


Ask the community...
I ran into this exact issue last year! The key question is: who has the payment relationship with the freelancer? With Fiverr, YOU pay FIVERR, and then FIVERR pays the FREELANCER. So Fiverr is responsible for issuing any required tax forms to the freelancer, not you. You're basically paying for a service from Fiverr the company, not directly employing the freelancer. But beware! If you ever take the relationship off-platform (like if you hire a Fiverr freelancer directly after working with them on the platform), then you DO need to issue a 1099-NEC if you pay them $600+ in a year. I learned this the hard way lol.
So wait, what about all the fees that Fiverr takes? Like if I pay $1000 total but the freelancer only gets $800 after Fiverr takes their cut, which number would go on the 1099 if I did need to file one?
Great question! If you were paying someone directly (not through Fiverr), the 1099 would show the full amount YOU paid to THEM - so in your example, it would be the $800 that the freelancer actually received, not the $1000 you paid total. But since you're going through Fiverr, this is all handled by them anyway. From your perspective, you paid $1000 to Fiverr for services. Fiverr then pays the freelancer $800 and keeps $200 as their fee. Fiverr would be responsible for issuing any tax forms to the freelancer based on what they actually paid them ($800), not what you paid Fiverr ($1000). This is another reason why using platforms can simplify your tax situation - you don't have to worry about calculating net payments or fee structures!
Just wanted to chime in as someone who processes a lot of 1099s for small businesses - everyone here is giving you solid advice! When you use Fiverr, you're essentially purchasing services from Fiverr Inc., not directly contracting with individual freelancers. The $600 threshold for 1099-NEC reporting only applies to direct business relationships where you're paying independent contractors yourself. Since Fiverr acts as the middleman collecting payment from you and then paying their freelancers, they assume the responsibility for any required tax reporting. Your $2,800 in Fiverr purchases should just be treated as regular business expenses - keep your receipts from Fiverr for your records, but no 1099s needed on your end. The freelancers will receive their tax documents directly from Fiverr if they meet the reporting thresholds. One tip: make sure you're categorizing these expenses correctly in your books as "Professional Services" or "Contract Labor" so you can deduct them properly as business expenses!
This is really helpful, thank you! I'm new to running a business and the tax side of things has been overwhelming. Just to make sure I understand - when I look at my business expense categories, should I be putting my Fiverr payments under "Professional Services" even though they're for things like logo design and video editing? Or would "Marketing" be more appropriate since that's what I'm using the services for? Also, do I need to keep anything beyond the Fiverr receipts themselves? Like should I be documenting what specific work each freelancer did for me?
did you check if you have any freezes or holds? sometimes they dont show up obvious on the transcript but theyre there
use taxr.ai - it'll tell you exactly what codes are on your account and what they mean. saved me hours of research
A negative balance definitely means the IRS owes you money! With your tax liability at $0 and that negative balance, you likely received refundable credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit that created the overpayment. The delay could be due to identity verification, income verification, or just processing backlogs. I'd recommend calling the IRS refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954 to check if there are any issues holding up your refund. You can also try calling early morning (7-8am) for better chances of getting through!
Thanks for the tip about calling early morning! I've been trying to get through during lunch breaks but never thought about calling first thing. Do you know if they're open weekends too or just weekdays? Also wondering if there's a specific number to call if you think there might be identity verification issues vs just general refund questions?
One additional consideration that hasn't been mentioned - you'll need to track personal vs business mileage meticulously. Even with a legitimate rental arrangement, the IRS will want to see that you're not double-dipping on deductions. If you're "renting" your car from your LLC but then trying to deduct business mileage for work trips, that could be problematic. The LLC would typically be responsible for all vehicle-related deductions (maintenance, depreciation, insurance) while you pay rental fees, but you can't also claim mileage deductions as an individual. Also worth considering: if your LLC owns the vehicles, you'll need to transfer titles, which may trigger sales tax in some states and could affect your ability to get favorable personal auto loan rates in the future. The vehicles would also become business assets subject to potential creditor claims if the LLC faces any liability issues. The administrative complexity really adds up quickly, and that's before you even get to the tax implications others have mentioned.
