Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through this exact confusion last year. I'm a rideshare driver and got hit with multiple 1099-Ks that made it look like I earned way more than I actually did. The key thing I learned is that you absolutely need to get the detailed earnings statements from each app - not just the 1099-K. For example, my Uber 1099-K showed $15,000, but my actual driver earnings were only about $9,500 after you subtract the rider payments that just passed through to Uber's booking fees, tolls, etc. I ended up working with a tax professional who specializes in gig workers, and they showed me how to properly report this on Schedule C. You report your actual earnings (not the inflated 1099-K amount), then deduct your business expenses like mileage, phone bills, car washes, etc. The mileage deduction alone saved me hundreds. One tip: if you use multiple apps, make sure you're not double-counting miles driven. I was tracking total miles and trying to claim them for each app, which would have been incorrect. You can only deduct the actual business miles once, even if you had multiple apps running. For cash tips, I keep a simple log in my phone's notes app - just date and rough amount. Most gig workers I know report the majority of their cash tips but not necessarily every single dollar, and that seems to be the practical reality of the situation.

I've been dealing with 1099-K confusion myself as a part-time food delivery driver, and I wanted to share what I learned after doing some research and talking to other gig workers. First, yes, you do need to report the income from your 1099-K, but here's the key - you only report YOUR actual earnings, not the total transaction amount. That $8,700 includes money that went to restaurants, which isn't your income. Most delivery apps provide a detailed annual summary (separate from the 1099-K) that breaks down what portion was actually paid to you vs. what was just passing through to merchants. For the cash tips situation - legally, all tips are supposed to be reported regardless of whether they're tracked. In practice, many service workers don't report 100% of cash tips, and enforcement is limited since the IRS focuses on bigger issues. However, with 1099-K forms now being issued at lower thresholds, there's more paper trail than before. If you decide to report cash tips (which is the safest approach), keep a simple log - even just notes in your phone with dates and approximate amounts. For your delivery work, make sure you're tracking your mileage and other business expenses like phone bills, insulated bags, etc. These deductions on Schedule C can significantly reduce your taxable income. The bottom line: report what's actually YOUR income from the 1099-K (not the inflated total), keep basic records of cash tips and expenses, and don't stress too much - most gig workers figure this out and the IRS understands the complexity of these new reporting requirements.

Aaron, you've received some excellent advice here! Just to summarize the key points for your situation: Since you're not in a community property state, your mom can absolutely prepare your tax return using only your income information. Your wife's income details won't be needed - just her name and SSN for the return. The main coordination points you and your wife should discuss are: 1. Both of you must either itemize deductions OR both take the standard deduction 2. Any shared deductible expenses (like mortgage interest) need to be split appropriately between your returns 3. If you have children, decide who claims them as dependents Your wife's desire for financial privacy is completely reasonable, and married filing separately is designed exactly for situations like yours. You can maintain that privacy while still being tax compliant. Just make sure you've actually calculated whether filing separately vs. jointly saves you money overall - sometimes the lost credits and deductions make joint filing more beneficial even when you prefer the privacy of separate returns. It sounds like you and your wife have thought this through well, and your mom should be able to handle your return without any issues!

Aaron, I completely understand your situation! My spouse and I went through something very similar when we first got married. The privacy aspect is totally valid, and you're absolutely on the right track. When filing married filing separately, you generally only need to report your own income on your tax return. Your mom can prepare your taxes with just your information plus your wife's basic identifying details (name and SSN). Since you mentioned you're not in a community property state, you won't need any of your wife's income information. Just make sure you and your wife coordinate on a few key points: whether you're both taking the standard deduction or both itemizing (you have to do the same thing), and how to handle any shared deductible expenses like mortgage interest if you own a home together. It's great that you've already worked out that separate filing makes sense for your situation. Your wife's preference for financial privacy is completely reasonable, and this filing status is designed exactly for couples who want to maintain that independence. Your mom should have everything she needs to prepare your return properly!

