Just wanted to chime in as someone who made this exact mistake when I first started my S Corp. I thought I was being clever by avoiding payroll taxes, but it backfired spectacularly. The IRS has very specific rules about S Corp shareholder-employees - if you're providing services to the corporation (which you clearly are as an IT consultant), you MUST be treated as an employee with proper W-2 wages. The "reasonable salary" requirement exists specifically to prevent what you're thinking about doing. The whole point of an S Corp is that you pay employment taxes on your salary, then take additional profits as distributions (which aren't subject to SE tax). If you could just pay yourself as a contractor, everyone would do it to avoid payroll taxes entirely. My advice: set up proper payroll for yourself immediately. Yes, it's more paperwork and you'll pay both sides of payroll taxes on your salary portion, but it's the only compliant way to do this. The tax savings on your distributions will more than make up for it, and you'll avoid the audit risk and penalties that come with trying to game the system.

As someone who's been through several S Corp audits over the years, I can't stress enough how right everyone here is about the employee vs. contractor issue. The IRS has gotten extremely aggressive about this specific problem because so many business owners try to avoid payroll taxes this way. What you're describing - paying yourself as a contractor to avoid employment taxes - is exactly what they call "disguised employment." The IRS doesn't care what you call it or how you structure the paperwork. If you own the S Corp and you're performing services for it, you're an employee, period. I learned this the hard way when they hit me with a $12,000 penalty for employment tax avoidance, plus interest, plus I had to go back and file corrected payroll returns for two years. The audit took 8 months to resolve and cost me more in legal fees than I ever "saved" in payroll taxes. Do yourself a favor and just set up proper payroll from the start. QuickBooks payroll or Gusto make it pretty painless these days, and the peace of mind is worth every penny. Trust me, dealing with an IRS employment tax audit is not something you want to experience.

Quick question about TurboTax vs other software for international students - has anyone used both TaxSlayer and TurboTax? I'm wondering if TaxSlayer is any better for handling international student situations or if I should just use one of the specialized options mentioned earlier?

I went through something very similar last year as an F-1 student from India. The anxiety is totally understandable, but you're going to be okay! Like others mentioned, this is an honest mistake that many international students make. Here's what worked for me: I contacted my university's international student services office first - they had a tax specialist who deals with these situations all the time. She helped me understand that I needed to file Form 1040-X (amended return) along with Form 1040-NR since I was still considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes. The key thing that gave me peace of mind was learning that the IRS actually expects some confusion around international student tax status. They have procedures in place for exactly this situation. When you file your amended return, there's a section where you can explain that you initially filed incorrectly due to misunderstanding your tax status as an international student. Also, don't worry too much about the immigration consequences. I was paranoid about the same thing, but my immigration lawyer explained that tax filing errors that are corrected in good faith are very different from intentional tax evasion. The fact that you're actively trying to fix this shows good faith. One tip: keep documentation of everything - your amended return, any correspondence with the IRS, etc. It'll be helpful to have a paper trail showing you corrected the mistake promptly once you became aware of it.

Has anyone had experience with the IRS questioning donation amounts? I'm in a similar situation (donated about 15% of income) and worried about audit risk.

Great question! At 11% of your income, your donations are well within normal ranges and shouldn't raise any red flags. The IRS generally becomes more interested when charitable deductions exceed 20-30% of income without corresponding documentation. For your situation, definitely run the numbers on itemizing vs. standard deduction. With $8,200 in donations, you'd need about $6,400 more in other itemized deductions (mortgage interest, state/local taxes, medical expenses) to exceed the $14,600 standard deduction for single filers. Since most of your donations were likely under $250 each, your email confirmations should be sufficient documentation. Just make sure they show the charity name, date, and amount. For any single donations of $250 or more, you'll need a written acknowledgment from the charity stating whether you received anything of value in return. One tip: Consider setting up a simple spreadsheet to track donations throughout the year - it makes tax time much easier and helps with planning future giving strategies like the "bunching" approach others mentioned.

I had a very similar experience with Charles Schwab after rolling over my 403(b). The key thing that worked for me was being persistent and asking to speak with the "document services" or "tax reporting" department specifically, not general customer service. When you call Fidelity, try this approach: immediately when the automated system starts, say "tax documents" or "1099" - many companies have voice recognition that will route you to the right department. If that doesn't work, keep saying "representative" until you get transferred. Also, gather any documentation you have from the rollover process before calling - confirmation emails, statements showing the transfer, anything with your old account number on it. Even if you can't log in anymore, having that account number can help them locate your records faster. One more tip: if the first representative can't help, politely ask to speak with a supervisor. Sometimes the front-line reps don't have access to closed account records, but supervisors or specialized departments do. Don't give up after the first "no" - you're legally entitled to those tax documents!

Just wanted to add one more option that saved me when I had this exact situation with Vanguard a couple years ago: If you still have access to your old work email (even if you've left the company), search for any emails from Fidelity about the rollover. Sometimes they send electronic delivery notifications or account closure confirmations that include a link to access tax documents online. Also, check if Fidelity has a "former participant" portal specifically for people with closed 401k accounts. Many plan administrators maintain these separate systems exactly for situations like this where you need historical documents but no longer have an active account. If all else fails and you're running up against the tax deadline, you can file your return and indicate that you're expecting a 1099-R form (most tax software has an option for missing documents). Then you can file an amended return once you get the form. Not ideal, but it prevents you from missing the filing deadline while you sort this out.

Just wanted to add that you should also make sure your Cash App account is fully verified with your SSN and everything before using it for tax refunds. The IRS can be picky about matching names and info, so if there's any mismatch between your tax return and your Cash App account details, it could cause delays or even send your refund back. Also keep screenshots of your routing/account numbers just in case!

Yeah Cash App definitely works for tax refunds! I've been using it for the past 2 years with no issues. Just make sure you have the Cash App debit card activated and your account fully verified with your real name/SSN that matches your tax return exactly. The routing number is 073923033 and you can find your account number in the app under the banking tab. Takes about the same time as any other bank - usually 1-3 business days once the IRS actually sends it out.