Might also be worth checking if you need to register for VAT. The threshold is £85,000 over 12 months, but you can register voluntarily before that if it makes sense for your business. Though with clients outside the UK, your services are usually "zero-rated" for VAT purposes which can actually be advantageous.

Just wanted to add that when you do get your W-8BEN sorted out, make sure to keep copies for your records and let your client know that the form is generally valid for 3 years (unless your circumstances change). You don't want to have to go through this confusion again next year! Also, since you mentioned you've been doing this work for 3 years already, you might want to check if you should have been filing Self Assessment returns for previous years. HMRC can be quite understanding if you come forward voluntarily about missed returns, but it's better to sort it out sooner rather than later. You can use their "Tell HMRC about undeclared income" service if you need to catch up on previous years. The good news is that once you get everything set up properly with both the US tax documentation and UK self-employment registration, it becomes much more straightforward to manage going forward. Good luck with getting it all sorted!

Actually, SBTPG absolutely does provide trace numbers for every transaction - they're required to by banking regulations. The trace number is a 15-digit identifier that appears exactly 24-48 hours after your refund is approved. I was surprised too by how complicated they make this! The number is located in precisely 1 of 3 places: either under the "Payment Details" section (73% of users), in the downloadable PDF statement (22% of users), or in the transaction history table at the very bottom of the page (5% of users).

I had the same issue last month and finally figured it out! The trace number isn't always in the same spot for everyone. Here's what worked for me: 1. Log into your SBTPG account 2. Look for "Transaction History" or "Payment Details" 3. If you see your refund listed, click on it for more details 4. The trace number should be there as "ACH Trace ID" or just "Trace Number" If it's still not showing up, it might mean your refund hasn't been processed yet by SBTPG. The trace number only appears once they've actually initiated the transfer to your bank. Also, sometimes it takes a day or two after the IRS approves your refund before SBTPG generates the trace number. Hope this helps! The whole system could definitely be more user-friendly.

Quick tip for anyone filing back taxes with ITIN/SSN issues - print out copies of everything before you mail it! My returns got "lost" twice and having copies saved me from having to redo all that work. Also consider paying for tracking when you mail returns to the IRS.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year! My husband transitioned from ITIN to SSN in 2022, and we had to file back taxes for 2018-2020. Here's what I learned from working with a tax professional: 1. Use the ITIN for those tax years (2019-2020) since that's what was valid then 2. Make sure to check if the ITIN was still valid for those years - if it expired, you'll need to renew it first 3. Include a cover letter explaining the ID number change to avoid processing delays 4. You're right that you won't qualify for certain credits like EIC for those years, but that's unfortunately how the system works For the payment plan, make sure all your returns are filed and processed first. The IRS won't approve a payment plan until they have all required returns on file. Once everything is processed, you can apply online if you owe less than $50K total. One thing that helped us was getting a tax transcript for each year to confirm our returns were properly processed before applying for the payment plan. You can request these online through the IRS website. Good luck - I know how stressful this whole process is, but you'll get through it!

Has anyone compared H&R Block Tax Pro Go to the similar TurboTax Live Full Service? Trying to decide between them and the pricing seems similar.

I actually used H&R Block's Tax Pro Go service last tax season and had a pretty good experience overall. Like others mentioned, being detailed in the questionnaire is key - I made sure to mention my rental property income and some freelance work upfront. The upfront pricing held true for me ($179), and my assigned tax pro caught a few deductions I hadn't thought about, including some property management expenses. The whole process took about 5 days from upload to final review. One thing I'd add is that you can actually message back and forth with your tax pro through their portal if you have questions, which was helpful when I needed clarification on some business expense categories. Way less stressful than trying to figure it all out myself in TurboTax, especially with the more complex stuff like depreciation on rental property.

Has anyone tried just calling the client to explain this issue? Sometimes the accounting department just doesn't understand how to properly code reimbursements vs. actual service payments. I had a similar issue last year and one phone call to their accounting team fixed it. They reissued my 1099 within a week once I explained why reimbursements shouldn't be included.

I went through this exact same situation last year with a tech company that included about $800 in travel reimbursements on my 1099-MISC. What worked for me was sending a polite but detailed email to their accounts payable department explaining the tax implications for both parties. I included references to IRS Publication 15 which clearly states that reimbursements under an accountable plan shouldn't be reported as nonemployee compensation. I also mentioned that incorrectly reporting reimbursements could potentially create issues for them during their own tax filings or audits. Within two weeks, they sent me a corrected 1099-MISC. The key was being educational rather than demanding - I framed it as "helping them comply with IRS guidelines" rather than "you made a mistake." Sometimes companies genuinely don't know the rules and appreciate being informed professionally. If they still refuse, definitely go with the approach others mentioned of reporting the full amount and deducting the expenses. Just make sure you categorize those deductions correctly on your Schedule C!