Hey! I was in a similar situation when I started doing freelance work as a student. For the W9 form as a SHEIN campus ambassador: **Business name field**: Leave this blank since you're working as an individual, not a registered business entity. **Federal tax classification**: Check "Individual/sole proprietor or single-member LLC" - this is the standard classification for students doing independent contractor work. Just remember that you'll be classified as an independent contractor (not an employee), so SHEIN will send you a 1099 form if you earn $600+ during the year. You'll need to report this income on your tax return and may owe self-employment taxes if you earn over $400. One tip: start setting aside about 25-30% of whatever you earn for taxes, since they won't be automatically withheld like with a regular job. And keep receipts for any expenses related to your ambassador work (like supplies for events or equipment for content creation) - these can be deducted as business expenses! Good luck with the program - it sounds like an awesome opportunity!

Great advice from everyone here! I went through this exact same process when I started my campus ambassador role last year. One thing I'd add that really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything from day one. I set up columns for: date, type of income (commission, bonus, etc.), amount earned, and any expenses. This made filing my taxes so much easier because I had everything organized instead of scrambling to find records later. Also, don't stress too much about the W9 - it's simpler than it looks! The key points everyone mentioned are spot on: leave business name blank, check "Individual/sole proprietor," and use your SSN. SHEIN's payroll team has probably seen hundreds of these from students, so they'll catch any obvious mistakes if you make them. One last tip: if you end up earning decent money from this (like $2000+), consider opening a separate checking account just for your ambassador income and expenses. Makes tracking everything for taxes much cleaner and helps you see exactly how much to set aside for tax payments.

What about expenses though? I deliver for multiple apps too and spend so much on gas and car maintenance that I barely make any profit. Do I still need to pay taxes if my expenses basically cancel out the income?

This is a really common misconception! The $600 threshold only determines whether a company has to send YOU a 1099 form - it has nothing to do with whether the income is taxable. Every dollar you earn from any source is technically taxable income that needs to be reported to the IRS. So yes, you absolutely need to report that $480 from UberEats along with your $780 from Instacart. The fact that they're from different companies doesn't matter - you'll combine all your gig income on Schedule C as self-employment income. Make sure you're tracking your expenses too! Since you're doing delivery work, your biggest deduction will likely be mileage. Keep a log of your business miles for both apps - you can use the standard mileage rate which is currently 67 cents per mile for 2024. Also track other business expenses like phone bills, delivery bags, etc. One more thing - since you're earning over $400 in self-employment income total, you'll also need to pay self-employment taxes (Social Security and Medicare) on top of regular income tax. Consider making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties next year!

Michigan resident here - filed same day as you and got my refund yesterday. Maybe double check your routing/account info?

I'm in the same situation! Filed my Michigan return on 2/9 and still waiting. The Michigan Treasury website is pretty slow to update compared to federal. I've heard from others that Michigan can take up to 6 weeks for processing this time of year, especially if you have any credits or deductions they need to verify. Try not to stress too much - you're definitely not alone in this wait!

Has anyone received their Mississippi refund after filing in March? I filed on March 15th and I'm trying to figure out if I should expect it before my mortgage payment is due on May 1st. In previous years it seemed faster, but everything I'm reading here suggests I shouldn't count on it.

I filed my Mississippi return on March 22nd and just received my refund yesterday (April 15th) - so exactly 3.5 weeks for me! I was pleasantly surprised since everything I'd read suggested 4-6 weeks minimum. I did e-file with direct deposit and had a pretty straightforward return with no credits or complications. For what it's worth, I never got any email notification - the money just appeared in my account. So there's definitely hope for those March filers! 🤞

Something nobody's mentioned yet - you should check if the debt collector properly renewed the judgment. In most states, judgments expire after a certain period (often 7-10 years) unless the creditor files paperwork to renew it. If yours was from 2013 and they never renewed it properly, it might have expired. You can check this by contacting your county clerk's office and asking about any judgment renewals filed against you. If they didn't renew it and the original judgment has expired, you might be able to challenge the garnishment on those grounds. I went through something similar with an old credit card judgment from 2010. They tried to garnish my bank account in 2022, but I discovered they never renewed the judgment which expired after 10 years in my state. The court immediately terminated the garnishment order when I pointed this out.

Just want to add that if the majority of your income is from SSD, you might qualify to file Form 982 "Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness" which can help if you're considered insolvent. This might not stop the current garnishment but could prevent future tax consequences if some of your debt gets discharged. Also, many states have homestead exemptions or wildcard exemptions that protect certain amounts of your assets and income from creditors, even after a judgment. These vary dramatically by state though - where are you located? Might be able to point you to specific state resources.