Don't forget about keeping a mileage log if the truck isn't 100% business use! The IRS is super strict about this. I had a friend who got audited and couldn't prove business use percentage for his truck, and the IRS disallowed a huge chunk of his depreciation deduction. I use a simple app that tracks my trips and lets me categorize them as business or personal. Makes it easy to show the exact percentage at tax time.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure your mom considers the timing of the purchase carefully. The truck needs to be "placed in service" (actually used for business) by December 31st, 2025 to qualify for the 2025 tax year deductions. Also, since she's financing most of the purchase, she can still claim depreciation on the full purchase price, not just the amount she's paying out of pocket. The $10,500 trade-in value gets subtracted from the purchase price for depreciation purposes, so she'd be depreciating $32,500 ($43,000 - $10,500) if used 100% for business. One more thing - if her landscaping business has been profitable and she expects it to continue being profitable, the immediate deduction from bonus depreciation could be really valuable for reducing her current tax liability. But if she's expecting much higher income in future years, she might want to consider spreading the deduction out more evenly.

im still waiting on my 2021 return lololol welcome to the club

I feel your pain! Same thing happened to me last year - mailed my return and it sat at "Return Received" for literally 4 months before moving to "Approved." The worst part is there's basically nothing you can do except wait it out. Calling the IRS is pretty much useless unless it's been over a year, they'll just tell you to keep waiting. The good news is that once it finally moves to "Approved" the refund usually comes within a week or two after that. Hang in there!

Question for anyone with experience: If I'm using two EFINs (one at work, one personally), do I need separate PTIN registrations too? Or is one PTIN sufficient since that's tied to me personally as a preparer?

Great question! I went through this exact same situation last year. You're absolutely allowed to use two different EFINs in the same tax year - it's actually pretty common for tax professionals who work for firms but also do some independent preparation work. For the income reporting, yes, anything you earn using your personal EFIN should be reported as self-employment income on Schedule C. Make sure to track all your business expenses like software costs, office supplies, and if you're working from home, potentially home office deductions. One thing I'd add that others haven't mentioned - consider getting your own errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for your personal EFIN work. Your employer's insurance likely won't cover returns you file independently. Also, keep really good records separating your two practices - separate client files, separate banking if possible, and clear engagement letters so there's no confusion about which capacity you're working in. The IRS actually expects this kind of arrangement and has procedures in place for it. Just make sure you're not violating any employment agreements with your firm!

I've noticed that sometimes the deductions go up when I work overtime - is that normal? Does overtime get taxed at a higher rate? I worked 12 extra hours last pay period and my deductions were almost double!

The $95 increase could also be related to hitting certain income thresholds during the year. For example, if you've reached the Social Security wage base limit ($160,200 for 2023), your SS deductions would stop, but if you haven't hit that yet and got a raise or bonus, your SS and Medicare withholdings would increase proportionally. Another thing to check - did you recently change your W-4 form? Even small changes like going from 2 allowances to 1 can significantly impact your federal withholding. Also, some companies do "catch-up" withholding if they discover they've been under-withholding earlier in the year. For budgeting purposes, you can use the IRS withholding calculator online to estimate what your deductions should be and adjust your W-4 if needed. Just remember that while higher withholdings mean less take-home pay now, they also mean a bigger refund (or smaller amount owed) when you file your taxes.

Be careful about keeping a business technically "open" but dormant for too long. I did this and it created some unexpected complications: 1) Had to keep filing zero-income Schedule C forms each year 2) Some states (like California) have minimum franchise taxes even for inactive businesses 3) Had to maintain certain business licenses and registrations which cost money 4) Created confusion with local tax authorities If you don't realistically expect to restart the business within a year or two, sometimes it's cleaner to just close it properly and start fresh if needed later. Those QBI losses might never be usable if you're fully transitioned to W2 income anyway.

This is a great discussion that touches on something I dealt with recently. One thing worth considering is the interaction between QBI losses and the overall Section 199A deduction limitation based on your taxable income. Even if you do generate future QBI to offset those carryforward losses, remember that the Section 199A deduction is still limited to 20% of your taxable income minus net capital gains. So if you're earning W2 income and have other deductions that reduce your taxable income significantly, you might not be able to fully utilize the QBI benefit even when you do have positive qualified business income. I learned this the hard way when I started a small side business thinking I could immediately benefit from my old QBI losses. The math worked out differently than I expected because of the taxable income limitation. It's another factor to consider when deciding whether to keep a dormant business alive or just close it cleanly. Also, regarding the state-level complications others mentioned - some states don't follow federal QBI rules at all, so you could be maintaining a business entity for federal tax benefits that don't even apply at the state level where you might owe annual fees or taxes.