One thing I'd add is to consider opening a separate bank account just for your skin trading business. It makes tracking so much easier when tax time comes around, and it helps establish that this is a legitimate business activity rather than just a hobby. You can deposit your trading profits there and pay for new inventory purchases from that same account. Also, since you're dealing with digital assets that can be volatile in value, consider taking screenshots or saving records of market prices when you make transactions. This can help justify your purchase and sale prices if the IRS ever questions your reported profits. Steam's market history is helpful but having your own backup documentation never hurts. The business bank account will also make it crystal clear how much you're actually withdrawing for personal use versus reinvesting, which will help with your bookkeeping and Schedule C reporting.

Great advice already in this thread! One additional thing to consider is quarterly estimated tax payments. Since you're essentially running a small business, you might need to make estimated payments throughout the year rather than waiting until tax time. The general rule is if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes when you file, you should be making quarterly payments to avoid penalties. Given that you mentioned reinvesting most profits to grow the operation, it's easy to forget that you still owe taxes on those profits even if the cash isn't sitting in your personal account. I'd recommend setting aside about 25-30% of your net profits for taxes (income tax + self-employment tax) and making those quarterly payments if your annual profit looks like it'll be substantial. The due dates are usually mid-January, mid-April, mid-June, and mid-September for the following year's taxes. Also, since you're dealing with Steam's mandatory 7-day hold period, make sure you're tracking when each transaction actually completes for tax purposes - it's the sale date that matters for when you recognize the income, not when you first list the item.

Marina, you're definitely on the right track asking about this! I went through something very similar last year with about $200 in sports betting winnings. What really caught me off guard (and I see others have mentioned this too) is that you need to report ALL your individual winning bets as income, not just your $150 net profit. So if you won $800 total across various bets but lost $650 on others, you'd actually report the full $800 as gambling income on your tax return. The losses can potentially be deducted, but only if you itemize deductions - and with the standard deduction being $14,600 for 2024, most people with smaller gambling amounts find it's better to just take the standard deduction and pay tax on the gross winnings. Since you're smart enough to quit while ahead, make sure you download your complete transaction histories from DraftKings, FanDuel, or whatever platforms you used BEFORE you close those accounts. Look for sections like "Transaction History" or "Betting History" in your account settings. You'll want records showing each bet's date, amount, and outcome. The actual tax impact on your situation will probably be pretty minimal - maybe $30-50 depending on your bracket. Way better to report it properly and have peace of mind than worry about it later. Good luck with your filing!

I'm in almost the exact same situation! Made about $135 from casual sports betting this year and was completely confused about the tax implications until I found this thread. The biggest revelation for me was learning that it's not just about reporting your net winnings - you actually have to report ALL your individual winning bets as income. So if I won $750 total but lost $615 to end up with my $135 net, I need to report that full $750 as taxable income. That's a huge difference I never would have known about! I just went and downloaded my betting histories from both DraftKings and Caesars using the filtering tips people mentioned here. Found the "Settled Bets" section and filtered for wins only - made calculating my total winnings so much easier than scrolling through every single transaction. Like you, I'm planning to step away from betting. It started as weekend fun but became more time-consuming than I wanted. Reading everyone's experiences here reinforces that walking away with any profit at all puts us ahead of most recreational bettors. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge - this thread probably saved me from making some serious reporting mistakes! The $30-50 tax estimate people mentioned makes this feel very manageable compared to how overwhelming it seemed initially.

I've been following this thread as someone who went through the exact same EFIN application headache with my single-member LLC last year. The advice here is spot-on - definitely go with the SSN/sole proprietor route now rather than waiting for your EIN to be recognized. One thing I'd add that helped me immensely was keeping detailed records of everything during this process. Save your EFIN application confirmation, any correspondence from the IRS, and especially that EIN letter you received. When you eventually update to use your EIN (which I did about 8 weeks later), having all this documentation organized made the transition much smoother. Also, don't worry about the business banking question someone raised - I've been using my business bank account (opened with the LLC's EIN) for all client payments and business expenses while my EFIN was registered under my SSN. There's no conflict there since your banking and tax filing systems are separate. The IRS doesn't care what account you use for business operations as long as you're properly reporting income and expenses. My EFIN was approved in 6 business days using the SSN method, and I've successfully e-filed hundreds of returns since then. The process really isn't as complicated as it seems when you're in the thick of it. Get that application submitted and you'll be ready for tax season!

