Anyone using Shopify for their online store? I just realized they calculate sales tax automatically but I'm not sure if I still need to file reports with my state. Their help docs are confusing me.

Nina, I totally understand your confusion! I went through the same thing when I started my small business last year. At your current sales level of $1,800/month, you're definitely below the economic nexus thresholds for other states, so you only need to worry about Colorado for now. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given - make sure you understand Colorado's local tax rates too. Colorado has some of the most complex local tax structures in the country with state, county, city, and special district taxes that can vary significantly even within the same zip code. Don't just charge a flat state rate! For quarterly reporting to Colorado, you'll report your total taxable sales and the amount of tax you collected. Keep detailed records of where each sale shipped to - this will be crucial as you grow and potentially hit nexus thresholds in other states. Good luck with your jewelry business!

Just wanted to add something important - make sure you're using the correct tax forms for each specific year! The 1040 form and tax laws change slightly each year, and using the wrong year's form will cause your return to be rejected. You can download prior year forms directly from the IRS website at https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions. They keep forms going back many years. Each year will have its own instruction booklet too, which is super helpful since tax laws change.

Don't feel overwhelmed - you're taking the right steps to get everything sorted out! I was in a similar boat a few years ago and can share what worked for me. For your back filing (2021-2023), you're correct that you'll need to mail paper forms since e-filing deadlines have passed. Download the specific year's forms from the IRS website - don't use current year forms for past years as they change annually. You absolutely CAN file your 2024 return now while working on back taxes - there's no requirement to complete prior years first. Go ahead and e-file 2024 to get that refund! For the back filing process: gather all your W-2s, any 1099s you might have received, and documentation for potential deductions (student loan interest, charitable donations, etc.). Complete each year's return using that year's forms and mail them separately. One thing that really helped me was starting with the oldest year first (2021) since there's a 3-year deadline to claim refunds. If you're owed money for 2021, you need to file by April 15, 2025 to claim it. The good news is that if you're due refunds, there are typically no penalties for filing late. If you owe money, there will be some penalties and interest, but filing voluntarily is always better than waiting for the IRS to find you! You've got this - taking action now puts you way ahead of where you were before!

Does anyone know if ProSeries handles this better? We're considering switching tax software next year and this Form 3804 override issue is one of many frustrations we've had with CCH.

I've dealt with this exact CCH Axcess issue multiple times! Here's what worked for me: First, make sure you're looking in the right place - in newer versions of CCH Axcess, the override isn't always in the obvious spot. Go to the partnership return, then look for "Form 3804" in the left navigation panel. Click directly on that form rather than going through the Payments section. Once you're on Form 3804 itself, you should see both the "Calculated Extension Amount" and a field for "Extension Payment Made." The key is to enter your actual payment amount in that second field, then look for a small dropdown or radio button that says something like "Use payment amount for K-1 reporting" or "Override calculated amount for distributions." After making this change, you MUST regenerate all the K-1s from scratch - just recalculating won't always pick up the override. Go to Forms > K-1s and click "Regenerate All" rather than just "Calculate." One more tip: if you're still having trouble, check the partnership's "Allocation Methods" settings. Sometimes there's a global setting that forces the software to use calculated amounts regardless of your overrides. Hope this helps - I know how frustrating this can be!

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I have Fidelity too and my 1099 was delayed until March 15th last year even though I only had basic ETFs. Turns out one of my funds had income reclassification. Three weeks after I finally got my "final" 1099, they sent an amended one with minimal changes. The whole system is frustrating.

I feel your frustration! I'm in a similar boat with Fidelity - my consolidated 1099 got pushed back to March 5th even though my portfolio is pretty straightforward. What's annoying is that they can't give you a specific reason beyond the generic "waiting for final tax information" message. From what I've learned dealing with this, the February 15th deadline is more of a guideline than a hard rule. Brokerages can file for extensions with the IRS, especially when they're waiting on corrected information from fund companies or dealing with complex corporate actions. The silver lining is that once you do get your form, it should be more accurate than if they rushed it out. I've had friends who got their 1099s "on time" only to receive multiple corrections later, which is arguably worse than waiting a bit longer for the right information the first time. If you're expecting a refund and want to get the process started, you might consider using your December statement to estimate your tax situation while you wait for the official form. Just be prepared to file an amendment if there are significant differences.

Has anyone tried checking their self-employment tax calculations manually? Last year TurboTax calculated mine incorrectly and I ended up having to file an amended return. I'm using FreeTaxUSA this year and the numbers look completely different.

I went through this exact same confusion last year with my first K-1! The math finally made sense when I realized that TurboTax shows the refund changes in real-time as you enter each piece of information, but it doesn't clearly explain what's happening behind the scenes. Your $3,565 drop after entering Box 1 is because that income gets taxed at your marginal tax rate (probably around 22-24% based on your numbers). Then the additional $2,018 drop from Box 14a is the self-employment tax, which Ruby calculated correctly above - about $2,240 minus the deduction you get for half of it. One thing that helped me understand this better was looking at the actual tax forms TurboTax generates. You can usually find Schedule SE (self-employment tax) and Form 8995 (QBI deduction) in your tax summary. Seeing the line-by-line calculations made everything click for me. The good news is your QBI deduction is saving you about $583 in taxes (20% of $15,873 × your tax rate), so without that your refund would be even lower!