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.

has anyone actually had an audit after filing as a resident alien with treaty benefits? im nervous about claiming the treaty exemption and then getting flagged for an audit. is there anything specific i should document just in case?

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and it was incredibly stressful! One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of everything - not just for potential audits, but to make sure I was filing correctly. Since you mentioned you're in your 6th year on F-1, you're definitely correct about being a resident alien. Just make sure you have documentation showing your entry dates and status changes. I kept copies of all my I-94 records, passport stamps, and previous tax returns. For the 1042-S treaty benefits, the key is making sure you report the income AND claim the exemption properly. Don't try to hide the income - that's what gets people in trouble. Report it all transparently and let the treaty exemption do its job. One last tip: if you're still nervous about getting it right, consider having a tax professional review your return before filing, especially for your first year as a resident alien. It's a small cost for big peace of mind!

Has anyone else had weird issues with FreeTaxUSA this year? I used them for the first time and noticed some glitches in their system. My state payment went through instantly but the federal one took almost 2 weeks to hit my bank account, and the IRS website showed no record of my return for about 10 days.

I completely understand your panic - I went through the exact same thing last year! The key thing to remember is that "accepted" and "processed" are two different steps. When FreeTaxUSA says your return was accepted, it means the IRS received it and it passed their initial validation checks. The full processing (which updates your account balance and payment obligations) can take up to 21 days during busy season. For your immediate concerns: 1) Check your FreeTaxUSA account dashboard - it should show confirmation numbers for both your federal and state filings, 2) Your state payment delay is normal - ACH transfers can take 3-5 business days to appear, and 3) Don't worry about penalties since you filed before the deadline. If you're still anxious after a week and want to verify everything is in order, you can request your tax transcript from the IRS website (irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) - this will show if your return is actually in their system even before it appears on the regular "Where's My Refund" tool. You did everything right by filing on time. The system is just slow during peak season!

22 Can someone explain what happens with the depreciation you've taken when you sell at a loss? I know if you sell at a gain, there's depreciation recapture, but what if you're already taking a loss?

This is a really comprehensive discussion about converted rental properties! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I converted my primary residence to a rental in 2021. One thing I'd add is that you should also keep detailed records of any improvements you made to the property both before and after conversion. Capital improvements made while it was your primary residence get added to your original basis, while improvements made after conversion to rental property are treated differently - they create separate depreciable assets with their own recovery periods. This can actually help reduce your taxable loss or increase your deductible loss depending on the timing. Also, don't forget about the home office deduction if you used part of your primary residence for business before converting it - that creates yet another layer of complexity in the basis calculations. I learned this the hard way when preparing my taxes last year!

I used to be a bartender and now I do tax prep, and I see this issue from both sides. From the venue perspective, we had several "social media influencers" who would come in and drink while filming. The IRS would definitely consider this a legitimate business expense IF (big if) you're actually generating revenue from these streams. The test is: would a reasonable businessperson in your industry consider this an ordinary and necessary expense? For nightlife content? Absolutely yes.

This is a fascinating tax situation that highlights how modern content creation businesses push the boundaries of traditional tax categories. Based on what you've described, I believe you have a strong case for deducting these expenses. The critical factor here is that the alcohol serves a legitimate business purpose - it's essentially a required element of your content, similar to how a food blogger needs to purchase ingredients or a makeup artist needs cosmetics. Since you've stated that you never visit these establishments for personal reasons and only consume alcohol while creating content, you've established clear business purpose. I'd recommend treating these as "production costs" or "content creation materials" rather than meals & entertainment to avoid the 50% limitation. However, be prepared with rock-solid documentation: detailed receipts, stream links, business purpose notes, and ideally separate business payment methods. One thing to consider - since this represents $8,000 annually, you might want to consult with a tax professional who has experience with content creator businesses before filing. The unique nature of your business model means you want to ensure you're categorizing everything correctly to minimize audit risk while maximizing legitimate deductions. The fact that you've been conservative for 3 years actually works in your favor - it shows you're not trying to push questionable deductions, just properly claiming legitimate business expenses as you've learned more about tax law.