Is this your first real job? I remember being shocked too lol. Congrats on the job tho! Check if you're enrolled in benefits you don't need. My company automatically signed me up for extra life insurance and some other stuff I didn't want.

Hey Logan! I totally feel your pain - that first paycheck shock is REAL. I went through the exact same thing when I started working. Everyone's given you great advice about the breakdown, but here's what I wish someone had told me: sit down with your HR department and ask them to walk through your paystub line by line. They can explain every single deduction and help you understand what's optional vs. required. Also, don't panic about your budget! A lot of people make this mistake initially. You can potentially adjust your W-4 to get a bit more per paycheck (though be careful not to underwithhold), and definitely review those automatic benefit enrollments. I was paying for life insurance coverage that was way more than I needed as a single person with no dependents. The good news is that some of those deductions (like 401k contributions) are actually investments in your future, and if your company has matching, that's free money. Once you get the hang of reading your paystub and optimizing your deductions, you'll feel much more in control of your finances. Welcome to adulting - it gets easier! 😊

One thing to watch out for - some cities have agreements where they credit you for taxes paid to other municipalities, but others don't. If your home city and your employer's city don't have a reciprocal agreement, you might end up owing taxes to both places and then having to file for a refund from the employer's city. I had this happen and ended up owing an extra $1,400 to my home city even though my employer had been withholding for a different city all year. Total nightmare. Make sure you check if your cities have tax reciprocity!

This is such a frustrating situation, and you're absolutely right to be concerned about double taxation! I went through something similar when I started working remotely for a company based in a different state. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given - make sure you keep detailed records of when you started working remotely and any communications with your employer about your work location. Some local tax offices will want proof of when the remote work arrangement began to determine how much of the year you're entitled to a refund for. Also, Pennsylvania has some quirks with local taxes that you should be aware of. Many PA municipalities contract with third-party collectors (like Berkheimer or Jordan Tax Service) rather than handling taxes directly. You might need to file your refund claim with the collector, not the city itself. Check your paystub to see who's actually collecting the tax - it should be listed there. The good news is that PA generally has clear guidance on telecommuting tax situations since it's so common there. Your employer should definitely be able to update your withholding location once you provide them with the proper documentation. Don't let them tell you it's "too complicated" - they deal with remote workers all the time now!

Make sure you're tracking the exact dates for your purchases and sales! The IRS has different tax rates for short-term capital gains (items held less than a year) vs long-term gains. Since ur holding these skins for just a week, you'll be taxed at your normal income tax rate.

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.

Small tip: keep a spreadsheet of ALL your bets, winning and losing. I got audited 3 years ago because I won around $3800 at a casino (they issued a W-2G) but I had actually LOST about $4500 throughout the year at various places. Without my detailed records, I wouldn't have been able to prove my losses and would've paid tax on the full $3800 even though I was net negative for the year. Document everything!

Just to add another perspective - I've been dealing with sports betting taxes for a few years now. One thing that really helped me was setting up a simple system from the beginning: I created a basic Excel sheet with columns for Date, Platform, Bet Amount, Win/Loss, and Net Result. Takes literally 30 seconds after each bet to log it. The key thing people miss is that even if you're net positive only $150 like the original poster, you still need to report ALL your individual wins as income, then potentially deduct losses if you itemize. So if you won $500 total but lost $350, you're reporting $500 as income, not just the $150 net. Also, don't forget that some states have their own gambling income reporting requirements that might be different from federal rules. Worth checking your state's tax guidelines too, especially if you're close to any thresholds.

Quick warning from someone who went through this last year - make sure you also register for a PTIN if you haven't already! You need both a PTIN and an EFIN to e-file returns for clients. The PTIN is generally easier to get (just go to the IRS PTIN system online), but don't forget this step or you'll be delayed even further.

I went through this exact same situation when I started my tax prep business! As a single-member LLC, you're actually in a pretty flexible position. Since the IRS treats single-member LLCs as "disregarded entities" by default, you can absolutely apply for your EFIN using your SSN under the sole proprietor option while you wait for your EIN to be fully recognized in their system. I'd recommend going the SSN route now since you're trying to get ready for tax season. The EIN recognition issue you're experiencing is super common - it can take 2-4 weeks for new EINs to propagate through all the IRS databases, especially the e-file system which seems to update on its own schedule. The good news is that once your EFIN is approved (which typically takes 7-10 business days), you can always update your information later through the e-Services portal if you want to switch to using your EIN. Just make sure you have all your LLC documentation ready when you fill out the application, as they may ask for business formation documents even if you're applying as a sole proprietor. Don't let this delay hold you back - many successful tax preparers start this way and transition to using their EIN later once everything is fully processed in the system!