This whole system is such a scam. The government knows exactly how much we owe, but they make us figure it out ourselves and then penalize us if we get it wrong. Meanwhile, rich people pay nothing with their fancy accountants finding loopholes. Last year I owed $600 after getting refunds for years and nearly had a heart attack.

I went through something very similar when I switched jobs mid-year! The key thing to understand is that your withholding is calculated based on what your employer thinks your annual income will be, but if you started a higher-paying job partway through the year, the calculations can get thrown off. When you were making $32k, you were likely in the 12% tax bracket, but jumping to $68k puts you into the 22% bracket for a portion of your income. The $5.3k withheld might have been appropriate if you had earned $68k for the full year, but since you probably earned less than that (due to starting the job partway through), the withholding percentage was based on incomplete information. The fact that you only owe $15 means your withholding was actually pretty accurate overall! Many people in your situation end up owing much more. For next year, I'd recommend using the IRS withholding calculator in January to make sure your W-4 is set up correctly for a full year at your new salary level.

Does anyone know if I can file a 1065 partnership return myself using regular tax software, or do I need to hire an accountant? I'm also a small manufacturer with a 50/50 partnership, but the quotes I've received from CPAs are outrageous!

I went through this exact same situation last year when my wife and I converted our craft business to an LLC! The Form 1125-A confusion is totally normal - I must have read the instructions 50 times before it clicked. Since you're manufacturing products from raw materials, you definitely need Form 1125-A. Here's what helped me understand it: think of it as tracking the "journey" of your materials from purchase to finished product. Your beginning inventory is zero (first year), then you add all material costs throughout the year, subtract what you actually used in products you sold, and what's left is your ending inventory. The key insight that saved me was realizing that materials sitting in my workshop on December 31st - even if it's just $50 worth of fabric or wood - counts as ending inventory and affects your taxes. I initially tried to say my ending inventory was zero because we "use everything quickly," but my accountant caught that mistake. One thing that really helped was doing a physical count on December 31st and taking photos of all unused materials with rough cost estimates. Made the whole process much clearer for the following year too.

Did you file with TurboTax or HR Block? Sometimes they send it to their bank first then to yours which adds a few days

Same thing happened to me last week with Chase! WMR showed "sent" on Friday but didn't actually hit my account until Tuesday morning. Chase told me they sometimes do additional verification on tax refunds which can cause the delay. Super frustrating but it did eventually come through. Hang in there!

Does anyone know if there are any specific deductions we can take as survey takers? Like can I write off my internet bill or part of my cell phone if I use it for mobile surveys?

Great question! I went through this exact same situation last year. You're absolutely right to be tracking everything - that spreadsheet will be your best friend come tax time. To add to what others have mentioned, there's actually a good online calculator that can help estimate your self-employment tax burden based on your survey income. Since you're looking at potentially $1200-1500, you'd be well over the $400 threshold for self-employment tax, so you'll owe both income tax and the 15.3% self-employment tax on that amount. One thing I learned the hard way - if you expect to owe more than $1000 in taxes for the year (including on your survey income), you might need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid an underpayment penalty. Since you're already at $780 and expecting more, this could apply to you depending on your regular job's withholding. The good news is that once you get the hang of reporting this income, it becomes pretty routine. Just make sure to save those spreadsheet records - the IRS can ask for documentation even if the survey companies don't send you 1099 forms.

Don't overthink this. I was in your EXACT situation in college. You're already a sole proprietorship by default. Just keep good records and use Schedule C when you file taxes. For your car: if client reimburses some miles but not all, track EVERYTHING with an app like MileIQ or Everlance. Deduct only non-reimbursed business miles. LLCs cost money to form + annual fees in most states. Usually not worth it for students unless you have liability concerns or plan to scale up significantly.

As someone who went through this exact situation during my graduate program, I'd echo what others have said about already being a sole proprietorship by default. The key is getting your recordkeeping system down now before tax season hits. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: you can also deduct a portion of your home expenses if you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business (like a dedicated workspace for administrative tasks, client calls, etc.). Even as a student, if you have a corner of your room that's primarily used for your contractor work, that could qualify for the home office deduction. Also, don't forget about other potential deductions beyond mileage - things like professional development courses, business-related software subscriptions, phone bills (business portion), and even some of your internet costs if you use it for work. These smaller deductions can really add up. The quarterly estimated tax payments are crucial too. Since you're setting money aside already, make sure you're actually making the quarterly payments to avoid underpayment penalties. Many students miss this and get hit with extra fees even when they have the tax money saved.