Quick tip - many states have marketplace facilitator laws now which means platforms like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay are required to collect and remit sales tax on your behalf regardless of whether you have nexus. This covers about 40+ states now. But be careful! If you sell on your own website or multiple channels, you still need to track your total sales across ALL platforms to determine nexus. The marketplace might handle collection for their platform sales, but they don't know what you're selling elsewhere.

As someone who went through this exact same confusion when I started my online business, I totally get your overwhelm! The good news is it's not as scary as it seems once you understand the basics. Since you're based in Arizona, you definitely need to collect sales tax there. For other states, you only need to worry about it once you hit their economic nexus thresholds (usually $100k in sales OR 200+ transactions per year in that state). Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: 1. Check if Etsy is already handling sales tax collection for you in most states (they probably are!) 2. Keep detailed records of your sales by state - you'll need this info 3. Don't panic about registration until you actually hit thresholds 4. Consider using sales tax software once you start selling in multiple states The key is to stay organized from the start. I use a simple spreadsheet to track my monthly sales by state so I know when I'm approaching any thresholds. Most small businesses don't hit nexus requirements in multiple states right away, so you likely have time to figure this out properly. Focus on growing your business first - just make sure you're collecting Arizona sales tax and keeping good records. The rest will become clearer as your sales grow!

Has anyone looked into opportunity zone investments? I make similar income and invested about $100k of capital gains into a qualified opportunity zone fund last year. You can defer paying tax on those gains until 2027, and if you hold the opportunity zone investment for 10+ years, any appreciation in that investment becomes completely tax-free. Not for everyone since these are typically real estate development projects in economically distressed areas (higher risk), but the tax benefits are pretty substantial if you have capital gains to invest.

Great discussion here! I'd add a few more strategies to consider at your income level: **Mega backdoor Roth**: If your 401(k) allows after-tax contributions and in-service withdrawals, you might be able to contribute up to $70,000 total annually ($23,000 regular + $47,000 after-tax that converts to Roth). **529 plan strategies**: Beyond education savings, some states offer tax deductions for 529 contributions. You can also use 529s for K-12 tuition ($10k/year) if you have kids or plan to. **Timing income**: Consider deferring bonuses to January if possible, or accelerating deductions into the current tax year. Sometimes shifting $10-20k in timing can drop you into a lower bracket. **Professional development**: Conferences, courses, certifications, and professional memberships are often deductible if they maintain or improve skills for your current job. The key is layering multiple strategies rather than relying on just one. Even saving 2-3% effective tax rate on $220k income puts over $5,000 back in your pocket annually. Definitely worth consulting with a fee-only financial advisor who specializes in tax planning for high earners.

Former rideshare driver here. The key distinction for the mileage deduction is whether you're "on the clock" or not. Here's how I handled it after consulting with my accountant: 1. Commuting to your "work area" with app OFF: NOT deductible 2. Driving to work area with app ON and available: Deductible 3. Driving between rides with app ON: Deductible 4. Driving home with app OFF after last ride: NOT deductible 5. Driving home with app still ON and available: Deductible I kept a detailed log showing when my app was on vs. off, and my accountant said this approach was perfectly acceptable for tax purposes. Just don't try to claim regular commuting miles when you're not actually available for work.

Dont 4get to deduct part of ur phone bill and data plan too! When i filed my taxes for uber last year i deducted 80% of my phone costs cuz thats bout how much i use it for the app. also car washes, hand sanitizer, water/snacks for customers if u provide those. lots of little things add up!!

The IRS needs to make these notices clearer smh. Even my tax guy was confused by some of these EIP messages

I had the exact same message show up on my account last year! It's basically just the IRS's way of saying they created a record in their system to track the stimulus payments, but like others said, it doesn't mean you owe anything or that you definitely got a payment. The confusing part is that "This message does not mean that you qualified for the payment" line - it's just their legal disclaimer. What you really need to do is check your actual account transcript or look at your 2021 tax return to see if you received any EIP payments that year. The system message is more about their internal bookkeeping than your actual tax situation.

Just a heads up to the original poster - if you haven't been making consistent estimated tax payments before now, you might want to check if you'll face any underpayment penalties. Starting EFTPS now is great going forward, but it doesn't fix any past underpayment issues. The IRS has a "safe harbor" rule where you generally avoid penalties if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability (or 110% if your income was over $150,000) or 90% of this year's liability in timely estimated payments.

As someone who just went through this exact process last month, I can confirm that the enrollment timeline is crucial to plan for. I'd also add that when you do enroll, make sure to keep your EFTPS login credentials somewhere very secure - unlike other online accounts, you can't just reset your password easily if you forget it. One thing that helped me was setting up recurring reminders in my calendar for the quarterly due dates (January 15, April 15, June 15, and September 15) so I never miss a payment deadline again. The peace of mind from electronic payments is definitely worth the initial setup hassle! Also, Sofia, since you mentioned having multiple businesses, you might want to consider keeping separate records of which payments correspond to which business income for your own bookkeeping, even though it all goes through one EFTPS account. It makes tax prep much easier at year-end.