This explanation is super helpful, much clearer than what I was finding online! One more question - does this affect how I should be handling my home office deduction? I use a corner of my living room exclusively for these calls. Is that something I can still claim even though the hours are minimal?

For the home office deduction, the key requirement is regular and exclusive use of the space for business. If you're only using that corner of your living room for business calls and nothing else, you can claim it. However, the "regular use" part might be challenging if you only do 1-2 calls per month. The IRS doesn't define exactly how many hours constitute "regular" use, but sporadic use might be questioned. If you use the simplified method ($5 per square foot up to 300 sq ft), it's less likely to trigger scrutiny than claiming actual expenses for such minimal use.

That's because TurboTax is correctly following the IRS forms. Before 2020, non-employee compensation was reported in Box 7 of 1099-MISC and required Schedule C. Other types of payments on 1099-MISC (like prizes or awards) might go on "other income" line. Starting in 2020, the IRS moved non-employee compensation to the separate 1099-NEC form specifically to make this distinction clearer. If you received a 1099-NEC, that's definitely Schedule C business income that requires reporting as self-employment income, not "other income.

11 How do you know if you need to make those quarterly payments? Is there a minimum amount you have to earn?

5 You generally need to make quarterly estimated tax payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in taxes for the year. There's no specific income threshold since it depends on your overall tax situation, but it's a good idea to start making them if your 1099 work is bringing in more than a few thousand dollars. The payments are due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. You can calculate how much to pay using Form 1040-ES or just pay 100% of what you owed last year divided into four equal payments (110% if your income is over $150,000) to avoid penalties.

1 Thanks for the advice! I didn't realize I needed to set aside that much. Would it be smart to just open a separate savings account for tax money?

How do you even verify which type was paid? My financial service just says "tax payment" on the statement, and my company's equity admin isn't helpful.

You need to get documentation from the financial service that specifically shows the payment type and ideally the form used to make the payment. For estimated taxes, it would typically be Form 1040-ES. For AMT specifically, there's no separate payment form, but the payment should be designated for Form 6251. Ask the financial service for the exact copies of what was submitted to the IRS. Sometimes they use a payment voucher with specific codes that indicates what the payment was for. You can also request your IRS transcript which will show all payments received and how they were coded in the system. This is where services like Claimyr can help because you can ask the IRS agent directly how a specific payment was coded.

Very risky to dispute 409A valuations. The company sets those based on independent assessments, and challenging them can flag you for audit. Better to focus on properly tracking AMT credits for future years.

Would the IRS care if I filed with a different email than last year? Does that information even get sent to them?

The IRS doesn't receive or care about what email address you used to file your taxes. They're only concerned with the actual tax information (SSN, income, deductions, etc.), not the account details from the tax preparation software. When you e-file, the only things transmitted to the IRS are your tax forms and the data they contain, along with some tracking information from the tax preparation company. Your login credentials, email address, and account information stay with the tax preparation company and aren't part of what gets sent to the IRS.

Their customer service is the WORST. I tried calling about a similar issue and was on hold for 1.5 hours before I gave up. Their chat support just sends automated responses that don't address the issue.

Thanks for this advice! Do you use any specific app to track mileage or just do it manually? And what about things like gas, maintenance, insurance - do I need to track those separately or is it all just part of the overall deduction?

I use MileIQ which automatically tracks my trips, then I just swipe right for business or left for personal. Super easy and worth the subscription cost for the peace of mind. For your second question, you have two options. You can either take the standard mileage rate (I think it's around 67 cents per mile for 2025) which covers gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc. all in one simple deduction. OR you can track actual expenses for everything separately (gas receipts, maintenance bills, insurance premiums, etc.) and then deduct the business percentage of those costs. Most people find the standard mileage rate much simpler, but sometimes actual expenses can give you a bigger deduction if you have a very expensive vehicle with relatively low mileage.

Yeah this bit me last year. I deducted my truck fully in 2022, then ended up taking a job in 2024 and using the truck mostly for commuting. Had to recapture a big chunk of the deduction and pay taxes on it. Completely messed up my expected tax situation.

That's exactly the kind of scenario people don't consider when making these purchases. The tax benefits are great, but only if your situation remains stable. I've seen many clients get surprised by recapture rules when their business situation changes.