That's really helpful! I'm in Illinois - do you know if they're pretty good about this kind of thing? I've never filed any kind of complaint before.

Illinois actually has a pretty strong stance on worker misclassification! They have a specific task force called the Illinois Task Force on Misclassification that investigates these exact situations. You can file a complaint through the Illinois Department of Labor. The state takes these issues seriously because misclassification costs them tax revenue and deprives workers of benefits and protections. The complaint process is straightforward - you'll need to provide information about the company, your working arrangement, and copies of any documentation you have (pay stubs, text messages about scheduling, etc). Even without recorded conversations, your description of the working relationship can be enough for them to investigate.

This! When I was a house cleaner, I tracked my mileage between client houses (NOT from home to first job or last job to home, that's commuting), and all my supplies. Reduced my taxable income by almost 40%. Even if you didn't track it at the time, you can reconstruct reasonable estimates with calendar entries, texts arranging jobs, etc.

That sounds like a really clever approach! Do you know if there were any restrictions on how the equipment could be used since it technically came from a non-profit? And how complicated was the paperwork process?

There were some restrictions - the equipment had to be used in line with the non-profit's mission (in their case, supporting local food businesses and job creation). They had to document how the equipment was supporting those goals with quarterly reports for the first year. The paperwork wasn't too bad actually. The non-profit handled most of it since they're used to the documentation requirements. My brother just had to provide some information about his business plan and how the equipment would benefit the community. The whole process took about 3 weeks to set up, but the tax savings made it worthwhile. The non-profit also helped with promoting the fundraiser which got them more donations than they might have received on their own.

You're close, but it depends on the equipment and depreciation rules. For many business equipment purchases, you can't deduct the full amount in year one - you have to depreciate it over several years (often 5-7 years for kitchen equipment). So you might have $12,000 in GoFundMe income this year, but only be able to deduct $2,400 of the mixer this year (assuming 5-year depreciation). That means you'd have $9,600 in net taxable income from this transaction for the current year. You'd get the remaining deductions spread over future years. Now, there are some exceptions like Section 179 expensing or bonus depreciation that might let you deduct it all in year one, but those have limitations and phase-outs based on your total equipment purchases and business income.

Ohhhh that makes sense, thanks for explaining! I totally forgot about depreciation. So even with the deduction it could still impact your taxes quite a bit in that first year. Definitely worth talking to an accountant before launching the campaign then.

I used H&R Block last year with about $200k in RSUs and they completely missed some important details. The preparer didn't understand that I needed to report the sales of vested RSUs as capital gains transactions with the correct cost basis. Ended up filing an amended return later with a different tax service. Would not recommend for anything beyond basic RSU situations.

That's not correct for RSUs. The 83(b) election applies to restricted stock awards (RSAs), not restricted stock units (RSUs). With standard RSUs, you can't make an 83(b) election because there's nothing to elect - you don't actually receive the shares until they vest, so there's no ownership to claim early. Some companies offer early-exercisable options or RSAs where an 83(b) makes sense, but for standard RSUs, this isn't applicable. Important distinction that could cause tax issues if misunderstood.

6 How do I check what I put on my W-4? Do I need to ask HR for a copy? And if that's the problem, can I still fix my current tax return or is it too late?

9 You can ask your employer's HR or payroll department for a copy of your W-4 on file. They should be able to provide it or at least tell you what you selected. For your current tax return, if you've already filed it and the calculations are correct based on what was actually withheld, you can't change the outcome now. The tax bill is based on your actual income and withholding for the year. However, you can immediately submit a new W-4 to fix the problem for this year so you don't end up in the same situation next April.

2 The EITC is refundable too, so it could actually give you money back instead of just reducing what you owe! But I think there are age requirements if you don't have kids - you have to be at least 25 but under 65 to qualify without dependents.

Yeah I did get a confirmation email from TurboTax when I made the payment, but it was just saying they submitted it - not that the IRS actually received it. Should I be getting something directly from the IRS too?

Yes, you should have received a confirmation directly from the payment processor the IRS uses, not just from TurboTax. When you pay through TurboTax, they typically redirect you to an IRS-authorized payment processor, which should provide its own confirmation number. I'd recommend logging into your TurboTax account and checking the payment details section. There should be information about how your payment was processed and possibly a second confirmation number from the actual payment processor. If you can't find this, you might want to contact TurboTax support to get the payment confirmation details.

This is the right answer. I check my transcript every year. The transaction codes tell you everything - way more reliable than calling or using Where's My Refund.

Thanks! Yeah I've found the transcript to be the most reliable source of information. The IRS website isn't the most user-friendly, but once you learn how to read the transaction codes, it's actually pretty straightforward. For anyone looking for this information, you want the "Account Transcript" specifically, not the "Return Transcript" - they're different documents in the IRS system.