Don't forget about local taxes! I'm in Pittsburgh and completely missed that I needed to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the city too. Got slapped with a penalty my first year of freelancing. Most tax software handles federal and state but often misses local obligations.

TurboTax and other tax software definitely handle both federal AND state taxes, but here's the catch - they don't automatically submit your quarterly estimated payments. They'll calculate what you should pay each quarter, but you still have to make those payments yourself throughout the year. At tax filing time, they'll prepare both your federal and state returns. But for quarterly estimated payments during the year, you need to handle those separately by submitting the appropriate forms to each tax authority (federal, state, local).

Don't forget that even if your clients don't send you 1099-NECs (which happens a lot with smaller clients who don't know the rules), you still need to report ALL your income! The IRS doesn't care if you got a form or not. I've been freelancing for 6 years and I just create my own tracking system. I have clients that pay through Venmo, PayPal, direct deposit, and even paper checks (yes, still). I record everything in a spreadsheet with the payment method noted. Then at tax time, I can easily see what should be on forms and what might not be.

I just went through this exact situation last year as a freelancer! Here's what I learned after making some mistakes: You definitely need to provide W-9s to ALL your clients who pay you $600+ per year - this includes Client A for their full $4,000. The payment method doesn't matter for the client's 1099-NEC reporting requirement. For the 1099-K situation with Wise: Yes, if your total transactions across ALL clients through Wise exceed $20,000 AND you have more than 200 transactions, Wise will issue you a 1099-K. But here's the key - you won't be double-taxed because you only report your actual income once on Schedule C. What saved me was keeping a detailed spreadsheet with columns for: Client Name, Payment Date, Amount, Payment Method, and any fees deducted. This way when I got my 1099-NECs from clients AND a 1099-K from my payment processor, I could easily reconcile everything and make sure I wasn't over-reporting. One tip: Don't wait until tax time to organize this! I update my spreadsheet weekly now, and it makes everything so much easier. The IRS cares about your total income, not how many different forms report pieces of it.

This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm also cycle code 0805 and have been checking my transcript randomly throughout the week like a maniac. The explanation about Thursday processing vs Friday visibility finally makes sense of all the conflicting info I've been seeing online. I was starting to think the IRS website was just broken or something. Definitely going to switch to only checking Friday mornings and save myself the daily stress. It's ridiculous that we have to crowdsource this information instead of the IRS just clearly explaining their own system somewhere. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is honestly more helpful than any official IRS resource I've found!

As someone who just went through this exact same frustration with cycle code 0805, I can totally relate to the confusion! I was checking my transcript at all hours of the day thinking I was missing updates. What finally helped me was understanding that the IRS processes in batches - your 0805 code means Thursday night processing, but the transcript database refreshes overnight, so you'll see any changes Friday morning (usually between 3-6am EST). The key thing that saved my sanity was realizing that weekly cycle doesn't mean weekly updates - it just means IF there are changes, they'll show up on that schedule. I went weeks with no changes, then suddenly had movement. Now I only check Friday mornings and it's so much less stressful. Don't drive yourself crazy like I did - stick to one day a week and trust the process!

Got the same DDD with Navy Federal! Have you noticed if they process refunds differently depending on the amount? I've heard larger refunds sometimes take the full time while smaller ones might come early. Has anyone experienced this pattern with Navy Federal specifically?

Navy Federal member here with some alternative information. According to Treasury Regulation §31.6302-1(h), financial institutions are actually required to credit accounts on the effective date specified in the ACH entry (the DDD), not before. Navy Federal's early release is technically a courtesy where they're fronting the money before they receive it from the Treasury. I'd suggest setting up text alerts for any deposit activity and then planning your budget based on the actual DDD, treating any early deposit as a pleasant surprise rather than an expectation.

23 Anyone else feeling like the tax code is deliberately confusing? Like they WANT us to make mistakes so they can fine us? 🙄

Based on my experience as a small business owner who's dealt with this exact question, I can confirm that you CAN deduct internet expenses separately from the simplified home office deduction, but you need to be smart about it. The key distinction is that the simplified method ($5/sq ft) is meant to replace the home-related overhead expenses like utilities that power the physical space. Internet service, however, is more of a business tool - especially when you're using it primarily for business activities like client calls, cloud software, and research. I've been doing this for 2 years now with no issues. Here's my approach: - I track my business vs personal internet usage monthly (roughly 65% business in my case) - I keep detailed logs of business activities that require internet - I treat it as a separate line item on Schedule C under "Other Business Expenses" The tax court case you mentioned is spot-on - it established that internet can be treated as a distinct business expense. Just make sure your business percentage is reasonable and well-documented. With your 60% business use and $85/month bill, you'd be looking at about $612 annually in deductions, which is definitely worth the effort to track properly. Pro tip: Set up a simple spreadsheet to log your business internet activities monthly. Makes tax time much easier and gives you solid documentation if questioned.