Hey! I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and this thread has been super helpful. I just started selling on a few different platforms and was totally overwhelmed by the tax implications. One thing I'm still confused about though - if I'm using multiple platforms (like feetfinder, OnlyFans, etc.), do I need to fill out separate T2125 forms for each one, or can I combine all the income from different platforms into one business activity? Also, for anyone who's been doing this for a while - what's the best way to track payments that come in at different times? Sometimes platforms hold payments for a week or two, so I'm not sure if I should record income when I earn it or when it actually hits my account. Don't want to mess up my record keeping from the start! Thanks for all the great advice in this thread - definitely feel more confident about handling this properly now.

This is such a common question and I'm glad you're being proactive about it! I went through the exact same confusion when I started earning from similar platforms. The key thing to remember is that in Canada, ALL income must be reported regardless of the source or amount - there's no minimum threshold. Even if you only make $50, technically it should be on your tax return. The good news is that as self-employment income, you can deduct legitimate business expenses against it. Since you're in Ontario, you'll report this on your T1 return using Form T2125. Some expenses you can likely deduct include: - Portion of your internet/phone bills used for business - Any equipment purchases (camera, lighting, props, etc.) - Marketing costs if you promote yourself My advice: start tracking everything from day one. Keep a simple spreadsheet with your monthly earnings and any related expenses. Set aside about 25-30% of what you earn for taxes. And don't stress too much - once you get the hang of it, it's really not that complicated! The CRA would much rather see you reporting everything properly from the start than trying to figure it out later.

Great question about the 1099-B form! I went through something similar when I first started investing. That $171 loss is definitely claimable and worth reporting. Just to add to what others have said - don't feel bad about the loss! It's actually a learning experience that many new investors go through. The silver lining is that you'll save a bit on taxes, and now you understand how capital losses work for future years. One thing I wish someone had told me early on: keep detailed records of all your investment transactions going forward. Take screenshots or save confirmation emails when you buy/sell. It makes tax time so much easier, especially if your broker doesn't report complete cost basis information. Also, since you mentioned this was your first time with investments, you might want to research dollar-cost averaging and index funds for future investing. Much less stressful than picking individual stocks!

I've been helping people with 1099-B forms for years, and I want to emphasize something important that hasn't been mentioned yet: make sure you understand the difference between short-term and long-term capital losses on your form. If you held any of those stocks for less than a year before selling, those are short-term losses. If you held them for more than a year, they're long-term losses. This distinction matters because short-term losses first offset short-term gains, and long-term losses first offset long-term gains. Only after offsetting gains in their respective categories can they offset gains in the other category. For your $171 loss, this probably won't make a huge difference in your specific situation, but it's good to understand for future years as your investing gets more complex. The 1099-B should indicate the holding period for each transaction. Also, don't let this small loss discourage you from investing altogether! Many successful investors had losses in their early years. The key is learning from it - maybe consider starting with broad market index funds instead of individual stock picks. They're much more forgiving for beginners and require less research and monitoring.

As someone who's completely new to this whole process, I can't tell you how relieved I am to find this thread! I filed on January 26th and just noticed my status changed from "still being processed" to "being processed" this morning. I've been checking WMR obsessively (probably 5+ times a day) because this is my first time dealing with identity verification and I had no idea what to expect. I completed the ID.me verification about 12 days ago and have been in complete limbo since then. Reading all these responses from people who've been through the exact same situation is giving me so much peace of mind. I had no clue about checking transcripts or understanding the difference between these status messages. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and timelines - it's making this stressful waiting period so much more bearable knowing I'm not alone in this!

Welcome to everyone who's new here! As someone who's been through this exact situation multiple times, I can confirm that the status change from "still being processed" to "being processed" is definitely a positive step forward. I filed on January 21st this year and just got my refund deposited yesterday, so I wanted to share what I learned from tracking the process closely. After completing ID verification (which took me about 10 days), I saw this same status change and then got my deposit date exactly 9 days later. The key thing I discovered is that your transcript will update before WMR shows any changes - usually on Wednesday or Thursday nights like others mentioned. For anyone feeling anxious about the timeline, just know that once you clear ID verification and see this status change, you're essentially in the final stretch of normal processing. The IRS systems are definitely slower this year, but they are working through the backlog steadily. Hang in there - you're almost at the finish line!

One thing to check - are you sure the money is actually a scholarship and not a tuition reduction? Sometimes schools call it a "scholarship" but it's technically a reduction in tuition, which has different tax implications. Look at the 1098-T box 5 (scholarships/grants) vs. box 2 (amounts billed for qualified tuition). If it's truly a scholarship and is less than or equal to qualified expenses (tuition, required fees, books for required courses), then it's tax-free. If the scholarship exceeds qualified expenses, only the excess is taxable. My kid got a "presidential scholarship" that confused us at first - turned out it was actually a tuition discount, not true scholarship money changing hands, which affected how we reported it.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! My son received a merit scholarship that covers his full tuition, and TurboTax initially flagged it as taxable income too. After digging into it more, I realized the problem was in how I was entering the information. The key is making sure you're allocating the scholarship correctly in the education section of TurboTax. When you enter scholarship information, there should be a place where you can specify exactly what qualified expenses it covers. Since your daughter's scholarship is being applied directly to tuition by the university, that's a qualified education expense and shouldn't be taxed. Double-check your 1098-T form from the university - Box 5 should show the scholarship amount, and Box 1 or 2 should show the qualified tuition expenses. As long as the scholarship amount doesn't exceed the qualified expenses, it should be tax-free. I had to go back and correct my entries in TurboTax by specifically indicating that 100% of the scholarship went toward qualified tuition expenses. Once I did that, the tax calculation was removed. Don't file until you get this sorted out - you shouldn't have to pay taxes on money that's legitimately going toward tuition!

I'm a little confused about all this - if you're just selling your own stuff on eBay shouldn't this be considered just selling personal items? I thought you only need to report as business income if you're buying stuff to resell for profit?

I ran into this exact same issue last year! The ending inventory field is confusing when you're just a casual seller. I ended up putting $0 since I wasn't maintaining any actual "inventory" - just selling random personal items as I found them around the house. What really helped me was keeping it simple: if you don't have items specifically purchased for resale sitting around at year-end, then zero is accurate. The IRS understands that casual sellers don't operate like traditional businesses with warehouses full of inventory. One tip for next year - consider whether you even need to file Schedule C at all. If you're selling personal items at a loss (which is common when decluttering), you might be able to report it differently. But if you got a 1099-K, you'll want to address it somewhere on your return to avoid mismatch notices.