Anyone else getting nervous about claiming these credits at all? I've been hearing about increased IRS scrutiny on ERTC claims and potential "promoter investigations" targeting firms that help businesses claim them.

I went through a very similar situation with my consulting business that started in March 2021. Like others have mentioned, the Recovery Startup Business provision only applies to Q3 and Q4 2021, so you can't use that for Q2 qualification. However, I was able to successfully claim Q2 2021 ERTC under the partial suspension rules. Many states had capacity restrictions, mask mandates, or other operational limitations that qualified as "partial suspension" even if businesses weren't completely shut down. The key is documenting exactly which government orders affected your specific business operations during Q2 2021. I had to gather state executive orders, local health department guidelines, and industry-specific restrictions that were in place during that time period. Even things like reduced capacity limits or mandatory operational changes can qualify. Since you had 8 employees in Q2, you could potentially claim up to $7,000 per employee ($56,000 total) if you qualify. That's significant money worth investigating properly. I'd recommend either using one of the analysis tools mentioned here or speaking directly with the IRS to confirm your eligibility before filing, since the documentation requirements are quite specific.

Update: just checked again this morning and my refund finally hit my account! Still no change on the tracker though - it still says "approved" and not "sent" 🤡 The IRS systems are such a joke.

I'm in the exact same situation! Filed early February, got a 3/12 DDD, and still nothing in my account as of this morning (3/15). The tracker hasn't budged from "Refund Approved" either. Reading through these comments is actually really reassuring - sounds like this is pretty normal and the IRS systems are just terrible at updating in real time. I'm going to give it until Monday like others suggested before I start really panicking. It's so stressful when you're counting on that money though! Will definitely update here if/when mine hits.

Has anyone considered that this might qualify as a 60-day indirect rollover? As long as you put the same amount back into the same or different IRA within 60 days, it should count as a rollover, not a contribution. The key is that you only get one indirect rollover per 12-month period across all your IRAs.

This is exactly the kind of situation where getting proper documentation is crucial. I went through something similar last year and learned the hard way that the IRS doesn't automatically treat same-amount transactions as rollovers just because they seem logical to us. The most important thing is to act quickly if you're still within the 60-day window. Contact your IRA custodian immediately and request that they recode the transaction from a "contribution" to a "rollover." You'll need this in writing - don't just rely on a phone conversation. Get a letter or amended statement showing the correct coding. If you're past the 60-day mark, you'll need to remove the excess contribution as others have mentioned. The key is to be proactive about this before tax season. I waited too long and ended up paying the 6% penalty for a full year before getting it sorted out. The IRS computers are very literal about these transaction codes, so make sure your paperwork tells the right story.

Just be careful with "creative" deductions like this. My friend tried to write off his golf club membership as a business expense because he "networked" there. Got audited and had to pay back taxes plus penalties. The IRS doesn't mess around with personal expenses disguised as business ones!

As a tax professional, I want to emphasize what others have said - family gym memberships are almost never deductible as business expenses. The IRS has very specific criteria for business deductions, and they must be "ordinary and necessary" for your particular trade or business. Even if you occasionally discuss business at the gym, the primary purpose of the membership is personal fitness for you and your family. The IRS looks at the primary purpose, not incidental business use. Including your spouse and kids makes this clearly a personal family expense. If you want legitimate business deductions, focus on actual business necessities: office supplies, professional development, business insurance, equipment directly used for client work, etc. These are much safer deductions that won't raise red flags. My advice? Keep the gym membership as a personal expense and look for other legitimate business deductions. It's not worth the audit risk for a questionable claim.

Don't forget about product taxability! Each state has different rules about what products are taxable. For example, clothing is exempt in some states but taxable in others. Food items have their own complex rules. If you sell digital products, that's a whole other set of regulations. I learned this the hard way when I was collecting the same tax rate on all my products and then discovered I was over-collecting in some states and under-collecting in others. Now I use TaxJar to handle all this automatically, but there are several good options out there.

As someone who just went through this exact situation with my small online business, I can definitely relate to the overwhelm! Here's what I wish I had known when starting out: 1. Start by tracking your sales by state from day one - even if you're not required to collect tax yet. This makes it much easier to know when you're approaching thresholds. 2. Focus on the states where you actually have significant sales rather than trying to understand all 50 states upfront. Most small businesses only need to worry about 5-10 states initially. 3. Consider starting with just collecting tax in your home state while you're learning the ropes, then expand as needed. 4. The economic nexus thresholds mentioned by others are your friend - they give you breathing room to grow before you need to worry about most states. For handmade jewelry specifically, you'll generally be dealing with tangible personal property which is usually taxable, but the rates and any exemptions vary by state. The complexity is real, but it's manageable if you take it step by step rather than trying to solve everything at once. Good luck with your expansion - the multi-state tax stuff is intimidating at first but becomes routine once you get systems in place!