I'm dealing with a somewhat related HSA question and wanted to add another perspective here. While everyone's correctly pointed out that you can't use your HSA for pre-marriage expenses, there might be one more angle worth exploring. If your wife's medical bill is still showing as unpaid on her credit report or with the provider, you could potentially help her in other ways that might be more beneficial long-term. For example, if she pays it off quickly (even without HSA funds), she might be able to negotiate a "pay for delete" agreement where the provider removes any negative reporting from her credit. Also, depending on the type of medical tests she had done, there might be appeals options if the insurance denial was based on "medical necessity" or prior authorization issues. I've seen cases where people successfully appealed claims months later, especially for diagnostic tests that revealed important health information. Just another thought since the HSA route is unfortunately off the table! Sometimes the non-tax-advantaged solutions end up being better in the long run anyway.

I hate to pile on with more bad news about the HSA situation, but I wanted to confirm what everyone else has said - the IRS is absolutely strict about the timing rule. I made this exact mistake a few years ago with my husband's dental work from before our marriage and ended up paying the 20% penalty plus income tax on the withdrawal. However, I do want to echo what others have mentioned about negotiating with the provider. That $700 bill might seem set in stone, but medical billing departments often have more flexibility than people realize. When I called about a similar situation, I explained that it was an old bill from when my spouse had high-deductible insurance, and they immediately offered a 25% prompt-pay discount if I could pay it within 30 days. Also, if your wife's income has changed since last year (new job, reduced hours, etc.), she might qualify for the provider's financial hardship program. Many hospitals and clinics will reduce or eliminate bills based on current financial circumstances, not what your situation was when the service was provided. It's definitely worth a phone call before paying the full amount out of your regular savings!

I'm dealing with something similar right now - had a client ghost me after I delivered a custom kitchen renovation worth $12K back in February. The whole sales tax question kept me up at night because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pay tax on money I never received. After reading through all these responses, I'm definitely not paying sales tax on the unpaid amount for my quarterly filing next week. It sounds like Minnesota is pretty clear that you only remit sales tax on actual collected payments, not delivered work that went unpaid. I'm also going to look into both the small claims route and maybe trying that Claimyr service to get official confirmation from the state. The documentation requirements for proving it's a legitimate bad debt are really good to know about - I've been keeping all my follow-up emails but need to send that certified mail demand letter everyone's mentioning. Thanks for asking this question - saved me from potentially paying $780 in sales tax on money I never got!

As a tax professional who's helped dozens of small business owners navigate this exact situation, I can confirm what others have said - you absolutely do NOT need to pay sales tax on money you haven't received. Minnesota follows the cash basis rule for sales tax, meaning your obligation is triggered when payment is actually collected, not when goods/services are delivered. However, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned enough - you need to be consistent with your accounting method. If you're reporting income on a cash basis (which most small businesses do), then you wouldn't have reported this $3,800 as income on your tax return either, which aligns perfectly with not paying sales tax on it. Keep detailed records of all your collection attempts - emails, calls, certified mail receipts, etc. If you eventually do collect payment (whether through small claims, direct payment, or settlement), THEN you'll need to include it in your sales tax filing for the period when payment is received. One last tip: consider adding a clause to future contracts requiring a deposit or milestone payments. This helps avoid these situations entirely and keeps your cash flow healthier.

I completely understand your stress about this situation! As others have mentioned, you definitely need to report all W-2s - the IRS already has copies from the employers so leaving one out will cause bigger problems down the road. The good news is there are several strategies that might help reduce what you owe. First, double-check that you're claiming all available credits - things like the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit (if you have kids), or education credits if either of you took classes. You mentioned this is your first year filing married - make sure you're using the right filing status. Sometimes "Married Filing Separately" can be better than "Married Filing Jointly" depending on your income levels, though usually joint is better. Also consider making a traditional IRA contribution before the tax deadline - you can still contribute for the previous tax year and it directly reduces your taxable income. Even a small contribution might help bridge the gap between owing and breaking even. Don't panic! Owing $787 isn't the end of the world, and the IRS offers payment plans if you can't pay it all at once. Focus on making sure your withholdings are adjusted going forward so this doesn't happen again next year.

