Does anyone know if the standard mileage rate is expected to go up for 2025? It was 67 cents per mile in 2024 and with gas prices still crazy I'm hoping for at least 70 cents. That makes a huge difference when you drive 20,000+ business miles annually!

Great question about mileage tracking! As someone who's dealt with similar situations, I wanted to add a few key points that might help clarify things for you and your brother. For your pet sitting business, since you work from your apartment for both your main job and run your pet care business from there, your home definitely qualifies as your principal place of business. This means you can deduct mileage from your apartment to each client's home - these are legitimate business trips to temporary work locations. For your brother's OT visits, the situation is a bit more nuanced. If he goes directly from his medical center job to client homes, he can deduct the full mileage from the medical center to the client location. The key is that he's traveling between two work locations for business purposes. However, if he goes home first and then to clients, he can only deduct from his home to the client. One thing I'd strongly recommend is starting a detailed mileage log RIGHT NOW if you haven't already. Include date, starting point, destination, business purpose, and actual miles driven. The IRS is pretty strict about contemporaneous records, so apps like MileIQ or even a simple notebook in your car can save you major headaches later. Also keep in mind that the standard mileage rate for 2024 is 67 cents per mile, which adds up quickly when you're doing a lot of business driving!

Quick q - did ur transcript show any other codes between the 571 and the 846 (refund issued)? Mine just got the 571 code yesterday but no DDD yet. Wondering if there's usually another step in between or if the DDD just shows up next. Thx!

Congratulations on getting through the review process! Your timeline gives me so much hope. I filed on 2/12 and got hit with the same 571 code and 60-day letter combo about two weeks ago. Been checking my transcript religiously every Friday morning but still no DDD. Question for you - when your DDD finally appeared, did it show up on a Friday transcript update or did it appear on a different day? I'm trying to figure out if I should be checking more frequently or if Fridays are really the main update day. Also, did you get any kind of notification from the IRS when the hold was released, or did you just discover it by checking your transcript? Thanks for sharing this success story - it's exactly what those of us still waiting needed to hear! 🙏

Random tip that might help someone - I called FreeTaxUSA's customer support about this exact issue last year, and they were actually really helpful. They told me to go to the Income section > Miscellaneous Income and create an entry for "Compensation from employee stock purchase plan" with the amount being the discount I received. Their support is free even on the basic version, unlike some other tax software. Might be worth trying before spending money on other solutions!

Great to see this got resolved! Just wanted to add one more tip for anyone dealing with employee stock purchase plans in the future - make sure to keep detailed records of all your transactions. When you eventually sell those shares, you'll need to calculate your cost basis correctly to avoid double taxation. The IRS doesn't automatically know about the compensation income you already reported from Form 3922, so you'll need to adjust your basis when reporting the sale on Schedule D. I learned this the hard way when I sold my ESPP shares and initially calculated my gains incorrectly. Had to file an amended return! The taxable discount you report this year becomes part of your cost basis for future capital gains calculations. Also, if your plan allows it, consider the Section 83(b) election for future purchases - it can save you money on taxes in certain situations. Worth discussing with a tax professional if you're planning to participate in the ESPP long-term.

I adjunct at a community college too! For my $500ish biweekly checks, I have them withhold $100 for federal taxes. My spouse and I are in the 22% bracket with our combined incomes, and this has worked out almost perfectly for the past two years. You could try a similar percentage. Just remember that teaching income stacks on top of your other income for tax bracket purposes, so it's getting taxed at your highest marginal rate. Don't make the mistake I made the first year where I only had 10% withheld because I thought that's what the bracket would be if it was my only job!

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my part-time consulting work! One thing that really helped me was using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator on their website. You can input all your income sources - your full-time job, your spouse's income, and your teaching income - and it will give you a pretty accurate recommendation for additional withholding. Since you're married filing jointly with two full-time incomes plus the teaching gig, you're likely in the 22% or 24% bracket. For your ~$435 biweekly checks, I'd probably start with requesting around $85-95 in federal withholding. You can always adjust it later if needed by submitting a new W-4. The key thing to remember is that this side income is being taxed at your marginal rate since it's "on top of" all your other income. Better to err on the side of slightly overwithholding than getting hit with underpayment penalties!

I'm a CPA and want to offer another perspective. While good tax preparers can often find additional deductions, a $10K difference sounds concerning. Here are some possibilities for such a large difference: 1. The preparer might be taking aggressive positions that could trigger an audit 2. They might be claiming credits you're not eligible for 3. They could be incorrectly classifying personal expenses as business expenses 4. They might have found legitimate deductions you missed in previous years and filed amendments Ask for a detailed explanation of what's creating the difference. If they can't explain it clearly or seem evasive, that's a huge red flag.

Has anyone compared getting their taxes done at one of those storefront places (like H&R Block or Liberty Tax) vs those software programs vs an independent CPA? I'm wondering if there's really that much difference between all three options.