Don't forget about state taxes too! You mentioned Texas which doesn't have state income tax, but if you moved from another state during those years you might still have state filing requirements for the time you lived there. I made this mistake when I didn't file for a couple years - sorted out federal but completely forgot about state taxes from when I lived in California. Ended up with a nasty surprise letter from the CA tax board years later.

Has anyone used a CPA to help with unfiled returns? I'm wondering if it's worth the cost versus doing it myself with software.

Don't forget that your self-employment taxes (the extra Medicare and Social Security taxes you pay as both employer and employee) are calculated on your NET income from Doordash - meaning AFTER expenses. So keeping good records of all business expenses is super important!!! I made the mistake of not tracking my expenses properly my first year and ended up paying wayyy more in SE taxes than I needed to.

Great question! I was in a similar situation when I started doing gig work alongside my regular job. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier - consider opening a separate business checking account for your Doordash earnings. It makes tracking so much cleaner when you're dealing with both W-2 and 1099 income. Also, don't wait until tax season to start organizing everything. I set up a simple spreadsheet to track my weekly earnings and expenses from the beginning, which saved me tons of stress later. The IRS expects you to treat your gig work like a real business, so keeping good records from day one is crucial. One last tip - if you end up owing more than $1,000 in taxes from your Doordash income, you might want to consider having extra taxes withheld from your W-2 job instead of doing quarterly payments. Sometimes it's easier to manage that way, especially when you're just starting out and aren't sure how much you'll earn.

I've been following this thread closely as someone in a similar situation, and I wanted to add some practical context about planning with these future changes. Even though the age 75 requirement won't kick in until 2033, it's worth considering how this affects your overall retirement withdrawal strategy now. One thing I learned from my financial planner is that the delayed RMD age might actually create some tax planning challenges. If you're waiting until 75 to start required withdrawals, you could end up with larger account balances that force bigger RMDs when they do start. This could potentially push you into higher tax brackets in your later 70s and 80s. The key is thinking about voluntary distributions in your early 70s to manage your tax bracket, especially if you have other income sources like Social Security or pensions that will increase your taxable income over time. The flexibility to choose when to start taking money out (versus being forced to) is actually a valuable planning tool. Has anyone else considered how these changes might affect their overall tax strategy, not just the technical compliance with RMD rules?

Great question about voluntary distributions! Once you're over 59.5, there are generally no restrictions on how much you can withdraw from your traditional IRA or 401(k) - you just pay ordinary income tax on the distributions. The main thing to watch out for is managing your tax bracket. One strategy I've seen work well is what's called "bracket filling" - taking enough distributions each year to fill up your current tax bracket without pushing into the next one. For example, if you're in the 12% bracket, you might take distributions up to the top of that bracket, then stop to avoid jumping to 22%. Another consideration is the timing of Social Security benefits. Since those become taxable at certain income levels, coordinating your voluntary IRA distributions with when you start claiming Social Security can be really important for managing your overall tax burden. The flexibility that comes with the delayed RMD age is actually one of the best parts of SECURE 2.0, but it does require more active planning than just waiting for the government to tell you what to withdraw. Working with a tax professional who understands these new rules can really pay off in the long run.

I'm gonna go against the grain here... I used TaxAct last year for my 1099 income and actually preferred it over FreeTaxUSA (which I used the year before). TaxAct has a better interface for tracking year-over-year changes in your business income, which I found helpful. Their expense categorization was more intuitive for me, and their explanations of tax concepts were clearer. Yes, they do push upgrades more, but if you just keep clicking "continue with free" you can still complete everything. And their state filing was only about $5 more than FreeTaxUSA when I filed.

I've used both platforms for 1099 filing and here's my take: FreeTaxUSA is definitely more straightforward with fewer upsells, but TaxAct has better guidance for complex deductions. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - both platforms let you start your return and save it before committing to pay anything. So you could literally try both, see which interface you prefer, and then complete with whichever feels better. For what it's worth, I ended up sticking with FreeTaxUSA because their customer support was more responsive when I had questions about a specific 1099-MISC form. They answered my email within a few hours, while TaxAct took 2 days to respond. Also, pro tip: regardless of which platform you choose, make sure you're keeping good records of ALL business expenses throughout the year. I use a simple spreadsheet and it saves me hours during tax season.

Has anyone used both H&R Block and FreeTaxUSA? I'm considering switching permanently next year and wondering how they compare. Is FreeTaxUSA actually good or just cheaper?

I made this exact switch last month and can confirm it works perfectly! H&R Block's inability to e-file Form 8915-E was such a frustrating surprise after completing everything. FreeTaxUSA handled the 8915-E form without any issues and I was able to e-file successfully. The interface is definitely more basic than H&R Block - it's more like filling out the actual tax forms rather than the interview-style questions - but honestly I found it easier to navigate once I got used to it. One tip: make sure you have your AGI from last year's return handy when you switch, as FreeTaxUSA will ask for it to verify your identity. Also double-check that you're entering the correct distribution amount and date on the 8915-E form since the wording is slightly different between the two platforms. The whole re-entry process took me about an hour, which was way better than dealing with printing and mailing a paper return. My refund was processed normally and I got it via direct deposit in about 10 days after e-filing.