Quick tip from someone who messed this up their first job: you can always submit a new W-4 later in the year if you realize you made a mistake! I filled mine out wrong and was having wayyy too much withheld from each check. Fixed it in July and had proper withholding for the rest of the year.

Hey Omar! Congrats on landing your first job! 🎉 Since you mentioned you're 22, single, and this is your only job with no dependents, you're actually in one of the simplest W-4 situations. Here's what I'd recommend: 1. **Fill out Step 1** with your basic info (name, address, SSN, filing status as "Single") 2. **Skip Steps 2-4** entirely since you only have one job and no dependents 3. **Sign and date Step 5** That's it! This will give you standard withholding that should be pretty close to what you'll owe. You might get a small refund or owe a little, but nothing dramatic. One thing to watch for: when you get your first few paychecks, look at how much federal tax is being withheld. It should be roughly 12-15% of your gross pay for your income level. If it seems way off, you can always submit a new W-4 to adjust it. The IRS also has a withholding calculator on their website (irs.gov) that you can use mid-year to check if you're on track. Don't stress too much - you've got this! And remember, you can always adjust later if needed.

Make sure you understand the difference between personal items, hobby sales, and business income. Each has different tax implications: Personal items: If sold for less than you paid, generally no tax impact. If sold for more, could be capital gains. Hobby income: Report full amount on Schedule 1, but post-2018 you can't deduct expenses (which sucks). Business income: Report on Schedule C, can deduct all legitimate expenses, but you'll owe self-employment tax. Your situation sounds like a mix of personal items and hobby sales. Document everything!!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation! I've been selling off my vintage video game collection on eBay after years of collecting, and I'm so confused about how to handle this tax-wise. Like you, most of my sales are actually losses when I compare what I originally paid versus what I'm getting now. One thing that's been helpful is creating a simple three-column spreadsheet: Original Purchase Price | Sale Price | Net Gain/Loss. This makes it crystal clear that even though eBay will report the gross sales on the 1099-K, the actual taxable amount should be much lower. I've been reading through all these comments and it sounds like the key is having good documentation. I wish I had kept better records over the years, but I'm doing my best to reconstruct what I can using old credit card statements and checking price history on sites like PriceCharting for video games. The hobby vs. personal property distinction seems really important here. Since you collected these for personal enjoyment and are selling due to space constraints (not to make a profit), it sounds like you have a strong case for treating many of these as personal property sales rather than hobby income. Definitely keep that detailed spreadsheet - it shows you're being thorough and honest about tracking actual gains and losses.

One important thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure your margin interest is actually for investment purposes! If you've used margin for personal expenses (even temporarily), that portion of the interest isn't deductible. Also, keep in mind that if your investment generates tax-exempt income (like municipal bonds), you can't deduct the margin interest associated with those investments. The IRS has allocation rules if you have both taxable and tax-exempt investment income.

Make sure you keep really good records! I got audited specifically on my investment interest expense deduction last year because I had a large amount ($47k) compared to my portfolio size. Had to provide statements showing all my margin positions and trading activity. The IRS was particularly interested in the connection between my margin use and investment activities. They wanted to confirm I wasn't deducting interest for leverage used for personal expenses.

Hey! I was in a similar situation when I started doing freelance work as a student. For the W9 form as a SHEIN campus ambassador: **Business name field**: Leave this blank since you're working as an individual, not a registered business entity. **Federal tax classification**: Check "Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC" - this is the standard classification for students doing independent contractor work. Just remember that you'll be classified as an independent contractor (not an employee), so SHEIN will send you a 1099 form if you earn $600+ during the year. You'll need to report this income on your tax return and may owe self-employment taxes if you earn over $400. One tip: start setting aside about 25-30% of whatever you earn for taxes, since they won't be automatically withheld like with a regular job. And keep receipts for any expenses related to your ambassador work (like supplies for events or equipment for content creation) - these can be deducted as business expenses! Good luck with the program - it sounds like an awesome opportunity!

Great advice from everyone here! I went through this exact same process when I started my campus ambassador role last year. One thing I'd add that really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything from day one. I set up columns for: date, type of income (commission, bonus, etc.), amount earned, and any expenses. This made filing my taxes so much easier because I had everything organized instead of scrambling to find records later. Also, don't stress too much about the W9 - it's simpler than it looks! The key points everyone mentioned are spot on: leave business name blank, check "Individual/sole proprietor," and use your SSN. SHEIN's payroll team has probably seen hundreds of these from students, so they'll catch any obvious mistakes if you make them. One last tip: if you end up earning decent money from this (like $2000+), consider opening a separate checking account just for your ambassador income and expenses. Makes tracking everything for taxes much cleaner and helps you see exactly how much to set aside for tax payments.

Have you considered having your father-in-law claim HOH instead? If he provided more than half the cost of the home and had your husband's daughter living there, he might actually qualify. Might be worth looking into as an option if your husband has to amend his return anyway.

I've been through an IRS audit before and want to offer some perspective on what you can expect. First, don't panic - the IRS is generally reasonable when dealing with honest mistakes, especially when tax software like TurboTax guided you incorrectly. For your situation, you'll likely need to file an amended return changing from Head of Household to Single status. This will increase your tax liability, but you'll probably still be able to claim your daughter as a dependent and get the Child Tax Credit if you meet the other requirements. The key is responding promptly and honestly to the audit notice. Include a letter explaining that this was an unintentional error based on tax software guidance, and that you're willing to correct it. The IRS appreciates taxpayers who are cooperative and straightforward. As for penalties, if this is clearly an honest mistake with no intent to defraud, you'll likely just owe the additional tax plus interest. The IRS has "reasonable cause" exceptions for penalties when taxpayers can show they made a good faith effort to comply. One last tip: keep detailed records of everything you send to the IRS and consider sending responses via certified mail so you have proof of delivery. This whole process might take a few months, but being proactive and honest usually leads to the best outcome.