22 My college sends an email every year reminding student tutors that we're independent contractors. So annoying they don't just hire us as employees! Does anyone know if there's a way to avoid that 15.3% self-employment tax? That's a huge chunk of my small tutoring income 😩

Just want to add that even though $550 seems small, you'll likely still owe some self-employment tax on it. The good news is that if your net earnings from self-employment are less than $400, you don't have to pay self-employment tax at all. So definitely track every expense you can think of - textbooks you bought for reference, gas to drive to tutoring sessions, even a portion of your phone bill if you use it to coordinate with students. Those deductions could potentially bring your net profit below the $400 threshold and save you from owing the 15.3% self-employment tax entirely! Also, make sure to save about 25-30% of your tutoring income for taxes if you haven't already. Even as a student, you might owe both income tax and self-employment tax on this money.

Question for anyone who knows - do I still have to deal with this mark-to-market stuff for section 1256 contracts if I only trade them in my IRA? Or is this just an issue for taxable accounts?

I went through almost the exact same situation last year with my SPX options! The mark-to-market rules for section 1256 contracts are so confusing when you're first learning about them. Here's what I ended up doing: I filed the 1040-X amendment for 2022 to properly report those unrealized losses. It was definitely worth it - even though it took about 6 months to process, I got back around $3,200 that I had overpaid. The key thing to remember is that you can't just roll those unreported losses forward to 2023 - they have to be claimed in the tax year they actually occurred. One tip: make sure you have good records of your year-end positions and their fair market values on December 31st, 2022. The IRS will want to see how you calculated the mark-to-market adjustment. I had to reconstruct some of this from my broker statements, which was a pain. The 60/40 treatment actually works in your favor most of the time since 60% gets treated as long-term capital gains/losses regardless of how long you actually held the contracts. Don't beat yourself up too much - this catches a lot of options traders off guard the first time!

One important thing nobody mentioned: Even with an ITIN, as a non-resident alien, you should look into filing a 1040-NR (Non-Resident) tax return for any US-source income, including that property sale. Just having an ITIN doesn't fix everything - you still need to file the right forms. Also, if the money you're transferring from your home country was already taxed there, make sure you keep documentation proving the source. Large transfers get reported by banks via FinCEN, but that doesn't automatically make them taxable.

As someone who went through a similar situation as a non-resident, I'd strongly recommend getting that ITIN before you receive the $31,500 payment. The application process can take 6-11 weeks, so don't wait. A few key points from my experience: **On the $31,500 payment:** Yes, your US bank will likely report this to the IRS, especially if it's from a US source or if it triggers any reporting thresholds. Having an ITIN ensures proper tax identification when this gets reported. **On property sale timing:** Don't rush to sell before marriage just for tax purposes. The FIRPTA withholding (15% of gross sales price) applies regardless of when you sell. However, being married to a US citizen might give you more options for how you file and potentially better treatment of capital gains. **On international transfers:** There's no limit that makes transfers "income" - it depends on the source. Money you've already earned and paid taxes on in your home country isn't US taxable income just because you move it to a US account. Just keep good documentation showing the source of funds. **Practical tip:** Consider consulting with a tax professional who specializes in international taxation before making any major moves. The interplay between non-resident status, property ownership, and potential future residency can be complex. Get that ITIN application started now - you'll need it for the property sale anyway, and it's better to have it ready than to be scrambling later.

I completely understand your concern! This happened to me too and I was convinced something was wrong with my filing. A blank wage and income transcript is totally normal, especially for 2023 returns. The IRS processes these transcripts through a separate system that handles all the W-2s and 1099s from employers - this batch processing typically doesn't complete until late May or early June. What's important to know is that your return processing happens independently of this transcript being populated. So if you've already filed your return, received your refund, or can see activity on your account transcript, everything is working correctly. The blank wage transcript is just an administrative timing issue, not a problem with your tax filing. I know it's nerve-wracking to see that empty screen, but it will eventually populate once the IRS finishes processing all those employer documents!

I can definitely ease your worries - this is completely normal! I experienced the exact same thing last year and was convinced something had gone terribly wrong with my filing. What helped me understand was learning that the IRS operates multiple transcript systems that update on completely different schedules. Your Wage and Income transcript pulls data from what's called the Information Returns Master File (IRMF), which compiles all the W-2s, 1099s, and other income documents that employers and financial institutions submit to the IRS. This system processes documents in massive batches and typically doesn't complete until late May or early June - which is why you're seeing a blank transcript now, even if you filed months ago. The key thing to remember is that your actual tax return processing happens through a completely separate system and timeline. So if you've already received your refund or can see processing activity on your Account transcript, that's proof everything is working correctly on the IRS side. The blank Wage and Income transcript is purely an administrative timing issue, not an indication of any problems with your filing!

Thanks everyone for the detailed explanations! This has been incredibly helpful. I was definitely overthinking the 1099 situation. Just to make sure I understand correctly - we need to file Form 1065 (partnership return) and issue K-1s to each partner, but no 1099s for distributions. And if we have any guaranteed payments for services, those go on the K-1 as well, not on 1099-NEC forms. One follow-up question - do we need to send the K-1s to partners by the same March 15th deadline as filing the partnership return, or do partners get more time? I want to make sure everyone gets their tax info in time for their personal returns.

Just wanted to add one more important point that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're tracking each partner's capital account and basis properly throughout the year. This becomes crucial when determining how much each partner can take as distributions without tax consequences. Your basis starts with your initial capital contribution, increases with your share of partnership income and additional contributions, and decreases with distributions and your share of losses. You can only take tax-free distributions up to your basis amount. Anything above that gets treated as capital gains. I learned this the hard way when I took distributions exceeding my basis and got hit with unexpected capital gains taxes. Now I track this monthly using a simple spreadsheet. It's definitely something to discuss with your tax preparer or factor into your planning if you're doing it yourself!