transfers rather than one lump sum. Also, for anyone who's been through this process - how long did it take to get confirmation that the IRS received and processed your Form 3520? I'm the type of person who needs that peace of mind that everything was filed correctly!

Just want to share that your state's Department of Revenue may also have your W2 information! I couldn't get my federal transcript because of identity verification issues, but my state had all my W2 info for the past 5 years that I could download immediately after creating an account on their website. This worked for me in Minnesota, but worth checking for your state too!

I went through this exact same nightmare last year! Here's what worked for me after trying everything: First, definitely try the IRS Wage and Income Transcript like others mentioned - but be prepared for their identity verification to be a pain. I had to mail in Form 4506-T because their online system kept rejecting me. For the gig work (Uber, DoorDash, etc.), those companies are actually pretty good about keeping records. Log into your driver accounts if you still can - a lot of them have tax document sections where you can download old 1099s. One thing that saved me time: if you worked somewhere that used ADP, Paychex, or other big payroll companies, try creating an account directly with them. Many of my old W2s were available there even when the actual employers were unhelpful. Don't stress too much about penalties if you're getting refunds - you won't owe anything extra for filing late. If you do owe money, the IRS is usually willing to work with you on payment plans, especially if you're making a good faith effort to get compliant. The hardest part is just getting started, but once you have all your documents, filing multiple years isn't as bad as it seems. You've got this!