Lots of great advice here but I wanted to add that you should also check if your state has income tax too! I messed up my first year in college by only worrying about federal taxes and completely forgot about state taxes. Ended up owing a few hundred dollars to my state that I hadn't budgeted for.

As someone who's been through this exact situation, I'd recommend keeping detailed records of your income from each job throughout the year. Since your hours are so inconsistent, it'll help you track whether you're on pace to earn more or less than you initially estimated when you set up your W-4s. I use a simple spreadsheet to track my weekly earnings from each job, and I review it monthly to see if I need to adjust my withholding. If you find you're earning significantly more than expected from one job, you might want to increase your additional withholding on that W-4 to avoid a surprise tax bill. Also, don't forget to save all your pay stubs and any receipts for work-related expenses (like uniforms, transportation between jobs, etc.) - some of these might be deductible depending on your situation. The key is staying organized throughout the year rather than scrambling to figure everything out at tax time.

This is exactly why I always ask about fees upfront now, even if it feels awkward. I learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago with a different service provider. For your situation, I'd document everything - the lack of fee disclosure, the unnecessarily long explanations of basic concepts you already understood, and how the call could have been much shorter if focused on your actual questions. Then I'd send them a written response (email works) explaining why you feel the charge is unreasonable and offer a partial payment that reflects the actual value you received. Something like: "I'm willing to pay $125 for the consultation, which I believe fairly reflects the 15-20 minutes of relevant advice I received. The remainder of the call consisted of basic tax concepts I already understood and wasn't necessary for my specific employment situation questions." Most small firms will accept a reasonable settlement rather than deal with the hassle of pursuing the full amount. The key is to be professional but firm about why you feel the original charge is unjustified due to their lack of transparency.

This is completely unethical behavior from that tax firm. As someone who's dealt with multiple CPAs over the years, I can tell you that legitimate professionals ALWAYS disclose their fees before providing any services. The fact that they waited until the end of an hour-long call to mention a $350 fee is a huge red flag. It sounds like they deliberately padded the consultation with unnecessary information to justify a higher bill. Any competent tax professional should be able to address your specific employment tax questions in 15-20 minutes without going into basic concepts you already understand. I'd strongly recommend disputing this charge. Send them a written response explaining that no fee was disclosed prior to the consultation, that much of the call consisted of irrelevant basic tax information, and that you're willing to pay a reasonable amount ($100-125) for the actual relevant advice you received. Don't let them intimidate you with the "we're very busy" response. Being busy doesn't excuse poor business practices or lack of transparency. Professional service providers have an ethical obligation to disclose fees upfront, and most state licensing boards have rules about this. Document everything and consider filing a complaint with your state's CPA board if they won't work with you on a reasonable settlement. This kind of behavior gives the entire profession a bad reputation.

I think everyone's overthinking this. I've done several rollovers and the key document you need is the final statement from your old 401k provider showing the breakdown between pre-tax and after-tax amounts. Get that, keep it with your tax records, and report things correctly on your Form 8606. The fact that Vanguard messed up initially is annoying but fixable. For the future, be aware you can request a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer instead of having checks sent, which often prevents these kinds of mixups.

I've been through a similar rollover mess and want to add a few practical tips that helped me navigate this: First, regarding your concern about not investing the money - you're actually smart to keep it in cash/stable value until this is sorted out. Capital gains/losses on top of the rollover confusion would just create more headaches come tax time. For documentation, create a simple spreadsheet tracking everything: original after-tax contribution amounts from Fidelity statements, the rollover amount, the Roth conversion amount, and dates for everything. This becomes your "story" that connects all the 1099s you'll receive. One thing I learned the hard way - if you're going to convert more money from Traditional to Roth (like the proportional gains the EY person mentioned), do it before December 31st. Roth conversions can't be undone anymore, so you want to be strategic about the timing and tax implications. Also, don't just rely on Vanguard's customer service to "code this correctly." They're not tax advisors and their 1099-R will likely just show a standard conversion. The burden is on you to properly report this on your tax return using Form 8606, regardless of how their forms look. Last tip: if you do decide to hire a tax professional, find one who specifically deals with complex retirement account issues. Many general CPAs don't handle these mega backdoor Roth situations regularly and might not catch important details.

I'm confused about something - I thought all self-employed people working at the same location need to be on 1099s? My accountant said if someone works at my business location, I absolutely have to give them a 1099 even if they're "independent" otherwise it's tax evasion.

I've been dealing with a similar situation at my own pet grooming business, and I can confirm that booth rental arrangements are completely legitimate when structured properly. I went through an IRS audit last year and had zero issues with my table rental setup. The key things that helped me during the audit were: 1) Having clear written lease agreements that explicitly state each groomer is renting physical space, not providing services to me 2) Keeping completely separate business operations - they use their own scheduling systems, payment processing, and client management 3) Documentation showing they carry their own business insurance and file their own taxes 4) Records proving they control their own pricing, hours, and service offerings One thing I learned during the audit process is that the IRS agent specifically looked for evidence that I wasn't controlling how they performed their work. Since each groomer operates independently and just happens to work in my facility, it was clear this was a landlord-tenant relationship rather than employer-employee. The fact that you also work as a groomer in the same space is irrelevant - I do too, and it didn't raise any red flags. Just make sure your lease agreements are solid and you maintain clear boundaries between your grooming business and your property rental business. Don't let the online comments scare you - this is a well-established business model that works perfectly fine when done correctly.

I had this exact same confusion last year and it nearly cost me big time. To clarify the misunderstanding: your CPA might be confusing solo 401k rules with ESTABLISHING the plan itself. The plan needs to be established by Dec 31st, but only the employee contributions need to be completed by then. Employer contributions can definitely be made until your tax filing deadline (including extensions). I confirmed this with both the IRS and my provider (Vanguard in my case).

One thing nobody mentioned - if you're right against the deadline, consider doing an ACH transfer instead of a wire. With Schwab specifically (I have my solo 401k there too), they count the contribution based on when you initiate it, not when it settles. So even if it takes a couple days to process, as long as you start the transfer before the deadline, you're good. Just make sure to screenshot the confirmation page showing the date you initiated it, just in case there are ever any questions.