I've helped exactly 17 clients with 1095-A issues this tax season already. Here's a specific example that might help you understand what you're dealing with: Client had a 1095-A showing $437.28 monthly premium, $578.45 for the SLCSP (Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan), and $312.00 in monthly APTC (Advanced Premium Tax Credit). Their actual annual income was $32,450 instead of the $29,000 they estimated when applying for coverage. When we completed Form 8962, they had to repay $428 of their premium tax credit because their actual income was higher than projected. However, since their income was at 253% of the Federal Poverty Level, their repayment was capped at $800 (they would have owed $624 without the cap). The most common mistake I see is people entering annual totals instead of monthly amounts from the 1095-A. Be precise with those numbers!

Hey Alicia! I totally understand that overwhelmed feeling - the 1095-A can definitely look intimidating at first glance! 😅 As a fellow student who went through this last year, here's what helped me get through it: **Quick sanity check first:** Make sure all the information on your 1095-A looks correct (coverage months, premium amounts, etc.). If anything looks off, contact the Marketplace for a correction before filing. **The good news:** Most tax software (TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA, etc.) will walk you through this step-by-step. You basically just enter the numbers from each box on your 1095-A and it does the heavy lifting on Form 8962. **Student-specific tip:** Since you mentioned you're a full-time student, your income might be pretty low, which could actually work in your favor! If your actual income ended up being lower than what you estimated when you signed up, you might get additional tax credits back as a refund. **Before your appointment:** Have your 1095-A ready and double-check that the monthly premium amounts match what you actually paid. Your tax preparer will need these exact numbers. You've got this! The anticipation is definitely worse than actually doing it. Let us know if you run into any specific questions about the numbers on your form! 📋

I recommend getting tax software like FreeTaxUSA or Credit Karma Tax (now Cash App Taxes) which are both free for federal filing and guide you through the process for both W-2 and 1099 income. They'll prompt you to enter your doordashing income and expenses on Schedule C and automatically calculate your self-employment tax. Even with income under the standard deduction, definitely still file a return! You might qualify for refundable credits like the Earned Income Credit depending on your situation, which could get you money back even if you don't owe income tax.

As someone who went through this exact situation last year, I can confirm what others have said - you can definitely use the standard deduction against your combined income from both sources. However, the self-employment tax part caught me off guard too! One thing I'd add is to make sure you keep track of ALL your doordashing expenses going forward, not just mileage. Things like phone accessories (car mounts, chargers), insulated bags, even a portion of your phone bill can be deductible. I wish I had known this during my first year of gig work. Also, since you're young and this might be your first time dealing with self-employment income, consider setting aside about 15-20% of your 1099 earnings for taxes throughout the year if you continue doordashing. The self-employment tax plus any income tax can add up, and you don't want to be surprised next filing season. Good luck with everything - you've got this!

Just experienced this same situation! My incorporation service (LegalZoom) apparently never properly submitted my 2553 even though I paid them to handle it. What a disaster. I ended up hiring a CPA who specialized in business closures. Cost me $650 but they handled everything including dealing with the IRS directly. Sometimes paying a professional is worth avoiding the headache, especially since you can deduct the fee on your personal taxes as an "investment expense" related to closing your business.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! My business formation service also apparently never properly filed my Form 2553, and the IRS is now treating my intended S-Corp as a C-Corp. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like the path of least resistance might be to just file the 1120-X and Schedule L they're requesting, especially since there was no business activity. One question though - if I go the route of filing as a C-Corp for the final return, do I need to worry about any state-level complications? My state dissolution was already approved, but I'm wondering if filing a different type of federal return could create issues with the state tax authority or require additional state filings. Also, has anyone had success getting reimbursement from these business formation services when they mess up the S-Corp election? I'm pretty frustrated that I paid extra for them to handle the paperwork correctly and now I'm stuck dealing with this mess.

I think everyone's missing something important here. If your employer isn't including that $650/month on your W-2, they're handling it incorrectly. They should either be treating it as taxable wages (included on your W-2) OR requiring you to substantiate your actual expenses under an accountable plan (in which case it wouldn't be taxable if your actual expenses equaled or exceeded the allowance). You should talk to your payroll department ASAP. They might need to issue a corrected W-2, or they might need to change how they're administering the car allowance program.

This situation is more common than you'd think! I dealt with something very similar last year. The key thing to understand is that your company is essentially running two different reimbursement systems - one accountable (the credit card for documented expenses) and one non-accountable (the flat $650 allowance). Based on what you've described, you'll likely need to report the $7,800 annual allowance ($650 x 12) as "Other Income" on your tax return since it's not tied to substantiated expenses. However, since you're using your personal vehicle for business, you can potentially offset some of this by deducting vehicle expenses that aren't covered by your company's credit card. The tricky part is you can't use the standard mileage rate since your employer is covering gas and maintenance. You'll need to calculate the actual expenses for things like depreciation, insurance, registration fees, and loan interest - but only the business percentage (which sounds like it would be nearly 100% given your 48k miles). I'd strongly recommend getting this clarified with a tax professional since the interaction between the allowance income and allowable deductions can get complex. Also, definitely check with your payroll department about why this isn't appearing on your W-2 - that seems like an error on their part.

Has anyone actually gone through the process of converting from LLC to C Corp? My lawyer is telling me it's a "deemed liquidation" for tax purposes and could trigger unexpected taxes if not handled properly.

This is such a timely question for me! I'm in a similar situation with my marketing consultancy LLC. After reading through all these responses, it sounds like the tax election route (keeping LLC structure but electing C Corp taxation) might be the simpler path for most solo businesses. One thing I'm curious about - for those who have made the C Corp tax election, how did it affect your quarterly estimated tax payments? Did you have to start making corporate estimated payments in addition to personal ones, or does it replace the self-employment tax structure entirely? Also, timing seems important here. Is there a specific deadline for making the tax election if you want it to take effect for the current tax year, or can you make this change at any point?