Slightly different perspective here - have you considered just separating out the sales tax on your invoices/receipts instead of absorbing it? There are a few benefits: 1. Customers actually expect to see sales tax added separately 2. It's WAY easier for accounting/bookkeeping 3. You don't cut into your profit margins 4. Avoids all this tax deduction confusion When I switched from inclusive to exclusive pricing, my sales didn't drop at all - turns out customers are used to seeing the tax added at checkout. Just something to consider as a simpler solution to your problem.

I've been dealing with this exact same issue in my small business! After reading through all these responses, I'm convinced that backing out the sales tax from gross receipts is definitely the right approach rather than trying to deduct it as an expense. One thing I'd add is to make sure you're also considering multi-state sales tax rules if you sell online. I got caught off guard when I started selling to customers in other states and didn't realize I had economic nexus obligations in some of them. Each state has different thresholds for when you need to start collecting and remitting sales tax. Also, if you're doing craft shows or farmer's markets across state lines, you might need temporary sales tax permits in those states. I learned this the hard way when a show organizer informed me I needed to collect local sales tax for that jurisdiction. The good news is once you get your system set up correctly to separate the tax component from your actual sales revenue, quarterly filings become much more straightforward. I use a simple spreadsheet that automatically calculates the breakdown, and it's saved me so much headache compared to when I was trying to figure out deductions.

I feel your frustration! I'm in a similar boat with Fidelity - my consolidated 1099 got pushed back to March 5th even though my portfolio is pretty straightforward. What's annoying is that they can't give you a specific reason beyond the generic "waiting for final tax information" message. From what I've learned dealing with this, the February 15th deadline is more of a guideline than a hard rule. Brokerages can file for extensions with the IRS, especially when they're waiting on corrected information from fund companies or dealing with complex corporate actions. The silver lining is that once you do get your form, it should be more accurate than if they rushed it out. I've had friends who got their 1099s "on time" only to receive multiple corrections later, which is arguably worse than waiting a bit longer for the right information the first time. If you're expecting a refund and want to get the process started, you might consider using your December statement to estimate your tax situation while you wait for the official form. Just be prepared to file an amendment if there are significant differences.

This delay issue isn't unique to Fidelity unfortunately. I've seen similar complaints across multiple brokerages this year - Schwab, E*Trade, and even Vanguard have had more delays than usual. From what I understand, there's been a broader industry trend toward being more cautious with 1099 accuracy after some high-profile issues in recent years where investors received multiple corrected forms. The SEC has been pushing for better data quality, which ironically means more delays as brokerages wait longer for final information from fund companies and transfer agents. The ETF industry has also grown significantly, and many of these funds are still figuring out their year-end distribution classifications. Even "simple" broad market ETFs can have complex underlying holdings that require additional time to properly categorize for tax purposes. I know it's frustrating when you're trying to plan your taxes, but the silver lining is that when you do receive your form, it's much more likely to be accurate the first time. Having dealt with amended 1099s in the past, I'd rather wait a few extra weeks than deal with the headache of filing corrections later.

Has anybody used QuickBooks Self-Employed for tracking business vs personal expenses? I'm a sole proprietor too and get confused about what counts as business vs personal. Last year I just guessed and probably left money on the table.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact decision process last year with my consulting business. The key thing that helped me decide was getting clear on my actual numbers and goals. As others mentioned, you're right at that threshold where an S-corp election might make sense financially. But beyond just the tax savings, consider the administrative overhead - you'll need to run payroll (even for yourself), file additional returns, and maintain more formal records. One thing I didn't see mentioned is that you can actually elect S-corp status for an LLC, which gives you the tax benefits without some of the corporate formalities. This might be a middle ground worth exploring. For your furniture business specifically, also consider liability protection. As a sole prop, your personal assets are at risk if something goes wrong with your products. An LLC (even without S-corp election) would give you that protection layer. My recommendation would be to run the actual numbers for your situation - either with a tax pro or using one of the tools mentioned here - before making any changes. The "right" answer really depends on your specific income level, expenses, and business goals.

I'd recommend checking one more thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you didn't accidentally opt out of electronic delivery for your tax documents. I've seen people miss forms because they changed their document delivery preferences during the year and forgot about it. Go to your Robinhood settings and verify that electronic delivery is still enabled for tax documents. If it got turned off somehow, they might have tried to mail physical copies to an old address, especially if you moved recently. Also, since you're dealing with both crypto and stock transactions, be prepared for the possibility that your stock 1099-B might be significantly more complex than your crypto one. Stock transactions often involve more detailed cost basis adjustments, especially if you bought the same stock multiple times at different prices (which creates "lots" that need to be tracked separately). The silver lining is that going through this process manually will actually teach you a lot about how investment taxation works. Many people just plug numbers from their 1099s into tax software without understanding what's happening behind the scenes.

Hey Omar! I went through this exact same frustration with Robinhood last year. Here's what I learned that might help you: First, check if you have any "pending" corporate actions in your account. Things like stock splits, dividend reinvestments, or even just stocks that paid special dividends can cause major delays in 1099-B processing. Robinhood has to wait for final cost basis adjustments from the clearing firms before they can issue your forms. Since you mentioned earning $25 in dividends, you should definitely be getting a 1099-DIV. Sometimes Robinhood bundles this with your 1099-B in a consolidated document. Double-check that your crypto 1099-B doesn't have additional pages or sections you might have missed. If you're still stuck, I'd actually recommend filing with the information you can gather from your account statements. Download your year-end activity statement and transaction history CSV. The key numbers you need are: - Total proceeds (sale amount) - Cost basis (what you originally paid + any fees) - Dates of purchase and sale (for short vs long-term classification) TurboTax and most tax software can handle manual entry if you don't have too many transactions. Just be methodical about it and keep detailed records in case you need to reconcile later when the official forms arrive. The IRS won't penalize you for filing accurately without the official 1099 as long as your numbers match what eventually gets reported. Better to file on time with good documentation than to delay and potentially face late filing penalties.

Just to add another example - my Box 1 and Box 18 were different by about $5,200 last year because I contribute to a 457 plan (government employee). Those contributions reduce my federal taxable wages but in my city they don't reduce local taxable wages. So Box 1 was smaller than Box 18. It's actually super common for these boxes to be different. I think the city tax folks are just doing their job by questioning it, but once you explain they should understand.

I work for a company that has employees in multiple states and I see W-2 questions like this all the time in our payroll department. The key thing to understand is that Box 1 (federal wages) and Box 18 (local wages) serve completely different purposes and are calculated differently. Box 1 includes all your federally taxable wages for the entire year, regardless of where you worked. Box 18 should only include wages earned while physically working in that specific local jurisdiction. Since you mentioned relocating during the year, your employer should have allocated your wages between the different locations based on when and where you actually performed the work. If you worked in City A for 6 months and City B for 6 months, each city's Box 18 should reflect roughly half your annual wages (assuming consistent pay). The city questioning you is actually doing their due diligence - they want to make sure they're getting the right amount of tax from wages actually earned in their jurisdiction. Provide them with documentation of your relocation date (lease agreement, moving receipts, etc.) and explain that Box 18 only reflects the portion of your annual wages earned while working in their city. If your employer didn't properly allocate the wages geographically, you may need to work with them to issue a corrected W-2 or provide the city with a reasonable breakdown based on your work locations and dates.