Does anyone know if you still need to deal with this Schedule C stuff if your total mystery shopping income (fees only, not reimbursements) is under $400? I thought there was some minimum before you had to worry about self employment tax??

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with the exact same situation with mystery shopping reimbursements. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - make sure you're tracking which expenses are 100% deductible versus those that might have personal use limitations. For example, if you buy a meal during a restaurant mystery shop, that's typically 100% deductible as a reimbursed business expense since you had no personal benefit from that required purchase. But if you buy clothing during a retail mystery shop and you could potentially wear those items personally, the IRS might view that differently. I've been keeping a separate column in my tracking spreadsheet noting whether each reimbursed expense was "required purchase with no personal benefit" versus "reimbursed but potential personal use." My tax preparer said this level of detail could be really valuable if I ever get audited. Also, don't forget to save screenshots of the shop assignments showing what purchases were specifically required - this can help prove the business necessity of your expenses beyond just having receipts.

I've been researching this exact issue and found some helpful information about the transition timeline. The US-Hungary tax treaty termination takes effect January 1, 2025, with no phase-out period - it's a clean break. The treaty notification was given in 2024, providing the required one-year notice period. What's interesting is that I found IRS Publication 901 has been updated to reflect upcoming treaty terminations, though it doesn't get into specific scenarios like dual citizens with no Hungarian income. The publication does confirm that when treaties terminate, you fall back on each country's domestic tax laws. For those looking for official US guidance, I'd recommend checking Form 8833 instructions, which deals with treaty-based return positions. While it's mainly for claiming treaty benefits, it might provide insight into reporting requirements when treaties no longer exist. I'm also planning to contact both the Hungarian consulate and IRS as others have suggested. Given how many dual citizens this affects, it would be great if someone could compile the official responses we get and share them back with this community.

Great question about FBAR implications! As someone who's dealt with similar dual citizenship reporting requirements, I can share what I've learned. FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) requirements are based on having financial accounts in foreign countries, not on your citizenship status itself. If you don't have any Hungarian bank accounts, investment accounts, or other financial accounts, then you wouldn't have FBAR reporting obligations related to Hungary. However, if you do have any Hungarian accounts (even dormant ones from childhood, inheritance-related accounts, or accounts you're a signatory on), you'd need to report those if the aggregate balance exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. This requirement exists regardless of the tax treaty status and won't change due to the treaty termination. The key thing to remember is that FBAR is a Treasury Department requirement (not IRS) and focuses purely on account ownership/signature authority, not income or tax obligations. So even though you likely won't have Hungarian tax filing requirements after the treaty ends, any Hungarian accounts would still need to be reported on FBAR if they meet the thresholds. Worth double-checking if you have any old accounts you might have forgotten about - sometimes parents open accounts for dual citizen children that remain dormant for years.

just upload it to taxr.ai and stop stressing. literally changed everything for me and now i help all my family use it too. way better than trying to piece everything together from reddit posts

Hey! I totally get the stress of waiting for a refund that size. Based on what you've shared, your cycle code 20250503 means your return was processed in 2025, week 05 (early February), on day 03 (Wednesday). The processing date of 02-17-2025 aligns with this. Looking at your transaction codes, the TC 150 shows your return was accepted, and you have withholdings (TC 806) and credits (TC 766, TC 768) that will result in your $8,462 refund. The fact that you're seeing these codes is actually good news - it means everything is moving through the system normally. Typically, refunds are issued 21 days from the processing date, so you'd be looking at around March 10th give or take a few days. Since you filed HOH with EIC, there might be additional review time, but your transcript doesn't show any hold codes which is positive. Keep checking your transcripts weekly - you'll want to look for a TC 846 code which will show your actual refund date. Hang in there!

Has anyone used TurboTax or H&R Block software for reporting foreign income like this? I'm in a similar situation with work from Australia, but not sure if the regular tax software can handle it or if I need something more specialized.

I went through something very similar with seasonal work in Australia a couple years ago, and I can definitely relate to the confusion! Here are a few practical tips that helped me: First, don't panic if you don't have perfect documentation. I ended up using my Australian pay slips that showed year-to-date totals, plus bank statements showing the deposits. The key is being able to demonstrate the total amount earned and any taxes withheld. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: keep track of the exchange rates on the dates you were paid, not just at year-end. The IRS allows you to use either the actual rates on payment dates or their published annual average rates. I used the annual average which was much simpler. For the forms, you'll definitely need the regular 1040, but also likely Form 1116 for foreign tax credit if New Zealand withheld any taxes from your pay. This can actually work in your favor since it prevents double taxation. A tax preparer experienced with international returns is worth the cost for your first time doing this. They'll catch things you might miss and can advise whether the foreign earned income exclusion (Form 2555) might be better than the tax credit in your situation. Also, make sure to file even if you think you don't owe anything - the penalties for not reporting foreign income can be steep regardless of whether tax is actually owed.

I think you all are overthinking this! My small business (45 employees) has been receiving vendor gifts for years and we just distribute them without any tax reporting. Same with our employee appreciation raffles. The IRS has bigger concerns than tracking a $50 gift card or $80 air fryer given to employees as a genuine gift. Unless you're dealing with very expensive items, the administrative burden of tracking all these small gifts far outweighs any compliance benefit.

I work for a mid-sized accounting firm and handle payroll tax compliance for several manufacturing clients, so I see these exact situations regularly. Here's my practical take: For vendor gifts: You absolutely need to treat these as taxable income to employees, even though you're just the middleman. The IRS views this as the vendor providing compensation to your employees through your company relationship. We typically advise clients to get a simple vendor gift disclosure form showing recipient names, item descriptions, and fair market values. Regarding your de minimis question: While there's no bright-line rule, I generally recommend using $75 as a practical threshold for physical items (excluding gift cards which are always taxable). This aligns with what most tax courts have considered "administratively impractical to track." For your specific raffle items: - Fruit/chocolate baskets: De minimis if under $75 - Bluetooth speakers ($40-65): Borderline, but I'd lean toward taxable given their utility - Air fryers ($85-120): Definitely taxable - Smart TVs ($350-450): Obviously taxable The key is consistency and documentation. Whatever thresholds you establish, apply them uniformly and keep good records. The IRS cares more about systematic compliance than perfect precision on borderline items. Also consider communicating your policy to employees beforehand so they understand why some prizes affect their paychecks while others don't.