I feel your pain on this - my wife and I went through almost the exact same thing our first year married! The shock of going from expecting a refund to owing money is really tough. One thing that helped us was checking if we qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). With multiple lower-paying jobs, you might be right in that sweet spot where it applies. Also, if you're under 25 and don't have kids, there's a smaller EITC for childless workers that many people don't know about. Another suggestion - look into whether you can still contribute to traditional IRAs for last year. Even if your husband's part-time jobs don't offer retirement plans, you can usually still make IRA contributions that reduce your taxable income dollar-for-dollar. If you can swing even a $1,000 contribution, that could save you $100-200 in taxes depending on your bracket. The silver lining is that you've learned this lesson early in your marriage! Going forward, you can adjust withholdings or make quarterly payments to avoid this surprise. We now have extra taxes withheld from my main job to cover my husband's freelance work, and it's made tax time much less stressful. Hang in there - you'll get through this! 💪

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my dropshipping business and was making the same mistake of including sales tax in my gross receipts. One thing I'd add is that if you use payment processors like PayPal or Stripe, make sure to check their reporting features. PayPal's 1099-K forms can sometimes include the sales tax amounts in the reported gross payments, which might make it look like you have more income than you actually do. You'll need to reconcile this difference when filing your Schedule C. Also, for anyone using marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, remember that in marketplace facilitator states, the platform collects and remits sales tax on your behalf. In those cases, you won't see the sales tax in your seller reports at all - the customer pays it directly to the marketplace. This actually makes the Schedule C reporting cleaner since your gross receipts will already exclude the sales tax. Just wanted to share this since payment processor reporting can be another source of confusion when trying to figure out your actual taxable income versus total money received.

This is such a comprehensive thread! As someone who's been doing online reselling for several years, I want to emphasize one critical point that could save you from major headaches down the road. Always maintain a separate business checking account specifically for sales tax collections. When you collect that $105 total ($100 product + $5 tax), immediately transfer the $5 tax portion to this separate account. This creates an unmistakable paper trail showing you never treated sales tax as business income. I learned this the hard way during a state audit. Even though I was properly excluding sales tax from my Schedule C, the auditor initially questioned why my business account deposits were higher than my reported gross receipts. Having that separate sales tax account with clear transfer records made the explanation simple and credible. Also, don't forget about sales tax on your business purchases! If you buy inventory, packaging supplies, or equipment, you might owe use tax on items you use in your business rather than resell. Many online sellers overlook this completely. The bottom line for your Schedule C: Report only the $123,500. The $6,500 sales tax was never your income, so it should never appear on your federal return. Keep meticulous records of collections and remittances, and you'll be fine if anyone ever asks questions.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my Shareworks ESPP account! The key thing that helped me figure it out was looking at my actual account statements more carefully. In the fine print of my quarterly statements, I found language that specifically mentioned "Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC" as the custodian, which is clearly a US entity. Even though the mailing address and some correspondence showed Canadian addresses, the actual legal entity holding my shares was US-based. You can also check your account opening documents or look in the "Important Disclosures" section of your online account. There should be clear language about which Morgan Stanley entity is your account custodian. If it says something like "Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC" or another US LLC/Corp designation, you're dealing with a US account and no FBAR required. If you're still not 100% sure after checking these documents, definitely call their customer service line and ask them directly to confirm which legal entity is the custodian of your account. They should be able to give you a definitive answer. Better to spend 20 minutes on the phone than worry about potential FBAR penalties!

I've been dealing with this exact Shareworks/FBAR question for months and finally got clarity from my CPA. The bottom line is that most Shareworks ESPP accounts maintained through Morgan Stanley are actually US accounts, even with the Canadian address confusion. Here's what I learned: When Solium was acquired by Morgan Stanley, most existing US participant accounts were transferred to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, which is a US entity. However, some accounts might still be held by Morgan Stanley Canada depending on when your account was established and your company's specific arrangement. The easiest way to determine this is to log into your Shareworks account online and look for the "Account Details" or "Legal Information" section. It should clearly state which Morgan Stanley entity is the custodian. If it shows any US LLC or Corp designation, you're dealing with a domestic account and no FBAR is required. One thing to be careful about - even if you determine no FBAR is needed now, keep monitoring this if Morgan Stanley makes any changes to how they hold accounts in the future. Corporate restructuring can sometimes change the legal status of where accounts are maintained. Also worth noting: the $10,000 FBAR threshold is based on the highest balance at any point during the year, not just year-end balance. So if your account briefly hit $10,001 in March but was back down to $8,000 by December, you'd still need to file if it were indeed a foreign account.