Has anyone found a good comparison of the tax efficiency between ETFs that hold international stocks vs buying individual ADRs? I'm trying to decide if it's worth buying individual companies or just using something like VXUS for simplicity.

Great question about international investing taxes! I went through this same learning curve last year. One thing that really helped me was understanding the withholding tax rates by country. For example, many European countries withhold 15% on dividends due to tax treaties with the US, while some countries without treaties can withhold 30% or more. This makes a big difference in your after-tax returns. I'd also recommend checking if your foreign stocks pay "qualified dividends" - these are taxed at capital gains rates rather than ordinary income rates. Most ADRs from developed countries qualify, but it's worth confirming since the tax difference can be significant. For record keeping, I started maintaining a simple spreadsheet tracking my foreign holdings, the countries they're from, and the withholding rates. This makes tax time much smoother and helps me make better investment decisions going forward. The Form 8938 (FATCA reporting) is another potential requirement if your foreign assets exceed certain thresholds - different from FBAR but worth being aware of for larger portfolios.

Just a heads up, I'm an Instacart shopper too and I made around $580 last year. I didn't get a 1099 either but I still reported it on my Schedule C. The way I did it was just add up all the deposits from Instacart in my bank account for the year. You can also login to your Instacart shopper app and look at your earnings history - they usually have a year-end summary even if they don't send a tax form.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you're tracking ALL your expenses for these gig jobs! Even if you're under the self-employment tax threshold, you can still deduct business expenses against that income. I do food delivery part time and deduct: - Mileage (this is the big one) - Portion of phone bill - Hot bags/delivery equipment - Phone mount for car - Portion of car insurance Don't leave money on the table by just reporting the income without the expenses!

Does nobody here realize that if ur income is under $400 from self-employment you dont even have to pay self employment tax?? So all this worry about filing schedule C might be pointless. Also hobby income goes on Schedule 1 line 8 now (used to be "other income" on old forms). But cant deduct expenses so that sucks. Honestly for such a small amount IRS probably wont care either way lol but self employed makes more sense and lets u deduct expenses

Based on my experience with similar situations, I'd strongly recommend filing as self-employment income on Schedule C. The key indicator here is that you deliberately switched from a free app to a paid app with the intention of generating revenue - that's a clear profit motive, which is the primary factor the IRS considers. A few important points to consider: 1. **Expense deductions**: With self-employment classification, you can deduct your $99 developer fee and other legitimate business expenses, which could potentially reduce your taxable income below the $175 you received. 2. **Documentation**: Keep records of all expenses related to the app (developer fees, any equipment costs, software subscriptions, etc.) to support your business classification. 3. **Consistency**: If you plan to continue this activity in future years, it's better to establish the self-employment classification now rather than switching between hobby and business classifications later. The amount of time you spend on the app or whether it's your primary income source doesn't disqualify it from being a business. Many legitimate small businesses operate exactly as you've described - maintaining an existing product with occasional adjustments. Given the modest income level, the additional complexity of Schedule C is minimal and the ability to deduct expenses likely makes it worthwhile.

Has anyone used QuickBooks for tracking these mixed payment situations? I'm trying to figure out how to properly record business expenses paid with store credit cards so my tax reporting is correct at the end of the year.

Great question! As someone who's dealt with similar situations, I can confirm that Amara's advice is spot-on. Since you're using accrual accounting, you can deduct those expenses in the year you incurred them, regardless of when you pay off the credit cards. One additional tip: make sure to keep detailed records of what percentage of each store card is used for business vs personal expenses if you ever use them for non-business purchases. The IRS loves clear documentation, especially for credit card transactions. Also, don't forget that if you're claiming the computer as a business expense, you might want to look into bonus depreciation or Section 179 expensing for that $2,200 Best Buy purchase. Depending on your business income, you might be able to deduct the full amount this year rather than depreciating it over several years. The 20% discounts you got from signing up for the store cards are just reductions in your business expenses - they don't create any additional tax complications. Your deductible amount is simply the actual price you paid after the discount.

The confusion here is that platforms like Hitched, Zola, etc. are required to issue 1099-Ks when total transactions exceed $600 (the threshold changed recently). This is supposed to help catch unreported business income but obviously catches a lot of non-taxable personal transactions too.

This is such a common issue now with wedding registries! I went through the exact same thing with our Zola registry last year. The key thing to remember is that you DO need to report the 1099-K on your tax return even though the gifts aren't taxable - otherwise the IRS computers will flag your return as missing income. Here's exactly what I did in TurboTax: Go to the "Federal" section, then "Wages & Income," then "Other Common Income," and select "Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C." Enter your 1099-K information there. Then, in the same section, you can add an offsetting entry with a negative amount and description like "Wedding registry gifts - not taxable income per IRC Section 102." The net effect is zero additional tax, but you've properly acknowledged the 1099-K. Keep screenshots from Hitched showing it was a wedding registry, any confirmation emails from gift-givers, and the registry page itself. Most importantly, don't stress - this is becoming super common and the IRS is aware that these platforms are issuing 1099-Ks for non-taxable personal gifts!