UPDATE?? Did your money show up OP?

Hang in there! This is actually pretty common with mobile banking apps during tax season. The IRS considers the deposit "sent" on the date shown in your transcript, but it can take 1-3 business days to actually appear in your account, especially with apps like CashApp. Since you have the trace number, that's a good sign - it means the payment was processed and sent out. I'd wait until tomorrow morning before contacting CashApp support. If it still doesn't show up by then, definitely call them first since the IRS will just tell you to contact your bank anyway. Keep us posted!

I did some research on this and found something interesting. When the Social Security Act was first passed in 1935, benefits weren't taxable at all. The taxation of benefits only started in 1983 as a way to shore up the program's finances during a crisis. The original idea was only to tax "wealthy" seniors, but they never indexed the income thresholds for inflation! So what was considered "wealthy" in 1983 ($25,000 for individuals) would be about $75,000 in today's dollars. But the threshold is still $25,000, which means more and more middle-class retirees get their benefits taxed every year. It's a sneaky tax increase that happened through inflation rather than legislation.

This is such a common frustration and you're absolutely right to feel confused about it! I went through the same thing with my parents' taxes last year. Here's what I learned: the key is understanding that Social Security operates on what's called "combined income" - which includes your adjusted gross income, plus non-taxable interest, plus half of your Social Security benefits. If that total exceeds certain thresholds ($25,000 for single filers, $32,000 for married filing jointly), then a portion of your Social Security becomes taxable. The really frustrating part is that these thresholds haven't been adjusted for inflation since they were set decades ago, so more middle-class retirees get caught in this tax trap every year. It's not exactly double taxation since the benefits often exceed what was paid in through FICA, but I totally get why it feels unfair. One thing that helped my family was understanding that the taxation only applies to a portion of benefits (maximum 85%), and there are some strategies around managing other income sources to potentially reduce the taxable amount. But yeah, the whole system could definitely be clearer and more fair to retirees.

Just a tip from another woodworker - keep a separate credit card for business purchases. Makes tracking expenses sooo much easier. I made the mistake of mixing personal and business purchases my first year and spent days sorting receipts at tax time! Also, take photos of your workspace and tools for documentation. If you're ever audited, having visual proof of your business assets is super helpful.

As someone who went through this exact transition last year, I can confirm that most of your woodworking expenses are indeed deductible! A few additional points that helped me: For your existing tools, get them appraised or research comparable sales prices to establish fair market value when you converted them to business use. I used eBay sold listings for my older tools. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - if you're buying materials in bulk (like when lumber yards have sales), you can only deduct the cost of materials for items you actually sell in that tax year. Any remaining inventory carries over to the next year. Also consider joining a local woodworking guild or subscribing to trade magazines - these memberships and educational expenses are deductible too as they help improve your business skills. The IRS has a great publication (Pub 535 - Business Expenses) that specifically covers what you can deduct. It's dry reading but worth skimming through for a hobby-turned-business situation like yours. Keep detailed records of everything, especially the business use percentage of mixed-use items. I use a simple spreadsheet to track which projects are personal vs. business throughout the year.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that you need to be careful with this if you're taking the simplified home office deduction of $5 per sq ft! If you go that route you cant deduct actual expenses like rent or utilities separately. You have to pick one method or the other.

I went through this exact same situation when I started freelancing! The key thing to remember is that you need to have an actual expense to deduct. Since your boyfriend pays the rent and you don't reimburse him, you technically don't have a deductible rent expense right now. However, there are a few ways to handle this: You could start paying your boyfriend for your portion of the rent (get a simple written agreement for documentation), or you could take over paying for other home expenses like utilities, internet, or maintenance that you can then deduct proportionally for your office space. Another thing to consider - if you're using 25% of the apartment exclusively for work, you might want to calculate both methods to see which gives you a better deduction. The actual expense method might be worth more than the simplified $5/sq ft method depending on your total housing costs, but the simplified method is much easier to track and document. Make sure whatever arrangement you set up, you keep good records. The IRS loves documentation for home office deductions!

Whatever you do, DO NOT just informally pay them hourly without the proper structure! My friend did this with his "partners" and got audited. The IRS reclassified them as employees, and he owed back payroll taxes PLUS penalties. He ended up with an $18,000 tax bill that bankrupted the business. Make sure everything is properly documented from day one.

I faced a similar situation when I started my consulting firm with two colleagues who wanted hourly pay rather than profit sharing. After researching extensively, I learned that the key issue is whether they're truly "partners" or just employees/contractors with equity. If they want guaranteed hourly pay regardless of business performance, they're functioning more like employees than traditional partners. True partners share in both profits AND losses, not guaranteed compensation. Here's what I found works best: Form an LLC with yourself as managing member and them as minority members. Then pay them W-2 wages for their hourly work (since you'll likely have control over how/when they work) and they can also receive profit distributions based on their ownership percentage. This structure gives you the partnership feel they want while keeping you compliant with IRS worker classification rules. The hourly wages satisfy their need for predictable income, and the profit distributions give them upside when the business does well. Just make sure to document everything properly from the start - operating agreement, payroll setup, the works. The IRS scrutinizes these arrangements closely, especially when there's both wages and ownership involved.