As a fellow young entrepreneur, I totally understand the confusion! I started selling vintage items online at 16 and was overwhelmed by the tax side of things. Here are a few additional tips that helped me: 1. **Keep meticulous records NOW** - Don't wait until tax time. Track every sale, expense, and fee immediately. I use a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, item sold, platform, gross income, fees paid, and net income. 2. **Home office deduction** - If you're using part of your bedroom or home for storing inventory, taking photos, or packaging items, you might qualify for a home office deduction. Even a small percentage can add up! 3. **Don't forget about these deductible expenses**: packaging materials, labels, tape, storage containers, cleaning supplies for items, gas for thrift store trips to source inventory, and even a portion of your internet bill if you use it for business. 4. **Consider quarterly payments** - If you expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes, you might need to make quarterly estimated payments to avoid penalties next year. The fact that you're asking these questions at 17 shows you're being responsible! Don't stress too much - you've got this. The first year is always the hardest, but it gets much easier once you establish a system.

Great advice from everyone here! As someone who's helped several young sellers navigate their first tax filing, I'd add a few practical tips: **Documentation is key** - Since you're already tracking expenses ($3,200 inventory + $500 shipping), make sure you have receipts or bank/credit card statements to back everything up. The IRS can ask for proof of these deductions. **Consider your dependency status** - At 17, you're likely claimed as a dependent on your parents' return, which affects your standard deduction amount but doesn't change your self-employment tax obligations. **Banking separation** - Going forward, consider opening a separate checking account for your business transactions. It makes record-keeping much cleaner and shows the IRS you're treating this as a legitimate business. **State taxes** - Don't forget to check if your state requires you to file as well! Some states have their own thresholds and requirements for self-employment income. The $627 self-employment tax estimate mentioned earlier is pretty accurate for your situation. Just remember that self-employment tax covers your Social Security and Medicare contributions since you don't have an employer doing that for you. You're being incredibly responsible by addressing this early - many young sellers wait until they get scary letters from the IRS!

Be careful with using regular tax software like TurboTax for F1 students! Most mainstream tax prep services aren't designed for nonresident alien tax situations and might not ask the right questions to determine your correct filing status. I made this mistake my first year and had to amend my return, which was a huge headache. If the tax software isn't specifically asking about your visa status and entry date to the US, it's probably assuming you're a resident alien or citizen.

Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who went through this exact situation two years ago. The $2,300 swing you're seeing is unfortunately typical when comparing 1040 vs 1040NR for F1 students - I had a similar shock when I realized I'd been looking at the wrong form initially. A few additional points that might help: Make sure you're claiming any tax treaty benefits you're entitled to based on your home country. Many students miss this and end up paying more than they should. Also, keep in mind that your STEM OPT extension doesn't change your tax residency status - you're still considered a nonresident alien until you meet the substantial presence test (which as others mentioned, doesn't start counting your F1 time until after 5 years). For next year's planning, consider adjusting your W-4 withholdings if you're continuing on OPT. Since nonresident aliens can't take the standard deduction, you might want to have a bit more withheld to avoid owing a large amount again. Your HR department should be able to help with this adjustment.

guys. i just had an idea. what if we all agreed to not pay taxes? they cant audit all of us right? 😈

@Giovanni, I went through something similar last year. One thing that helped me was making sure I was logged into my IRS account BEFORE trying to set up the payment plan. Sometimes the system gets confused if you try to do it all in one session. Also, if you're getting error messages, try doing it during off-peak hours (like early morning or late evening) when fewer people are using the system. The IRS website can get overloaded during busy times. If you're still stuck after trying the browser/cache suggestions, definitely go with the phone route - it's frustrating but sometimes necessary!

Has anyone had this happen but with state taxes? I filed both my 2023 and 2024 MI state returns together but only got my 2024 refund. It's been 12 weeks now and nothing for 2023.

I'm dealing with something very similar right now! Filed my 2023 and 2024 returns together in March, got my 2024 refund within 3 weeks, but my 2023 return seems to have vanished. The "Where's My Refund" tool for 2023 gives me the same error message you're getting. What I've learned from calling around is that late-filed returns (like our 2023 taxes) go into a completely different processing queue that's mostly manual. They prioritize current year returns during tax season, so prior year returns can take 3-6 months to process. The automated tracking systems often don't work properly for these returns until they're fully processed. For penalties, if you owed money for 2023, you'll definitely get hit with late filing penalties (5% per month up to 25% max) plus interest from the original April 2024 due date. If you're getting a refund, they might still charge a late filing penalty but will just deduct it from your refund. My advice: try to create an account on IRS.gov to view your tax transcripts - this sometimes shows more info than the refund tracker. And honestly, don't stress too much about the lack of communication yet. It sounds like your return is just sitting in the manual processing queue, which is totally normal for late-filed returns.

dont forget to bring birth certificate if ur doing in-person verification at IRS office. learned that the hard way and had to reschedule 🤦‍♂️

Also keep in mind they might ask for Social Security card or ITIN documentation during verification. I had mine done over the phone and they walked through each document step by step - much easier than I expected. The whole process took about 20 minutes once I had everything ready. Just make sure you call from the phone number that matches your tax return!