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Something no one's mentioned yet - as a full-time student with self-employment income, you might qualify for the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit. These education credits can significantly reduce your tax bill!
Ohhh that's really good to know! I'm paying for school partially out of pocket so that could be super helpful. Does tuition I paid in 2023 count for the 2023 tax year, or is it based on when classes actually happen?
Important note: The American Opportunity Credit has an income limit. With $13,500 you're fine, but if tutoring takes off even more, be aware the credit starts phasing out at higher income levels.
As someone who's been tutoring for a few years now, I can confirm everything others have said about this being self-employment income. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - keep a simple spreadsheet tracking each tutoring session with date, student name (or initials for privacy), hours worked, and amount paid. This makes tax filing SO much easier. Also, since you're making good money from tutoring, consider setting aside about 25-30% of each payment in a separate savings account for taxes. Between federal income tax and self-employment tax, you'll owe a decent chunk. Having it already saved prevents the shock at tax time! The Roth IRA opportunity is huge - definitely take advantage of that. Starting retirement savings in college puts you way ahead of most people. You can contribute for 2023 until the tax filing deadline (usually April 15th), so you still have time to make that contribution if you want.
This is such great practical advice! I wish someone had told me about the 25-30% rule when I started my own tutoring business. I made the mistake of spending all my tutoring income as I earned it and then got hit with a massive tax bill. The spreadsheet tip is gold too - I started doing this halfway through my first year and it made such a difference. I'd also suggest taking photos of any receipts for tutoring supplies or mileage logs right when you get them. I lost so many deductions because I couldn't find receipts later. One question though - do you report tutoring income as it's earned or when you actually get paid? I have a few families that sometimes pay me a week or two late.
Has anyone considered that this might actually be intentional by the IRS? By sending refunds instead of applying them as requested, they create situations where people either have to scramble to make estimated payments or potentially face penalties later. Just saying...
That's a pretty cynical take. Having worked in tax preparation for years, I'm confident this is just a processing error. The IRS systems are outdated and understaffed. Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by bureaucratic inefficiency.
I went through this exact same situation last year and it was incredibly frustrating! The IRS processed my return incorrectly despite me clearly marking the box to apply my overpayment to estimated taxes. Here's what I learned: Don't cash the check yet. Call the IRS directly (yes, the wait times are awful, but it's worth it) and explain that they sent you a refund check when you specifically requested the overpayment be applied to your 2024 estimated taxes. Have your Social Security number and the exact amount ready. When I called, the representative was able to see my original election on the return and confirmed it was their processing error. They had me write "VOID" across the check and mail it back with a letter explaining the situation. About 6 weeks later, I received confirmation that the amount had been properly applied to my estimated tax account. The key thing is that they noted in my file that this was their error, so there were no penalties for the "late" estimated payment. Keep detailed records of everything - your original return, the refund check, any correspondence with the IRS, and notes from phone calls including dates and representative names if possible. It's definitely their mistake, not yours, so don't let them try to penalize you for it later!
Ugh this is so frustrating! I filed on 1/20 too and got accepted the same day but still no advance. The whole "minutes after acceptance" thing feels like false advertising at this point. Really considering switching to a different service next year if they can't get their act together š¤
Same here! Filed 1/19 and accepted 1/21 but crickets on the advance. This is my first year with CK and honestly not impressed so far. Might have to check out that taxr thing everyone's talking about to see what's actually going on š¤·āāļø
Been dealing with the exact same thing! Filed 1/19, accepted 1/21, and still waiting on my advance. Called CK support twice and got different answers each time - first they said "technical issues" then "additional verification needed." Really wish they'd be more transparent about what's actually causing these delays instead of keeping us in the dark. At this point I'm just hoping it shows up before the weekend š¤
Ugh same exact situation here! Filed 1/20, accepted 1/21 and still nothing. The inconsistent answers from support are so annoying - like just tell us what's really going on instead of giving us the runaround. Really hoping we see something by Monday but honestly not holding my breath at this point š
This thread is super interesting. I'm doing a taxation course and we just covered this topic. One thing not mentioned yet is that some businesses have tried to work around 280E by separating their business into multiple entities - one that "trafficks" and another that provides other services. For example, a dispensary might create one business that only buys/sells product (subject to 280E but can deduct COGS) and a separate consulting/education business that provides advice to customers (not subject to 280E, so can deduct all ordinary business expenses). The IRS has challenged these arrangements with mixed results. Has anyone looked into the success rate of these types of structures?
A friend of mine is an accountant for several cannabis businesses in California, and he says these split-entity strategies are getting harder to maintain. The IRS has been aggressively auditing and often recharacterizing these arrangements as artificial. The key is having genuinely separate businesses with different purposes, not just a paper division.
This is such a great breakdown of a really confusing area of tax law! I'm actually a CPA and I still have clients ask me about this all the time, especially with the growth of state-legal cannabis businesses. One thing I'd add is that the COGS vs. other expenses distinction can get really murky in practice. For example, trimming labor for cannabis can sometimes be considered part of COGS (as it's part of preparing the product for sale) but sometimes it's treated as a non-deductible operating expense. The IRS has been inconsistent on where exactly to draw these lines. I've seen businesses spend thousands on tax attorneys just to figure out how to properly categorize expenses under 280E. It's one of those areas where the law is clear in theory but gets incredibly complex when you try to apply it to real-world business operations. The constitutional reasoning behind allowing COGS deductions is solid, but the practical implementation creates a lot of gray areas that businesses have to navigate very carefully.
Thanks for the professional perspective! As someone new to understanding tax law, I'm curious about those gray areas you mentioned. When businesses are unsure how to categorize something like trimming labor, do they typically err on the side of caution and treat it as non-deductible? Or is there some kind of safe harbor approach they can use? It seems like the cost of getting it wrong could be pretty significant in an audit situation.
Yara Nassar
TurboTax won't always let you e-file a 1040-X even if it's just Schedule D changes. It depends on the specific situation and tax year. I tried to e-file an amendment for my 2019 taxes (in 2022) and the system forced me to paper file because of some limitation with Schedule D amendments for that specific tax year. But when I did a 2020 amendment with Schedule D changes, it let me e-file with no problem.
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StarGazer101
ā¢This is really important info. I think it also depends on how long ago the original return was filed. Like if you're amending something from 3+ years ago, they might force paper filing.
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StarStrider
I just went through this exact situation last month! Had to amend my 2023 return for some incorrect cost basis reporting on Schedule D. TurboTax handled it perfectly through their amendment workflow. The key thing is to make sure you use TurboTax's "Amend a Return" feature rather than trying to create a new return. It will pull up your original return, let you make the Schedule D corrections, and then generate a proper 1040-X that only includes the changed information. When I e-filed mine, the IRS only received the 1040-X form and the corrected Schedule D - no other unnecessary forms. The whole process took about 10 weeks to get processed, which seems pretty standard based on what others have mentioned here. One heads up though - TurboTax will charge you an additional fee for the amendment (I think it was around $40-50), but honestly it was worth it for the peace of mind knowing everything was filed correctly electronically.
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Malik Robinson
ā¢Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm actually dealing with this exact situation right now - need to amend for incorrect cost basis on some stock sales. Quick question: when you went through TurboTax's amendment workflow, did it automatically calculate the tax differences for you, or did you have to figure out the impact on your refund/balance due manually? I'm a bit nervous about making sure I get the math right on the 1040-X form itself.
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