I think your tax pro might be confusing the rules for SIMPLE IRAs with Roth IRAs. With SIMPLE IRAs, there actually are some limitations when you have multiple retirement plans. But for your specific situation with a Solo 401k and Roth IRA, they're completely separate contribution limits as others have said. The Solo 401k falls under the 401k annual limits ($23,000 for 2025) and the Roth IRA has its own limit ($7,000 for 2025 if under 50). The only things that would prevent you from contributing to a Roth IRA would be: 1. Having income above the eligibility threshold (which you're nowhere near) 2. Not having enough earned income to cover your contributions 3. Being over 73 with no earned income (new RMD age

I wonder if your tax professional is thinking about the "overall contribution limit" which is $69,000 for 2025 across qualified plans. But that's mostly relevant for people with very high incomes who max out both employee and employer contributions. With your income level, there's no way you'd hit that limit. You should definitely be able to contribute to both your Roth Solo 401k and your Roth IRA as long as you have sufficient earned income to cover both. Just make sure you're tracking your business profit carefully, since your Solo 401k contributions can't exceed your actual business profit (after deducting the employer portion of self-employment tax).

This thread has been incredibly enlightening! As a newcomer to the Solo 401k world, I had no idea about the after-tax contribution strategy until reading through all these detailed responses. @Nora Brooks - your calculation looks solid based on the consensus here. It's encouraging to see someone in a similar position working through these numbers methodically. What really caught my attention was @Santiago's clarification about the QBI deduction not reducing your compensation base for retirement contributions. That's a huge distinction that I definitely would have gotten wrong! I'm curious - are there any other common misconceptions about Solo 401k contribution calculations that newcomers like me should be aware of? Also fascinated by the mega backdoor Roth strategy that several people mentioned. The idea of being able to get additional funds into Roth accounts beyond the normal IRA limits seems like a game-changer for long-term tax planning. For someone just getting started, would you recommend setting up the regular Solo 401k contributions first and then adding the after-tax component once I'm more familiar with the process, or is it better to implement the full strategy from the beginning? Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed real-world experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical guidance that's impossible to find in the standard IRS publications!

This thread is incredibly comprehensive and has answered questions I didn't even know I had! As someone who's been doing basic Solo 401k contributions for a couple years but never explored the after-tax option, I'm realizing I may have been leaving significant money on the table. @Santiago's point about QBI not reducing the compensation base is absolutely critical - I've been making that exact mistake and probably undercontributed by several thousand dollars over the past two years. That's a costly misunderstanding that I bet many self-employed folks are making. The mega backdoor Roth strategy sounds compelling, but I'm curious about one practical aspect - how do you handle the recordkeeping when you're doing frequent conversions throughout the year? Do you need to track each conversion separately for tax purposes, or does the plan administrator handle most of that documentation? Also wondering about the investment timing - when you make after-tax contributions with the intention of immediately converting to Roth, do you typically leave the funds in a money market or stable value option to minimize growth before conversion, or just accept that there might be some small taxable gains? Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences here - this kind of detailed, real-world guidance is invaluable for navigating these complex retirement planning strategies!

Has anyone looked into whether these foreign pension contributions can be excluded from income under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion? I'm trying to figure out if I need to add back in my Colombian pension contributions when calculating my FEIE amount.

I went through this exact same situation with my Colombian AFP account last year. After consulting with a tax professional who specializes in expat taxes, I can confirm that you absolutely need to report it on both FBAR and Form 8938. The key points that apply to your Porvenir account: 1. **FBAR reporting is required** - Even though it's mandatory and you can't access it until retirement, you still have a beneficial interest in the account. The private management by AFP companies means it doesn't qualify for any government pension exemptions. 2. **Form 8938 reporting is also required** - Since your account exceeds the $10,000 threshold and you're filing as single (assuming from your post), you'll need to include it on Form 8938 as well. 3. **Valuation can be tricky** - Make sure to convert the peso value to USD using the exchange rate on December 31st of the tax year. Your AFP should provide year-end statements that show the account balance. 4. **Don't forget about employer contributions** - If your employer is making matching contributions to your AFP account, those count toward your total account value for reporting purposes. The penalties for non-compliance are severe, so it's definitely better to over-report. I learned this the hard way after initially thinking my account might be exempt due to the retirement restrictions.