As someone who's been freelancing in video editing for about 18 months now, I can share some real numbers. My effective tax rate ended up being around 18% of gross income after all deductions last year. Key deductions that made a big difference for me: - Home office (about 15% of my rent/utilities) - Equipment depreciation on my editing rig and monitors - Adobe Creative Suite and other software subscriptions - External storage and backup solutions - Partial car expenses for client meetings - Professional liability insurance The biggest surprise was how much the home office deduction helped - I have a dedicated editing room, so I can legitimately deduct that percentage of all housing costs including rent, utilities, even renter's insurance. I'd recommend setting aside 25% of each payment when starting out. Better to have a cushion than scramble to pay quarterly taxes. Once you get a feel for your actual effective rate after the first year, you can adjust accordingly. Also consider making estimated payments slightly higher than required - any overpayment becomes a refund, and it's better than owing penalties for underpayment.

One thing I wish I'd known before going freelance - don't forget about quarterly estimated tax payments! The IRS expects you to pay as you go, not just once a year. If you owe more than $1,000 when you file, you could face underpayment penalties even if you pay everything by the April deadline. The due dates are January 15, April 15, June 15, and September 15. I use Form 1040ES to calculate what I owe each quarter. Pro tip: if you had W-2 income the previous year, you can base your estimated payments on 100% of last year's tax liability (110% if your AGI was over $150k) and avoid penalties even if you end up owing more. For video editors specifically, income can be pretty irregular - some months feast, some months famine. I found it helpful to set aside 25-30% of every payment into a separate tax savings account, then make estimated payments from there. Takes the stress out of those quarterly deadlines when you know the money is already saved up.

I had a very similar issue with my 2024 return! TurboTax kept blocking me from filing because of the Form 4684 delay, even though my hurricane damage was from 2017. I spent way too much time researching this before realizing the software was just being overly broad with its questions. The key thing to understand is that the current Form 4684 delays only affect specific disaster provisions that were updated for recent disasters (mainly 2023-2024). If you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and have no new casualty losses for 2024, you can safely answer "No" to the disaster question. I changed my answer and filed without any problems. The IRS isn't going to flag you for not reporting a disaster that was already fully handled on a previous year's return. Sometimes tax software errs on the side of asking too many questions rather than missing something, but in this case it's just creating unnecessary confusion for people whose disasters were properly reported years ago.

I went through this exact same frustration last year! The Form 4684 delay message in TurboTax can be really misleading when it applies to older disasters that were already properly reported. From what you've described, since you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and there are no ongoing insurance settlements or newly discovered damage, you should be able to change your answer to "No" on the disaster question without any issues. The current Form 4684 delays are specifically related to updates for certain 2023-2024 disasters, not older ones like Hurricane Florence from 2018. Tax software sometimes casts a wide net with these screening questions, but if your disaster was fully resolved years ago, there's no need to involve Form 4684 on your current return. I'd recommend going back in TurboTax, changing that disaster answer to "No," and filing your return. You won't miss any deductions since you already took them in the correct year, and you'll avoid unnecessary delays waiting for form updates that don't even apply to your situation.

Dont overthink it too much. I've been on F1 for 5 years and file myself using Sprintax. Its like $40 but way cheaper than a CPA. Just have your W2 handy and know when u first entered US. The tax treaty stuff is handled automatically when u enter your home country.

Another important thing to consider is the substantial presence test and how it affects your tax status. Since you started working in September 2024 and will finish in July 2025, you'll likely still be considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes this year, but it's worth understanding how this might change if you stay in the US longer in future years. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of all your tax documents and any correspondence with the IRS. As an F1 student, maintaining proper tax compliance is crucial for future visa applications, OPT extensions, or if you ever apply for other immigration statuses. The IRS has specific publication 519 that covers tax rules for aliens - it's dense reading but has all the official guidance for your situation. One last tip: file your taxes even if you think you don't owe anything or had very little income. F1 students are required to file even with minimal income, and failing to file can create problems later with USCIS or future visa applications.

This is similar to when I had to verify for my 2022 taxes, but quite different from my 2021 experience. In 2022, it took about 12 days after phone verification to see my refund, whereas in 2021 it took nearly a month. The current processing seems faster than during the pandemic backlog years, so I'd expect you'll see movement within 2 weeks if your situation is similar to most standard returns.

I went through identity verification about 6 weeks ago (phone verification, similar to yours) and got my refund exactly 9 days later. The key thing I learned is to watch your transcript rather than the "Where's My Refund" tool - my transcript updated 3 days before WMR showed any movement. You'll want to look for the TC 971/570 codes to clear and then see a TC 846 code which means your refund date is set. Since you verified yesterday and it's early in the tax season, you're probably looking at that 7-14 day window most people are mentioning. The good news is phone verification typically processes faster than the mail-in verification letters.

Looking at your numbers, I think I see what might be happening here. You mentioned that your total cost basis is $758,175 for three rental properties, but when FreeTaxUSA calculated $6,070 in prior year depreciation, it sounds like it might only be calculating for one property or treating them differently than TurboTax did. Here's what I'd recommend checking: 1. **Verify you entered all three properties separately** in FreeTaxUSA. Each property should have its own depreciation schedule, not combined into one entry. 2. **Check your 2021 Form 4562 carefully** - look at Part III (MACRS Depreciation) to see if the $21,239 includes any bonus depreciation or Section 179 expensing that you might have overlooked. 3. **Review the property classifications** - make sure FreeTaxUSA has them classified the same way as your 2021 return (residential vs. commercial affects the depreciation period significantly). The math suggests there's definitely something different about how the depreciation is being calculated between the two software programs. If you're still unsure after checking these items, I'd strongly recommend pulling up your actual 2021 Form 4562 and comparing it line-by-line with what FreeTaxUSA is generating to identify exactly where the discrepancy occurs. Don't panic - this is fixable once you identify the root cause!

I've been through this exact situation! The key issue is likely that you need to match the exact depreciation method and asset breakdown from your 2021 return. Here's what I'd suggest doing step-by-step: 1. **Pull out your 2021 Form 4562** and look at Part III (MACRS Depreciation). This will show you exactly how TurboTax broke down your depreciation. 2. **Check if TurboTax separated components** - Many tax software programs will automatically separate things like appliances, carpeting, blinds, and other personal property from the building structure. These get depreciated over 5-7 years instead of 27.5 years, which can create much higher first-year depreciation. 3. **Look for bonus depreciation** - If you elected bonus depreciation on any components in 2021, that could easily explain the $15,000+ difference you're seeing. 4. **Verify the property count** - Make sure you're entering all three properties as separate assets in FreeTaxUSA, not combining them. The $6,070 FreeTaxUSA calculated sounds like it's only doing basic building depreciation for one property. If your 2021 return shows $21,239, there's definitely additional depreciation components or methods that aren't being replicated. Don't stress - this is a common issue when switching tax software. The important thing is maintaining consistency with your prior year filings. Once you identify what TurboTax did differently, you can replicate it in FreeTaxUSA.