Can I just say how annoying it is that all this tax stuff isn't taught in school?? I have a master's degree but still had to google "what is an EIN" when I started freelancing. The IRS instructions might as well be written in another language lol

Great question! As others have mentioned, you don't technically need an EIN as a sole proprietor, but I'd definitely recommend getting one for the privacy protection alone. I've been freelancing for about 3 years now and got my EIN right from the start. One thing I'd add is that having an EIN can also make it easier to separate your business finances from personal ones. Even though you're not required to have a separate business bank account as a sole proprietor, many banks prefer an EIN when opening business accounts. This makes tracking your business income and expenses much cleaner come tax time. The application process through the IRS website is straightforward and takes maybe 10-15 minutes. Just make sure you apply directly through the official IRS site (irs.gov) - there are a lot of third-party sites that will charge you fees for something that's completely free from the IRS. Also, since you're making steady income ($1200/month is great!), don't forget about quarterly estimated tax payments. You'll likely owe both income tax and self-employment tax on that freelance income.

I'm currently going through this same process and it's been 8 days since I got the ID.me notification. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful - sounds like I should expect the letter sometime in the next week or so. One thing I'm curious about: does the letter come from ID.me directly or from the IRS? The notification in my account wasn't totally clear about who would be sending it. Also, for those who completed the verification over the phone, did you call the number on the letter itself or the main IRS line? Want to make sure I'm prepared when my letter arrives!

I just went through this process last month and wanted to share my timeline to help others plan. Got the ID.me notification on January 28th, letter arrived February 12th (15 calendar days), and completed verification the same day I received it. One tip I wish I'd known: the letter envelope says "Department of Treasury - Internal Revenue Service" on it, so don't accidentally throw it away thinking it's junk mail! The control number was clearly printed in a box at the top of the letter. I used the phone number provided on the letter itself (not the general IRS line) and got through to an agent in about 20 minutes who walked me through the verification. My ID.me account was fully restored within a few hours. The waiting period is definitely nerve-wracking, but the actual verification process once you have the letter is pretty straightforward. Hang in there!

Careful with Mexican tax authorities! They've gotten much more strict in recent years. My friend is a permanent resident there and thought he only needed to report Mexican income, but got hit with a huge penalty for not declaring his US pension and rental properties. If your mom decides to use the "non-domiciled" approach mentioned above, make sure she has VERY clear documentation proving her stronger ties to the US. They look at factors like where family lives, where most valuable property is, main source of income, etc.

This is such a complex situation that affects so many Americans with ties to Mexico! I've been dealing with similar issues as a US citizen who recently got permanent residency in Mexico. One thing I learned the hard way is that timing matters a lot for when you become a Mexican tax resident. The rules changed in recent years - now if you have permanent residency status, you're generally considered a Mexican tax resident regardless of how many days you spend there, unlike the old 183-day rule. For your mom's situation, I'd strongly recommend getting clarity on her exact tax residency status in Mexico BEFORE she starts earning rental income there. It's much easier to plan the structure correctly from the beginning than to fix it later. Also, don't forget about FBAR reporting requirements in the US if she opens Mexican bank accounts for the rental property. Any foreign financial accounts over $10,000 need to be reported to FinCEN, and the penalties for missing this are severe. The Mexican tax system can be quite different from what we're used to in the US - things like how depreciation works, what expenses are deductible, and timing of when income is recognized. Having both a good Mexican accountant AND a US accountant who understands international issues is really worth the investment.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My transcript shows code 846 with a refund issue date of 3 days ago, but still nothing in my account. Called my credit union thinking it was on their end, but they confirmed no pending deposits from the IRS or anyone else. Then I found out about SBTPG being the middleman since I had TurboTax deduct their fees from my refund. It's so frustrating that they don't make this clear upfront - I had no idea my refund would go through a third party that could delay it for days. Next year I'm definitely paying the prep fees upfront to avoid this whole mess. Has anyone had success getting SBTPG to expedite for urgent situations like medical bills?

This is exactly why I switched to FreeTaxUSA after dealing with SBTPG delays for 3 years straight. Even when you pay their prep fees upfront instead of deducting from refund, you still get professional-level software at a fraction of TurboTax's cost. My refunds now come directly from the IRS in 1-2 days instead of waiting a week for SBTPG to "process" my own money. The difference is night and day - last year my direct IRS deposit hit on a Wednesday morning, while my friend who used TurboTax with fee deduction didn't get hers until the following Monday. It's worth the small upfront cost to avoid these middleman delays, especially when you have urgent expenses like medical bills.

Just to add another perspective - I had a similar situation where I was receiving regular Venmo payments from my roommates for shared expenses (rent, utilities, groceries) totaling about $15,000 over the year. I was initially worried about tax implications too. What helped me was keeping a simple spreadsheet tracking what each payment was for, along with the original receipts or bills. This way I had clear documentation that these weren't income-generating activities, just cost-sharing among friends. The Venmo transaction notes are helpful, but having the underlying documentation (like the actual rent bill or utility statement) gives you even stronger proof that these were legitimate reimbursements. The peace of mind is worth the small effort of organizing your records. Plus, if you ever do get questioned, you'll have everything ready to show these were just friends helping each other out financially, not unreported income.

This is such a common worry that I see all the time! You're absolutely right not to stress about this - friend-to-friend reimbursements like what you're describing are definitely not taxable income. The IRS distinguishes between actual income (where you're making money) and reimbursements (where you're just getting back money you already spent). The fact that your transactions are marked as "friends" and have clear notes like "car help" and "paying you back" actually works in your favor. These notes serve as documentation that these aren't business transactions or income-generating activities. Even though the total amount seems large at $10,500, remember that this isn't new money coming to you - it's just your own money being returned after you helped your friend out. You didn't profit from these transactions, so there's no taxable event. Keep those Venmo records with the transaction notes as backup documentation, but you shouldn't need to report any of this as income on your taxes. The new payment app reporting rules are really targeting people who are running businesses through these platforms and not reporting that income, not friends helping each other out financially.