Don't overthink this - just report it as "Other Income" on Schedule 1 and move on with your life. It's not self-employment income since you weren't actively involved in the business, and it's not a gift since there was an expected return. The key with situations like this is to make a reasonable, defensible choice and be consistent. The last thing you want is to get creative with tax reporting and then have to explain yourself later. People get in trouble with the IRS when they try to get too clever with borderline cases. Reporting as other income is straightforward, accurate, and won't raise any red flags.

I've been through something very similar and can share what I learned after consulting with a tax professional. The key factor is that you provided money with a clear expectation of return based on performance - this makes it an investment arrangement, not a gift. Here's what I'd recommend: Report this as "Other Income" on Schedule 1, Line 8z. You don't need Schedule C unless you're regularly in the lending business. The amount isn't subject to self-employment tax since you weren't actively participating in the house flipping business itself. A few important considerations: Make sure you keep records of when you provided the money and when you received the return, as this could affect whether it's treated as short-term or long-term investment income. Also, if your friend issues you any tax forms (like a 1099), make sure your reporting is consistent with whatever he files. The "gift" route is risky because the IRS looks at substance over form - a payment that's exactly 25% of profits clearly shows an investment arrangement rather than generosity. Better to report it correctly as investment income and avoid any potential issues down the road.

Just to add to what everyone's saying - even if you only worked 3 weeks, if you received ANY pay, it counts as taxable income for 2024. The IRS matches up employer reports with your tax return, so they'll definitely notice if something's missing. Better to report everything upfront than deal with notices later. If you haven't received the W-2 by early February, you can file Form 4852 as a substitute, but try contacting your old employer first.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I'm definitely going to wait for the W-2 from my short-term job and report all income. Better safe than sorry with the IRS. Really appreciate all the responses - this community is awesome for getting real answers about tax stuff 👍

Has anyone dealt with the issue of DeGiro not providing proper French tax forms? When I was with a French broker, they used to give me a "Imprimé Fiscal Unique" that made declarations super easy, but DeGiro doesn't do this.

I went through this exact same situation last year when I opened my DeGiro account. Here's what I learned from speaking with a tax advisor: 1. **Form 3916** is mandatory every year for ANY foreign account, regardless of balance or activity. Even if you just opened it and haven't invested anything yet, you must declare it. 2. **Form 2047** is for reporting actual income (dividends, capital gains, interest) from foreign sources. If you haven't earned anything yet, you still need the 3916 but can skip the 2047 for now. 3. **Timing matters** - you need to declare the account for the tax year in which it was opened, even if it was December 31st. 4. **Documentation** - Keep all your DeGiro statements and correspondence. The French tax authorities can ask for proof of the account details at any time. One thing that caught me off guard was that even my unused cash sitting in the DeGiro money market fund counted as a "foreign investment" and needed to be reported differently than just cash in a bank account. The good news is that once you've done it the first time, subsequent years are much easier since you just update the same forms with current balances and any new income.

Something nobody's mentioning - if you regularly drive far distances specifically to run these errands, you might actually be able to deduct mileage! Not as a business expense, but you could potentially classify it as charitable miles if you're helping elderly or disabled folks. Worth looking into.

This is a great question that comes up more often than you'd think! You're handling this correctly from a tax perspective. Since you're acting as an agent for your family and friends - essentially just facilitating their purchases without any markup or service fee - the money they give you isn't considered taxable income to you. The key factors that make this not taxable are: 1) You're not charging any fees or keeping any profit, 2) You return exact change, and 3) You're acting as their purchasing agent rather than selling goods or services. The credit card rewards you earn are also not taxable since they're considered rebates on your purchases. Just keep good records of these transactions (receipts showing you spent what they gave you) in case there are ever any questions. But you're definitely not required to report this money as income on your tax return.

I just wanted to share another potential solution that worked for me after trying several of the methods mentioned here. I was having the same registration issues and while waiting to hear back from my local VITA coordinator, I tried accessing the registration page through the IRS's main Volunteer page instead of going directly to the Link & Learn portal. From the main IRS.gov homepage, I searched for "volunteer income tax assistance" and clicked on the official VITA page. From there, there's a "Become a Volunteer" section that has a different registration link than what's usually shared in emails or other resources. This alternate path took me to a working registration form where I was able to create my account successfully. It might be worth trying this route before going through third-party services or waiting for coordinator callbacks. The training materials look current from what I can see so far, though I'm still working through the basic modules. Hope this helps someone else who's stuck!

Thank you everyone for all these helpful suggestions! As someone who's been trying to register for VITA training for over a month now, this thread has been incredibly valuable. I've tried the standard registration link multiple times with no success, so I'm going to work through these solutions systematically. First, I'll try @Demi Lagos's suggestion about going through the main IRS volunteer page since that seems like the most straightforward approach. If that doesn't work, I'll reach out to my local VITA site coordinator using the locator tool that @Ethan Brown mentioned. It's really reassuring to know that this is a widespread issue and not just something wrong with my setup. The fact that so many people have found workarounds gives me hope that I'll be able to get registered soon. I'm determined to get certified before the 2025 tax season starts - our community really needs more volunteers to help with free tax preparation. I'll report back once I successfully get through the registration process to let others know which method worked for me. Thanks again for creating such a helpful resource thread!