As someone who does payroll, I can confirm the 1095-C is just for your information. The employer submits this data to the IRS directly through Form 1094-C (the transmittal form) along with all employee 1095-Cs. You don't submit this with your taxes and don't need to amend. The only time this matters is if you got Premium Tax Credits (subsidies) from the marketplace and your employer offered "affordable" coverage according to IRS rules. But based on what you said about still qualifying for marketplace coverage, your employer plan must have failed the affordability test.

Don't stress about this! You absolutely do NOT need to amend your return just because you got the 1095-C late. This is actually super common - employers have until March 31st to provide these forms, so getting it after you've already filed happens all the time. The 1095-C is basically just a receipt showing what health insurance your employer offered you during the year. Since you declined their coverage and got marketplace insurance instead, you already reported your health insurance situation correctly on your tax return. The form doesn't change anything about what you filed. Think of it like getting a receipt for something you didn't buy - it's just documentation, not something that affects your taxes. Your employer already sent this same information directly to the IRS, so they have it on file regardless. Save yourself the headache and don't amend unless there was actually an error in how you reported your health coverage (which it doesn't sound like there was).

This is a great discussion! I'm dealing with a similar situation with a client who has a foreign LLC in Mexico. One thing I'd add is that even though the Ghana LLC will likely be treated as an FDE and flow through to Schedule C, don't forget about potential state tax implications. Some states have different rules for recognizing foreign entities, and you might need to file additional state forms or make state-level elections. Also, make sure to document your classification decision thoroughly in your workpapers. The IRS has been scrutinizing foreign entity classifications more closely lately, so having clear documentation of why you treated it as a disregarded entity (default classification, no Form 8832 election, single owner, etc.) will be crucial if you ever get questioned. Has anyone here dealt with retroactive compliance for missed Form 8858 filings? I'm wondering if the reasonable cause exception applies when the taxpayer wasn't aware of the filing requirement.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar Ghana LLC situation and this clarifies so much. One question that came up for my client - since the LLC was established in 2019 but they never filed the required Form 8858s for those years, what's the statute of limitations on the IRS assessing penalties for those missed filings? I know the $10,000 penalty per form is steep, but I'm trying to understand if there's a time limit on when the IRS can still come after those penalties, especially if we're planning to get compliant going forward with proper Form 8858 filings. My client is worried about potentially owing $40,000+ in penalties (2019-2022) just for information returns when they did report all the income on Schedule C. Also, has anyone had experience with the IRS waiving these penalties under the "first time penalty abatement" policy, or does that not apply to international information return penalties?

I'm currently dealing with this exact same penalty situation and reading through all these success stories has been incredibly helpful! Got the same $1,670 penalty for my dormant S-corp that I filed in April instead of March - that sinking feeling when you open the notice is all too real. What's really encouraging is how consistently successful people have been getting these penalties abated, especially for inactive businesses. The pattern seems clear: honest deadline confusion + inactive business with zero tax impact + clean compliance history = very strong case for reasonable cause abatement. Based on everyone's experiences here, I'm planning to call that business line (800-829-4933) tomorrow morning, then follow up with a written request if needed. The key talking points seem to be: emphasizing the genuine deadline confusion, highlighting that the business has been completely inactive with zero income/activity, and stressing there's no tax revenue impact to the Treasury. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their positive outcomes - you've turned what felt like an impossible situation into something very manageable. This community is amazing for helping navigate these stressful tax situations!

I just wanted to add my own success story to this incredibly helpful thread! I went through the exact same situation about 8 months ago - dormant S-corp since 2019, filed our zero-activity 1120S in April thinking it followed the same deadline as personal taxes, and got slapped with that same gut-wrenching $1,670 penalty. After reading similar advice to what's been shared here, I called the IRS business line at 800-829-4933. The representative was surprisingly understanding and knowledgeable about these penalty situations. I explained that my S-corp had been completely inactive with zero income, that I genuinely confused the March 15th deadline with April 15th, and emphasized there was no tax impact to the Treasury since we had nothing to report anyway. She immediately recognized it as a reasonable cause situation and started the penalty abatement process over the phone. The whole call took maybe 25 minutes including hold time. About 6 weeks later, I received a letter confirming the penalty was completely abated - $1,670 saved! The key seems to be being honest about the mistake while emphasizing: 1) inactive business status with zero activity, 2) genuine deadline confusion, 3) no tax revenue impact to Treasury, and 4) clean compliance history. Don't let that penalty amount intimidate you - the IRS really is reasonable about these honest mistakes, especially for truly inactive businesses. You've got this!

As someone who went through this exact same situation when I became a stay-at-home parent, I can definitely confirm what others have said - your husband cannot claim you as a dependent, and filing jointly will almost certainly save you money. I made the mistake of filing separately our first year after I stopped working, thinking it would somehow be better. We ended up paying about $3,000 more in taxes than we needed to! The main things we lost were the higher standard deduction and some of the child tax credit benefits. One thing I'd add is that even though you don't have traditional employment income, don't forget that any freelance work, side gigs, or even selling items online could count as income that needs to be reported. But even if you have some small amounts of income like that, filing jointly is still almost always better for families with one primary earner and children. Your instinct about joint filing being better for married couples with kids is absolutely correct. Your husband's heart is in the right place wanting to save money, but this is one case where the conventional wisdom really does apply!

Kennedy, I went through this exact same confusion when I became a stay-at-home dad! Your husband's thinking makes logical sense (no income = dependent, right?) but tax law doesn't work that way. As everyone has confirmed, spouses are explicitly excluded from being claimed as dependents regardless of income. I actually ran the numbers both ways when we were in your situation, and filing jointly saved us about $4,800 compared to filing separately. The big wins were the doubled standard deduction and keeping full eligibility for the Child Tax Credit. When you file separately with kids, you can run into income phase-out issues even on a single income. One practical tip - if your husband is still skeptical about the numbers, most tax software will let you prepare your return both ways and compare the results before you actually file. TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA, and others have comparison features. Seeing the actual dollar difference usually settles the debate pretty quickly! Also don't stress too much about not knowing tax rules - this stuff is complicated and counterintuitive sometimes. The important thing is you're asking the right questions now rather than finding out after you file.

Does anyone know if we can deduct the cost of insulated bags, space blankets, and other delivery equipment? I spent about $85 on this stuff when I started.

Great question! I was in a similar spot when I started dashing during college. Your calculation is roughly right, but here's what helped me understand it better: You're correct about the 15.3% self-employment tax, but remember you only pay income tax on your net profit after business deductions. So if you earn $1,300 but have $200 in mileage deductions, you'd pay SE tax on $1,100, not the full amount. Also, don't forget the quarterly estimated tax payments! Since no employer is withholding taxes for you, you'll want to make payments four times a year to avoid penalties. I learned this the hard way my first year. One thing that really helped me was opening a separate savings account just for taxes and automatically transferring 25-30% of each week's earnings. It hurts at first, but it's way better than scrambling for thousands at tax time. Keep detailed records of everything - miles driven, equipment purchases, phone bills, etc. These deductions can really add up and significantly reduce what you actually owe. Good luck with school and stay organized with your taxes!