Since you mentioned S-Corp, make sure you're distinguishing between "distributions" and actual wages for EIC purposes. The IRS only counts W-2 wages for EIC, not distributions from your business. If your tax software counted S-Corp distributions as earned income, that would explain the discrepancy.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar EIC discrepancy, but mine involves rental income alongside my Schedule C business. The IRS is claiming my EIC should be $800 less than what I calculated. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the common thread is that tax software doesn't always handle the nuanced EIC calculations correctly when you have multiple income sources or business losses. The distinction between different types of self-employment income (S-Corp vs Schedule C) and how losses are applied seems to be where most of the confusion happens. Has anyone found a good resource that breaks down exactly how the IRS calculates EIC when you have both business income and losses? The IRS publications are so dense, and I'm trying to figure out if I should fight this or if they're actually right.

I think everyone is overthinking this! Just enter the info from the W2 and you're fine. The IRS only cares about who paid you and if the correct taxes were withheld. I've worked for like 5 different staffing agencies over the years and never had an issue. That checkbox in H&R Block is probably asking if you're self-employed. Since you got a W2, you're not self-employed, so don't check it. Simple as that!

I went through this exact same situation last year when I worked for a client through Kelly Services! You're absolutely right to treat Robert Half as your employer for all tax purposes since they issued your W2. The key thing to remember is that from the IRS perspective, you were an employee of Robert Half who happened to be assigned to work at their client's location. This is a completely normal and well-understood employment arrangement. For that checkbox you're seeing in H&R Block - if it's asking about self-employment status, definitely don't check it since you received a W2 (not a 1099). If it's asking something else and you're still unsure, you can always skip it for now and come back to it, or look for a help button that explains what that specific question is asking. Don't stress too much about it - staffing agency employment is super common and the tax software is designed to handle it properly!

This is exactly the kind of confusing contractor situation that makes tax season a nightmare! I've been dealing with similar reimbursement issues for years. What really helped me was getting everything documented properly - not just keeping receipts, but also creating a paper trail showing that these were legitimate business expenses being reimbursed, not additional income. One thing I learned the hard way: make sure you're consistent about how you handle these expenses year over year. The IRS doesn't like it when contractors flip-flop between claiming expenses as deductions versus treating reimbursements as income. Pick a method and stick with it. In your case, since they're already issuing the 1099-NEC with the reimbursements included, you're pretty much locked into reporting it as income and then deducting the expenses. Also, consider having a conversation with your client about setting up a proper accountable plan for next year. If they require you to submit receipts and reimburse exact amounts, those shouldn't be appearing on your 1099 at all. It might save both of you some headaches down the road.

I've been in this exact situation as a contractor and can confirm what others have said - you're essentially stuck reporting the reimbursements as income since they're on your 1099-NEC, but you can deduct the same amounts as business expenses on Schedule C. One thing I'd add is to make sure you're tracking the business purpose for each parking expense. The IRS wants to see that these were legitimate business travel expenses, so I keep a simple log with dates, client visits, and parking costs. It's also worth noting that if you're parking at the airport for business travel, that's generally considered a fully deductible business expense rather than just partial like commuting would be. The frustrating part is that your client should really be handling this differently - reimbursements for documented business expenses shouldn't be showing up on your 1099 at all. But changing their accounting practices mid-year is probably more hassle than it's worth. I'd definitely continue getting reimbursed rather than eating those costs yourself - just make sure you have solid documentation for the deductions.

This whole situation is such a mess, but honestly this thread has been a lifesaver! I got the same Venmo notification last week and immediately thought it was some kind of scam. What's really frustrating is how confusing the whole system is - like why is the threshold only $600 when most of us are just using these apps to split dinner bills and pay rent? It feels like they're trying to catch people who don't understand the rules and make them accidentally overpay on taxes. I ended up going through my entire Venmo history (what a nightmare) and realized that probably 90% of my transactions were just friends paying me back for stuff. The few actual "sales" I had were mostly selling old textbooks and clothes for way less than I originally paid, so I'm not even sure if those count as taxable income if I took a loss on them. Has anyone found a good way to organize their records going forward? I'm thinking of setting up a simple system to track this stuff monthly instead of waiting until tax time and having to dig through hundreds of transactions again.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who works in tax preparation - this thread has been really helpful for people navigating this confusing situation! A few additional points that might help: **Important clarification on the $600 threshold:** This is for TOTAL payments received, not profit. So even if you sold items at a loss, if the total payments exceeded $600, Venmo may still issue a 1099-K. However, you only pay taxes on actual gains/profit. **Keep receipts when possible:** For items you're selling, try to keep records of what you originally paid. If you sell a $200 textbook for $50, that's actually a $150 loss, not $50 in taxable income. **Form 1099-K vs actual taxes owed:** Getting a 1099-K doesn't automatically mean you owe taxes on that full amount. It just means Venmo reported those transactions to the IRS. You still only report actual business income on your tax return. **Pro tip for next year:** Consider asking friends to use the "personal" payment option when they reimburse you, and reserve "goods and services" for actual sales. Yes, there's a fee for goods/services, but it helps create a cleaner paper trail. The key thing to remember is that the IRS has always required you to report income from selling goods - these new reporting requirements just make it harder to fly under the radar. But legitimate personal reimbursements between friends have never been taxable and still aren't!

Just wondering - does anyone know if OP will get in trouble with the IRS for this? Like is there a penalty for having the wrong SSN on your W2 even if it wasn't intentional?

I went through this exact same situation about 3 years ago and can confirm what others have said - you're handling it correctly by waiting for the W-2c before filing. One additional tip: when you get your corrected W-2c, make sure to keep both the original incorrect W-2 AND the corrected W-2c in your tax files. The IRS recommends keeping the original for your records even after the correction, just in case there are any questions later. Also, if you're using tax software to file, most programs will automatically detect and flag SSN mismatches when you enter your information, so having the correct W-2c will make the filing process much smoother. Your refund timing shouldn't be affected once you file with the correct documents - I actually got my refund in the normal timeframe (about 2 weeks) even though I filed later than usual that year due to waiting for the correction.