I just went through this exact situation with my single-member LLC tax prep business about 6 months ago! The EIN recognition delay is incredibly frustrating but unfortunately very common. I ended up applying for my EFIN using my SSN as a sole proprietor, and it was the right call. Since single-member LLCs are disregarded entities for federal tax purposes, you're essentially operating as a sole proprietor in the IRS's eyes anyway. I included my LLC business name in the "Business Name" field on the application to maintain consistency for when I eventually updated to my EIN. My timeline was pretty typical: EFIN application approved in 9 business days, connected with my tax software in 2 more days, so I was e-filing within about 2 weeks total. About 10 weeks later, I successfully updated my information through e-Services to use my EIN - the process was straightforward and my EFIN number stayed the same. The key thing to remember is that using your SSN for the EFIN doesn't affect your LLC's liability protection at all. That's a completely separate legal structure that remains intact regardless of which tax ID you use for e-filing purposes. Don't let this delay hold up your business launch! Many of us started exactly this way and it works perfectly fine. You can always update to your EIN later once it's fully propagated through all the IRS systems.

This is definitely a payroll system error that needs immediate attention! As others have mentioned, FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are mandatory deductions that should appear on every paycheck regardless of any W-4 changes you make. The timing is very suspicious - having these taxes show up correctly on your first check but disappear right after your withholding adjustment strongly suggests someone made a data entry error when processing your W-4 update. This is actually a fairly common glitch with payroll systems. For your meeting with HR tomorrow, I'd recommend: - Bringing both paystubs to show the clear before/after comparison - Asking them to walk through exactly what they changed in their system - Having your FICA calculations ready (on $47k salary, you should see about $112 for Social Security + $26 for Medicare per bi-weekly check) - Insisting they correct the missing taxes from your second paycheck, not just fix it going forward - Getting written documentation of both the error and their correction timeline Don't accept any dismissive responses about this being "no big deal" - missing FICA contributions can create gaps in your Social Security earnings record that could potentially affect your future benefits. This should be resolved within 2-3 business days maximum. You did exactly the right thing catching this early! Your attention to detail is going to save you from much bigger problems down the road. Most people don't scrutinize their paystubs this carefully, so you're already developing excellent financial awareness habits that will serve you well throughout your career.

This is definitely a payroll system error that needs immediate correction! As someone who's worked in corporate payroll for several years, I can tell you that FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are calculated automatically based on your gross pay and should never be affected by W-4 withholding changes. The fact that these taxes appeared on your first paycheck but disappeared after you increased your withholding is a classic red flag for a data entry error. When payroll staff manually process W-4 changes, they sometimes accidentally modify or clear the wrong fields in the system. Here's my advice for tomorrow's meeting: - Bring both paystubs to show the exact timing of when this started - Ask them to pull up your payroll record and show you what was changed when they processed your W-4 - Calculate your expected FICA taxes beforehand (on $47k salary: ~$112 Social Security + ~$26 Medicare per bi-weekly check) - Insist they correct the missing FICA from your second paycheck - those contributions need to be credited to your accounts - Get written confirmation of the error and their fix timeline Don't let them dismiss this as something that will "resolve itself." Missing FICA contributions can create gaps in your Social Security earnings record that could affect your benefits years down the road. This should be fixed within 2-3 business days maximum. You did exactly the right thing catching this early! Most people don't review their paystubs this carefully, so you're already ahead of the game in protecting your financial future.

Has anyone used TurboTax for reporting both types of mileage? I'm in a similar situation with coaching and wondering if it handles the split between charitable and business miles well.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're only deducting the miles from your home to the sports activities, not any personal errands you might combine with those trips. The IRS is pretty strict about this. For example, if you drive from home to practice (deductible), then stop at the grocery store on the way back (personal), you can only claim the home-to-practice portion. I learned this the hard way during an audit a few years back. Also, keep receipts for any tolls or parking fees related to these trips - those are deductible too in addition to the mileage. For your paid coaching position, these would go on Schedule C along with your business miles. For volunteer activities, they'd be additional charitable deductions if you're itemizing. One more tip: consider using a mileage tracking app like MileIQ or Everlance. They use GPS to automatically log your trips and let you categorize them as business, charitable, or personal. Much more reliable than trying to recreate your logs from memory later.