Quick question for the group - does anyone use any specific tax software that handles day trading well? I tried using TurboTax last year and it was a nightmare with all my trades!

This is such a common confusion for new traders! I went through the exact same thing when I started trading full-time. The key thing to understand is that your LLC structure doesn't change the fundamental tax treatment of trading profits - they're still considered capital gains, not business income subject to self-employment tax. However, I'd strongly recommend getting professional help to navigate this properly. As others mentioned, while your trading profits won't be subject to SE tax, you need to be careful about separating any other business activities (like if you start offering trading courses or signals). Also, make sure you're tracking all your trading-related expenses properly - home office, equipment, data feeds, etc. can all be deductible. One thing to keep in mind for next year: if you do qualify for TTS, you'll want to make that election by the filing deadline. It won't change the SE tax situation, but it will give you better expense deductions and allow you to deduct trading losses above the $3k capital loss limit. Definitely start making quarterly estimated payments based on your expected annual profits - the IRS doesn't care that you're not paying SE tax, they still want their income tax!

called them yesterday and the lady said there experiencing delays due to high volume rn. might take up to 14 business days smh

Been waiting on my Kansas refund for 12 days now and starting to get worried. Filed electronically on Jan 28th, got accepted same day, but still nothing in my account. Called their hotline twice and just got the generic "processing takes 7-14 business days" message. Really hoping it shows up soon since I need it for some bills. Anyone else experiencing longer delays this year?

Robinhood is the WORST with tax documents! I've used them for 3 years now and they always wait until the last possible moment. Last year they actually sent a corrected 1099 in MARCH after I had already filed! Anyone know if you can request them earlier somehow? Like is there a customer service number that actually works?

This is exactly why I always recommend keeping detailed records of your own trades throughout the year! While you're waiting for Robinhood, you can use your own transaction history to get a pretty accurate estimate of your capital gains/losses. If you log into your Robinhood account, you can export your transaction history and calculate your gains/losses manually. It's tedious but doable. Just be extra careful about wash sale rules - those can be tricky to calculate on your own and might differ from what Robinhood reports. Also, for future reference, consider switching to a broker that actually cares about getting tax docs out early. I moved from Robinhood to Schwab last year and got my 1099 on January 25th this year. Life's too short to deal with Robinhood's terrible customer service and delayed tax reporting!

Something nobody mentioned yet is that brokerages aren't required to send a 1099-DIV if your dividends are under $10, but you still have to report ALL dividend income regardless of whether you received a form.

I had a very similar situation with missing tax forms last year. Here's what I learned that might help you: First, definitely log into your Robinhood account and check the "Documents" or "Tax Documents" section. Many people miss this step - the forms are often available electronically even if they weren't emailed to you. Second, since you mentioned TurboTax has imported your Robinhood forms automatically before, definitely check there first. Log in and see if the dividend information is already waiting for you under the investment income section. If neither of those work, you absolutely should report the $54 in dividends manually using your account statements. The IRS requires you to report ALL dividend income regardless of whether you received a 1099-DIV. Your monthly statements should show the exact amounts and dates of each dividend payment. When entering manually, you'll need to determine if these were qualified dividends (taxed at capital gains rates) or ordinary dividends (taxed at regular income rates). Most dividends from regular stocks are qualified if you held them long enough, but your statements might specify this. Don't stress too much about the amount - $54 won't make or break your return, but it's good that you want to report it correctly!

Has anybody used the safe harbor method for home office? It's way simpler - just $5 per square foot up to 300 sq ft. I switched to this method and while I might get a slightly smaller deduction, the paperwork is SO much easier and I don't have to track all these complicated depreciation schedules or worry about recapture later.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I went through this exact situation two years ago with a $45K kitchen renovation and 12% home office usage. After consulting with my CPA, we decided to track the improvement and take the depreciation deductions even though they're small ($138/year in my case). The key thing my CPA emphasized was documentation. Make sure you keep all receipts, before/after photos, and detailed records of what was done. When I eventually sell my house, having proper documentation of the cost basis increases will be crucial for calculating capital gains correctly. Also, one thing to consider - if your business grows and you end up using more of your home for business purposes in future years, that kitchen improvement could become more valuable tax-wise. I actually expanded my home office last year to 18% of my house, so now I'm depreciating 18% of that kitchen cost instead of 12%.