My accountant told me that the "nanny tax" rules apply to housekeepers too if they're employees, and the threshold is only $2,400 for 2025. Since you're paying $3,120, you're definitely over that limit. The thing that confused me is the difference between a 1099 contractor and a household employee. For my housekeeper, she uses my cleaning supplies and comes on a regular schedule I set, so she's technically my employee according to IRS rules.

The $3,120 you're paying definitely puts you over the household employee threshold that Josef mentioned. Here's what I learned from my own experience: the key is figuring out if your housekeeper is truly an independent contractor or your employee. Ask yourself: Do you provide the cleaning supplies? Do you tell them what to clean and how? Do you set their schedule? If yes to most of these, they're likely your employee and you need Schedule H, not a 1099. I made the mistake of assuming anyone I paid was automatically a contractor. Turns out the IRS looks at the level of control you have over the work, not just whether you cut them a check. The fact that you're paying through Venmo doesn't change the underlying employment relationship. Since you're new to this, I'd suggest getting clarity on the employee vs contractor question first - that determines everything else about your tax obligations. Better to figure it out now than during an audit later!

I filed 1/29 and literally just got movement today! Give it time, your turn is coming soon 👍

Filed 2/1 here and same situation - transcript still completely blank! Reading through these comments is actually really reassuring though. Seems like we're all just in the normal waiting period. @Kayla Morgan thanks for the professional insight about the 2-3 week timeline, that helps calm my nerves a bit. Guess we just gotta be patient even though it's torture when you're waiting on that refund 😅

One important thing no one mentioned: you need to make quarterly estimated tax payments on your DoorDash income! When you have a W-2 job, taxes are withheld automatically, but with 1099 work, nothing is withheld. If you wait until tax time to pay, you might get hit with underpayment penalties. I found this out the hard way last year and had to pay extra. You can either increase withholdings at your regular job to cover the additional income or make quarterly payments directly to the IRS.

I did doordash last year and messed up my taxes by not tracking my miles properly. KEEP A MILEAGE LOG starting today!! The standard mileage deduction was worth waaaaay more than itemizing all my other expenses. Download a mileage tracking app that records your trips automatically. I use Stride and it saved me over $1800 in taxes last year just from mileage deductions alone.

I got audited on charitable contributions 2 years ago and learned the hard way. For donations under $250 you need either a receipt from the org OR bank records + some evidence of donation. For donations over $250, you MUST have written acknowledgment from the charity - no exceptions. Pictures help but aren't sufficient by themselves. Your best move is getting that acknowledgment letter now and keeping whatever receipts you have. For items without receipts, you can estimate fair market value but be reasonable - the IRS has seen every trick in the book.

Great advice from everyone here! As someone who's dealt with similar documentation issues, I'd add that when you contact the shelter for that acknowledgment letter, offer to draft it yourself with all the details and just ask them to review and sign it. This makes their job easier and ensures you get exactly what you need for IRS purposes. Also, for future donations like this, consider taking a quick video as you're packing everything - it can serve as great documentation of both the items and your charitable intent. And definitely get that receipt at drop-off time! One more tip: if you do get questioned later, having photos of the assembled packages plus the shelter's social media posts showing your donation creates a nice paper trail that supports your story. The IRS appreciates when donations have logical documentation that tells a coherent story.

Been doin taxes 15+ years. Transcripts can update anytime during processing. Nothing's final till you get that sweet 846 deposit code

Been there! Your transcript looks good so far with those basic processing codes. From my experience, new codes can definitely pop up even weeks after filing - I've seen 570 holds, 971 notices, and verification requests show up randomly. The key is not to panic if something new appears. With your credits already showing and no red flags, you're probably in good shape. I'd recommend checking weekly rather than daily (saves your sanity lol) and maybe try one of those transcript analyzer tools people are mentioning if you want peace of mind about what everything means.