Just wondering - does being in CNC status stop penalties and interest from accruing on the tax debt? I'm considering applying for it myself.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! Got the 433-F request after being in CNC for about 20 months. I was terrified they were going to kick me out because my freelance income had gone up slightly. Here's what I learned: The key is being thorough and honest about ALL your expenses, not just focusing on income changes. Document everything - rent, utilities, groceries, car payments, insurance, medical costs, childcare, etc. The IRS uses standard allowable living expense amounts, but they'll consider documented expenses above those standards if you can prove they're necessary. In my case, even though my income increased by about $6k annually, my rent had gone up significantly and I had new prescription costs that weren't there before. I made sure to include every receipt and explanation. They kept me in CNC status because my actual ability to pay hadn't really improved. The review process took about 6 weeks total from when I submitted the form. Don't ignore it - that's the one thing that will definitely get you kicked out of CNC. But don't panic either. If your financial situation is still legitimately tight, you'll likely be fine.

Something nobody has mentioned: your cousin might benefit from an S-Corporation election instead of changing retirement accounts. With an S-Corp, she could pay herself a reasonable salary (subject to SE tax) and take the rest as distributions (not subject to SE tax). For example, if her net business profit is $35,000, she might pay herself a salary of $25,000 (subject to SE tax) and take $10,000 as a distribution (not subject to SE tax). This could save her around $1,500 in SE taxes. There are costs involved (state filing fees, possibly payroll service), but at $35k income level, it might be worth exploring.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned: health insurance! If your cousin pays for her own health insurance as a self-employed person, those premiums can be deducted on Line 16 of Schedule 1, which DOES reduce self-employment tax. This could be significant - if she's paying $400/month for health insurance, that's $4,800 that won't be subject to SE tax, saving about $735 in SE taxes.

It's worth mentioning that if this is a side gig on top of your regular W-2 job, you might need to make quarterly estimated tax payments next year if you expect to owe more than $1000 in taxes from your self-employment income. You can get penalties if you wait until filing season to pay everything!

Yes, you absolutely need to report both income sources! The $950 from DoorDash and $135 from Grubhub must both be reported on your tax return, regardless of how small the amounts seem. Here's the key rule: There's NO minimum threshold for reporting self-employment income. While companies only send 1099-NEC forms when you earn $600 or more (so you might not get one from Grubhub), you're still legally required to report ALL income you receive. Since your combined total is $1,085, you'll also need to pay self-employment tax (15.3% for Social Security and Medicare) because you're over the $400 threshold. You'll report everything on Schedule C and calculate the SE tax on Schedule SE. The good news? You can deduct legitimate business expenses like mileage (67¢ per mile for 2024), portion of your phone bill, insulated bags, car chargers, etc. These deductions reduce your taxable income and can make a significant difference in what you owe. Since both gigs are delivery work, you can combine them on a single Schedule C rather than filing separate forms for each app. Keep good records of everything in case of questions later!

Has anyone dealt with address issues after moving? I'm worried because I moved after filing and didn't update my address with the IRS before they might have sent the check.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The "Where's My Refund" tool is notoriously unhelpful when it comes to rejected direct deposits - it often shows the refund as "sent" even when the bank has already returned it to the IRS. Here's what typically happens: When your bank rejects the deposit (which they definitely would for a closed account), they send the funds back to the IRS within 1-2 business days. The IRS then has to process the returned funds and issue a paper check, which usually takes 2-3 weeks from the date of the rejected deposit. Since your refund shows as deposited on February 15th, I'd expect your bank rejected it around February 16th-17th, meaning your paper check was likely issued around early March. You should be receiving it any day now if you haven't already! One thing to double-check: make sure the mailing address on your tax return is current. If you moved and used your new address on the return, you should be fine. If not, definitely set up mail forwarding with USPS just in case. Don't panic - your money isn't lost! The IRS is just slow to update their systems when these situations occur.

Has anyone compared what happens with futures and section 1256 contracts under regular vs MTM? I trade a lot of ES and NQ futures and right now I'm getting that sweet 60/40 split between long-term and short-term rates. Wondering if MTM would hurt or help in my case?

Great thread! As someone who made the MTM election two years ago, I wanted to add a few practical considerations that might help with your decision: One thing to consider is the timing of when you actually start generating significant trading income under MTM. If you're planning to scale up your trading activity significantly in 2025, the ordinary income treatment might actually work in your favor if you're able to deduct business expenses that you couldn't before (like a home office, equipment, education, etc.). Also, regarding your multiple brokerage accounts - while the MTM election does apply to all securities under your SSN, I've found it helpful to designate one account specifically for "business trading" and another for "personal investments" even before setting up any entities. This makes the record-keeping much cleaner if you do decide to go the LLC route later. One more tip: if you do sell your NVDA position before year-end to lock in those long-term gains, be mindful of the wash sale rules if you plan to repurchase it within 30 days. Even though MTM eliminates wash sales going forward, the rules still apply to your 2024 transactions under regular tax treatment. The complexity definitely increases, but the benefits can be substantial if you're doing high-volume trading. Just make sure you have a solid bookkeeping system in place!