Has anyone here actually been audited for cash income? What did they specifically ask for? I'm a bartender and get a lot of cash tips that I report honestly, but I don't have any real "proof" besides my bank deposits.

For cash income documentation during an audit, the IRS typically accepts what they call "contemporaneous records" - meaning records made at or near the time of the transaction. Your notebook approach is actually on the right track, but you'll want to enhance it. Key documents that strengthen your case: 1) Daily cash receipts log (your notebook counts, but make entries consistent and detailed), 2) Bank deposit records that correlate with your logged income, 3) Any receipts or invoices you provide to customers, 4) Photos of completed work or service agreements, and 5) Calendar or appointment book showing scheduled jobs. The IRS understands that cash businesses often have less formal documentation, but they look for consistency between your reported income, lifestyle, bank deposits, and spending patterns. Your bank statements showing regular deposits that match your notebook entries will be very helpful. Consider also taking photos of completed work and keeping simple service agreements or at least text messages with clients about job details - these all help corroborate your income claims. The key is showing a reasonable, consistent system rather than perfect documentation.

2 Might be late to the thread, but have you tried checking your mother-in-law's previous year's tax return to see what TIN was used then? Sometimes the software will save this information from year to year. Also, if she used a different tax preparer last year, they might have the correct information in their records.

11 This is such a frustrating but common issue! Banks often don't understand that the Payer's TIN is legally required information on 1099-R forms. A few additional suggestions that have worked for me in similar situations: 1) Ask to speak with the bank's tax department specifically, not just customer service. They're more likely to understand the requirements and have access to the correct EIN. 2) Reference IRS Publication 1179 which outlines the requirements for information returns - sometimes mentioning specific IRS guidance gets their attention. 3) If the bank still refuses, file a complaint with your state's banking regulator. Banks are required to provide accurate tax information, and regulatory pressure often gets results quickly. 4) For future reference, you can also look up any bank's Charter/FDIC Certificate information online which will show their correct EIN. The good news is that even if you have to file with incomplete information this year, it's very unlikely to cause major problems - just potentially a notice later that's easily resolved with documentation of your efforts.

Anybody else think it's ridiculous how cryptic these error codes are? Like why can't TurboTax just say "Hey, your name and SSN don't match what the IRS has" instead of "IND-031-04" which tells me absolutely nothing?? The whole system seems designed to be as frustrating as possible.

I had the exact same error code last month and it drove me crazy! Turned out to be a really simple fix though - I had entered my middle initial as "J" but my Social Security card actually has "James" spelled out completely. Even though both are technically correct, the IRS system is super picky about exact matches. Here's what I'd suggest: Pull out your actual Social Security card (not just rely on memory) and compare every single character of your name field by field. Look for: - Middle names vs middle initials - Periods after initials - Spaces between names - Any Jr/Sr/III suffixes Since you mentioned getting married and changing your name, that's almost certainly the culprit. Make sure you're using the exact format from your updated SS card. The IRS database might still have timing delays even after you updated with Social Security Administration. Don't worry about your refund being delayed too much - once you fix the name mismatch and resubmit, it usually processes pretty quickly!

Just wanna add one thing - make sure to update your W4 with your employer ASAP for 2026! While there's no penalty for filing differently than your withholding status, it's best to have your withholding match your expected filing status to avoid surprises next year. The new W4 form doesn't even have a "filing status" checkbox anymore - instead it asks about multiple jobs and spouse working, so complete it accurately for best results.

Great question and lots of helpful answers here! Just to add one more perspective - I work in HR and help employees with W4 questions all the time. What everyone's saying is absolutely correct: your W4 withholding elections and your actual tax filing status are completely independent. The W4 is just an estimate tool to help your employer withhold approximately the right amount of taxes throughout the year. Your actual filing status is determined by your marital status on December 31st of the tax year. Since you were married by the end of 2025, you have the option to file either "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately" - regardless of what any W4 forms say. One tip from the employer side: when you do update your W4 (which I'd recommend doing soon for 2026), the new form is much more comprehensive than the old one. It considers your spouse's income, multiple jobs, deductions, and credits to give you more accurate withholding. Take your time filling it out completely rather than just checking a box!

Just wanted to share my experience - I was in almost identical situation last year. $198k net revenue, single-member LLC, found out about S corps in October. I filed Form 2553 under Rev. Proc. 2013-30 with my tax return for last year. My strategy was setting up payroll for Nov and Dec only, took reasonable salary for those months ($15k total), and documented why this was appropriate given the timing of my election. My S election was accepted without issues. Saved about $4k in taxes even with just 2 months of S-corp status, and now I'm fully set up for this year too. The key was solid documentation explaining the timing of my reasonable compensation decisions.

I went through this exact situation two years ago and decided to wait until the following tax year - best decision I made! Here's why: The administrative nightmare of retroactive S-corp compliance isn't just about filing Form 2553. You'd need to: - Set up payroll software and processes - Calculate and pay employment taxes for the entire year - File quarterly 941 forms (which were due months ago) - Potentially face penalties for late payroll tax deposits - Amend your quarterly estimated tax payments With $230k in net revenue, you're probably looking at around $6-8k in SE tax savings, but the compliance costs, penalties, and rushed setup could easily eat half of that. I used the extra time to properly research payroll providers, set up business banking for payroll, and plan my reasonable compensation strategy. When I elected S-corp status for the following year, everything was clean and proper from day one. The peace of mind was worth more than the one-year delay in tax savings. Plus, having a full year of S-corp planning let me optimize other aspects of my business structure that I would have missed if I'd rushed into it.