Has anyone used the "cancel payment" feature directly in FreeTaxUSA? I think they have an option to cancel scheduled payments within a certain timeframe. Might be worth logging back into your account to see if you can cancel it there before trying more complicated solutions.

Don't stress too much about this - bank account typos are surprisingly common! I work at a credit union and see this kind of thing regularly. Here's what most likely will happen: When the IRS tries to process your payment, the bank will reject it because the account number doesn't exist or doesn't match your name. Banks have multiple verification steps that prevent money from accidentally going to wrong accounts. Your best bet is to call the IRS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System at 1-888-353-4537 (this is specifically for payment issues, not the general IRS line). They can cancel the pending payment and help you set up a new one immediately. Have your SSN and the exact payment amount ready. If for some reason you can't get through, make a backup payment right now using IRS Direct Pay online. That way you're covered either way. The IRS will see you made a good faith effort to pay on time, which protects you from penalties even if there's a brief delay sorting out the incorrect payment. The key is acting fast - don't wait for the payment to fail and then get a notice weeks later. Being proactive here will save you potential headaches and fees.

Honestly, I think you're overthinking this. I've been selling digital art through PayPal for years and never reported income under $2000. The IRS has bigger fish to fry than small-time artists making a few hundred bucks. PayPal didn't even issue you a tax form!

I went through this exact same situation last year with my freelance graphic design work through PayPal! The confusion is totally understandable because PayPal's reporting thresholds and your actual tax obligations are two completely different things. Here's what I learned after consulting with a CPA: You absolutely need to report that $754 as self-employment income on Schedule C, and you'll owe self-employment tax on it (which is about 15.3% for Social Security and Medicare). The fact that PayPal didn't send you a 1099-K is irrelevant - you're still legally required to report all income. The good news is you can deduct those PayPal fees as a business expense! Keep track of all your art supplies, software subscriptions, and any other legitimate business costs. I was surprised to learn I could even deduct a portion of my phone and internet bills since I use them for client communication. For next year, I'd recommend setting aside about 25-30% of each payment you receive for taxes. It makes filing much less stressful when you're not scrambling to find money to pay what you owe. One more tip: if your art income grows to where you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes for the year, you'll need to start making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. But at your current income level, you should be fine paying annually.

Wondering if either of you have student loans? This literally changed everything for my wife and me when we got married. If either of you are on income-based repayment, filing separately could save thousands in student loan payments even if you pay slightly more in taxes.

Great question! Since you're getting married in October, you'll be considered married for the entire 2024 tax year regardless of living separately. Here are the key things to consider: **Filing Status**: You'll have two options - Married Filing Jointly (MFJ) or Married Filing Separately (MFS). Head of Household won't be available once you're married. **W-4 Updates**: Yes, update your W-4s soon! With your combined income of ~$295k, you'll likely be in a higher tax bracket and may need to adjust withholdings to avoid underpayment penalties. **Children**: If filing jointly, you can claim both kids on one return. If filing separately, each claims their own child. **Property Considerations**: Since you both own homes, pay attention to the SALT deduction cap ($10k jointly vs $10k each if filing separately). With two properties, you might exceed this limit. **Run Both Scenarios**: Given your income levels and dual home ownership, definitely calculate both MFJ and MFS. Sometimes MFS works better despite losing some tax benefits, especially if you have high property taxes or state income taxes. The living situation doesn't matter for tax purposes - only your legal marital status on December 31st counts. I'd recommend using tax software to model both scenarios before deciding!

A big thing to ask is whether the buyer will want a covenant not to compete as part of the deal. This is super common with service businesses like property management. If they do, just know that payments for these are ordinary income, not capital gains. Sometimes buyers try to allocate a big chunk of the purchase price to the non-compete to get a faster deduction, while you'd prefer more allocated to goodwill for the capital gains rate.

Great point about the covenant not to compete! This is definitely something to negotiate upfront. In your case with the property management business, they'll likely want some kind of non-compete since you have existing relationships with landlords in the area. One strategy is to propose a shorter non-compete period (maybe 2-3 years instead of 5) with a smaller allocation, then push for more of the purchase price to be attributed to goodwill and the management contracts themselves. You might also consider whether there are any accounts receivable or prepaid management fees that should be allocated separately - those would be ordinary income anyway, so better to identify them clearly rather than have them lumped into other categories. Since you mentioned all the contracts were self-created, document that well. It supports treating them as part of the overall business goodwill rather than separately purchased intangible assets, which generally favors capital gains treatment when selling the entire business.

I'm dealing with a CP05 notice right now too, and the anxiety is real! Filed in early March and got the notice last week. What's been driving me crazy is not knowing WHY they're reviewing it - like you, everything seemed straightforward on my return. I've been reading that these reviews have become much more common lately, especially for returns with education credits (which I also claimed). The waiting game is brutal when you're counting on that money for expenses. One small tip that's helped my peace of mind: I screenshot my "Where's My Refund" status every few days so I can actually see if anything changes, rather than just relying on memory. The status hasn't updated yet, but at least I feel like I'm doing something! Keep us posted on how it goes - hoping we both get good news before the full 60 days are up! 🤞

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed my return in early March and just got my CP05 notice yesterday. Like you, I was really counting on that refund for some upcoming bills and the 60-day wait is stressing me out. What's been helpful for me is remembering that this is actually pretty routine - my accountant told me these reviews have become way more common since the IRS is trying to prevent fraud. She said most of her clients who get CP05 notices end up getting their full refund, just with the delay. I've been checking the "Where's My Refund" tool obsessively (probably not healthy lol) but at least it gives me something to do while I wait. The hardest part is just not knowing exactly what triggered the review. Hang in there - from everything I've read here and elsewhere, the odds are really good that you'll get your refund once they finish their verification. The waiting just sucks when you need the money! 🤞