This is a really important point about the mileage deduction issue that I hadn't considered. So essentially, if the LLC owns the car and I'm paying rental fees, I can't also claim business mileage as an individual taxpayer - it would have to be one or the other? The title transfer triggering sales tax is another cost I didn't factor in. Between that, the commercial insurance, potential sales tax registration, and all the administrative overhead everyone's mentioned, it's starting to look like the actual tax benefits would be pretty minimal after accounting for all the legitimate costs of running this as a real business. Thanks for bringing up the creditor liability aspect too - I hadn't thought about how putting personal vehicles into an LLC might expose them to business creditors if something went wrong. That's definitely a risk I need to weigh carefully.
Exactly right on the mileage deduction issue - it's an either/or situation, not both. If the LLC owns the vehicle and you're paying rental fees, then the LLC gets to claim all the vehicle-related deductions (depreciation, maintenance, insurance, etc.) while you pay market-rate rental fees. You can't then turn around and also claim business mileage deductions on your personal return for using that same vehicle. The title transfer sales tax can be substantial depending on your state - some charge the full rate on the vehicle's current value, which could easily be thousands of dollars. And yes, once the vehicles are LLC assets, they become part of the business's balance sheet and could potentially be reached by business creditors. Given all these factors - the commercial insurance costs, sales tax implications, administrative burden, audit risk, and the need for genuine third-party rental activity - most people find that a simple mileage log for legitimate business use ends up being far more cost-effective than trying to create a rental arrangement with their own LLC. The complexity and costs usually outweigh the potential tax benefits unless you're genuinely building a rental car business.
This thread has been incredibly eye-opening about all the hidden complexities and costs involved in this type of arrangement. As someone who was initially attracted to the idea of maximizing vehicle deductions, I'm now realizing that the administrative burden and compliance costs would likely eat up most of the tax savings. The combination of commercial insurance premiums (potentially $3000-5000+ annually), sales tax on title transfers, ongoing sales tax collection and remittance, business licensing requirements, and the need for genuine third-party rental activity to avoid IRS scrutiny makes this far more complicated than I initially thought. Plus the audit risk factor is concerning - even if structured correctly, related-party transactions are automatic red flags that could lead to expensive professional fees and time-consuming documentation requests. For most people in similar situations, it sounds like the traditional approach of keeping detailed mileage logs for legitimate business use and claiming the standard mileage deduction is probably the more practical and cost-effective route. Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best one. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and insights - this discussion definitely saved me from making a costly mistake!
Couldn't agree more with your conclusion! I went down a similar rabbit hole a few years ago thinking I could outsmart the tax code with creative vehicle arrangements. After talking to a CPA and really running the numbers, the simple mileage deduction ended up being way more valuable than all these complex schemes. The IRS has seen every variation of these related-party rental arrangements, and they've built their audit procedures specifically to catch them. Even when done "correctly," you're essentially painting a target on your back for extra scrutiny. And as you pointed out, once you factor in all the legitimate business costs and compliance requirements, the actual tax savings often disappear entirely. It's one of those situations where the complexity itself should be a red flag. If something requires this much planning and documentation just to avoid being flagged as abusive, it's probably not worth pursuing for most small business owners.
Quick tip - check your transcripts early morning on Fridays, thats when they usually update. And yeah that taxr.ai thing someone mentioned above is legit, helped me understand exactly what was happening with my 810
what time exactly? like midnight or?
usually between 3-6am EST from what ive seen
I've been dealing with the 810 freeze for about 6 weeks now and it's so frustrating! Called three times and got different answers each time. First rep said it was identity verification, second said it was just a random review, third said they couldn't tell me anything specific. The inconsistency is maddening when you're waiting for money you desperately need. Hoping to see some movement soon š¤
Admin_Masters
PSA: Make sure your Cash App is verified/activated for direct deposit before the refund hits! Learned that one the hard way last year smh
0 coins
Victoria Charity
ā¢good looking out! just checked mine
0 coins
Sofia Morales
Been using Cash App for my refunds for 3 years now. From my experience, it's usually 1-2 days early but not always the full 2 days they advertise. Last year I got mine on a Wednesday when my DDD was Friday. The year before it was just 1 day early. Honestly depends on when the IRS actually processes your batch and sends it out. Don't stress too much about the exact timing - you'll get it soon either way!
0 coins
Giovanni Marino
ā¢that's exactly what I needed to hear! sounds like it's worth it even if it's just 1 day early. appreciate the real experience @Sofia Morales š
0 coins