Based on what I've seen in previous years, VA paper checks are taking about 10-14 days to arrive. Last year mine was dated Feb 15 and arrived on Feb 26. The explanation letter is usually attached right to the check, so you'll find out what it was for when it arrives. If you're PCSing soon and need that money ASAP, you might want to call the VA Tax Dept and see if they can tell you over the phone what the offset was for - sometimes you can resolve it faster that way.

Hey Nadia! Military family here too, so I totally get the PCS stress. 🪖 I've been through this exact situation with VA twice now. The paper check usually takes 10-14 business days from when they process the DD portion. Since your DD was processed on 2/9, I'd expect the check sometime around 2/25-3/3. Pro tip: If you're really tight on timing for your PCS move, you can call the VA Tax Department and ask them to expedite the explanation letter via email while the check is still in transit. That way you'll at least know what the offset was for and can start working on resolving it if needed. The number is on their website under "Refund Inquiries." Good luck with your move! 🚛

One thing nobody mentioned - if you owe more than $54,000, the IRS can now revoke your passport or prevent you from getting one! They're required to notify you before doing this, but it's definitely beyond a "financial penalty" and could seriously impact your life if you travel internationally for work or family. Also, if you owe more than $25,000, you can't use the online payment plans and things get more complicated. The bigger your balance gets (with all those penalties and interest compounding), the fewer options you have.

The passport revocation process is actually pretty straightforward from the IRS side. Once you have a "seriously delinquent tax debt" (over $54,000 including penalties and interest), the IRS sends your information to the State Department through an automated system. The State Department then either denies your passport application or revokes your existing passport. You get advance notice - the IRS has to send you a Notice CP508C before certifying your debt to State. But once that happens, you basically can't travel internationally until you either pay in full, set up an approved payment plan, or get the debt declared currently not collectible due to hardship. The scary part is how fast you can hit that $54k threshold when penalties and interest are compounding. If you originally owed $20k and let it sit for a few years, you could easily cross into passport revocation territory without realizing it.

Minnesota state income tax rates range from 5.35% to 9.85% depending on your income level, so you'll definitely want to factor that in! Since you're just starting out, I'd recommend setting aside around 35-40% of your profit to cover both federal and state taxes - better to have a little extra cushion than come up short. Also, Minnesota requires quarterly estimated tax payments if you expect to owe more than $500 in state taxes, so keep that in mind as your LLC grows. The Minnesota Department of Revenue website has a decent estimated tax calculator that can help you figure out roughly what you'll owe based on your projected annual profit. One more thing - make sure you're aware of Minnesota's self-employment tax situation. The state doesn't have its own self-employment tax (that's just federal), but they do have their own rules about what business expenses are deductible that might differ slightly from federal rules.

Great question! I went through this exact confusion when I started my handyman business. You're absolutely right to calculate based on profit, not gross revenue. In your case, with $9,800 revenue minus $6,350 in legitimate business expenses, you'd only need to set aside taxes on the $3,450 profit. One thing that really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything in real-time. I have columns for revenue, materials, equipment rental, mileage, and other expenses. This way I can see my actual profit margin throughout the year and adjust my tax savings accordingly. Also, don't forget to track your business use of personal items - like if you use your personal truck for jobs, you can deduct the business mileage. And definitely keep digital copies of all receipts! I learned that lesson when I lost a box of receipts and couldn't claim about $800 in legitimate expenses. The 30% rule is a good starting point for profit, but as others mentioned, factor in your state taxes too. I'd rather set aside a bit extra and get a refund than scramble to find money I don't have come tax time.

Make sure when you start this new legit job, you fill out your W-4 correctly! If you've had untaxed income so far this year, you might want to have extra withholding taken out of your new paychecks to cover what you'll owe for the first part of the year. You can put an additional dollar amount on line 4(c) of the W-4 form. Also, open a separate savings account and start putting 25-30% of any "under the table" money aside for taxes. That way you won't be shocked at tax time.

Just want to add - since you're 19 and this is your first real job, don't beat yourself up about not knowing the tax rules. The system is confusing and your employer should have handled this properly from day one. That said, definitely file for this year and consider whether you need to file for any previous tax year where you had income. The good news is that if you're owed a refund from previous years (which is possible if you had other jobs with proper withholding), there's no penalty for filing late returns when the IRS owes YOU money. One practical tip: when you do file, you might qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit since you're young and likely don't have high income. This could actually get you money back even though no taxes were withheld. Sometimes people in "under the table" situations are pleasantly surprised to find they get refunds rather than owing money.

I gotta ask - does it matter what kind of business you have? I run a small lawn care service and charge sales tax on products (fertilizer, plants, etc.) but not on the service portion. Am I supposed to be charging tax on everything?

I'm dealing with something similar right now with my food truck business. Been operating for 2 years and just found out I should have been collecting sales tax on prepared food in my state. The panic is real! One thing I learned is that you definitely want to get registered for a sales tax permit ASAP even before you figure out the back taxes situation. Continuing to operate without one while you're sorting out the past issues just makes things worse. Also, keep detailed records of EVERYTHING moving forward - sales by location, exempt vs taxable items, etc. I started using a POS system that automatically calculates and tracks sales tax by jurisdiction since I operate in multiple cities. It's been a lifesaver for staying compliant going forward while I work through my past issues. The voluntary disclosure route really does seem to be the way to go based on what I'm reading here. Better to rip the band-aid off and deal with it head-on than live in constant fear of getting caught.