One thing I'm not seeing mentioned here is the risk of continuing as a misclassified worker. My cousin was in this exact situation and didn't address it because she was afraid of losing her job. When she eventually left and filed for unemployment, she was denied because she had no employment history - just 1099 income. Also had zero credit toward Social Security and no worker's comp when she got injured on the job.

This is such an important issue that more people need to understand. I've seen this happen so many times in the beauty industry specifically - salon owners often misclassify assistants and junior stylists to avoid payroll costs, but it really hurts the workers in the long run. Your partner should definitely document everything right now - work schedules, payment records, any written instructions about dress code or procedures, texts about when to come in or take breaks. The more evidence she has showing that her boss controls how, when, and where she works, the stronger her case will be. One thing to consider is that many states have their own independent contractor tests that are even stricter than the federal IRS test. Some states use an "ABC test" where all three criteria must be met for someone to be considered an independent contractor. Given that your partner works set hours following someone else's rules, she'd likely fail most state tests too. The salon owner may genuinely not understand the law, but ignorance isn't a defense. Employee misclassification costs the government billions in lost tax revenue and denies workers basic protections. Your partner deserves to have proper employment status, access to unemployment benefits, and not have to pay double FICA taxes on income that should be treated as wages.

Has anyone checked if this varies by state? I'm in Tennessee and had a similar issue with a furniture purchase that never arrived. In my case, the retailer insisted they couldn't refund the sales tax because they'd already sent it to the state, but when I called the Tennessee Department of Revenue directly, they told me the retailer was responsible for refunding the full amount including tax since the sale wasn't completed.

This is actually a pretty common issue that more people should be aware of. The key principle here is that sales tax is only owed when a taxable transaction is completed. If you never received the merchandise, then legally speaking, no sale occurred. Your retailer is either misinformed or being deliberately misleading when they say they "can't" refund the sales tax. While it's true they may have already remitted it to the state, that doesn't absolve them of their responsibility to make you whole. They need to either refund your sales tax directly or help you process a claim with the state tax authority. I'd recommend taking a multi-pronged approach: 1) Document everything as others have suggested, 2) File a complaint with your state's consumer protection agency, 3) Consider disputing the sales tax portion with your credit card company, and 4) if needed, contact your state tax department directly. Most states have provisions for situations exactly like this. Don't let them brush you off - you have legitimate consumer rights here, and $45 is worth fighting for!

Late to the party but another option: calculate your taxes ALL THREE WAYS! Run the numbers as: 1. Married filing jointly 2. Married filing separately 3. As if you were both still single (for comparison) This will show you the exact marriage penalty/bonus in your situation. My wife and I have similar incomes to you guys ($170k and $135k) and we found filing jointly saved us about $3,800 compared to separate even though we have the "penalty" compared to when we were single. Tax software makes this pretty easy to model different scenarios.

Great advice from everyone here! As someone who went through this exact situation two years ago (similar incomes, newly married), I can confirm that running the calculations both ways is absolutely worth it. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned much - don't forget about retirement account contribution limits if you're both maxing out 401(k)s. The income limits for IRA deductibility change when you're married filing jointly, and with your combined income around $320k, you might lose the ability to deduct traditional IRA contributions that you could make when single. Also, if either of you contributes to an HSA, those limits and eligibility rules can change too. We ended up saving about $4,200 by filing jointly despite losing some deductions we had when single. The higher standard deduction and avoiding the loss of various credits made joint filing the clear winner for us. Definitely echo the suggestion to use tax software to model both scenarios - seeing the actual dollar difference makes the decision much easier than trying to figure it out theoretically!

def check ur bank statements for those dates. sometimes they come from different names not just 'IRS

I went through something similar last year with missing Child Tax Credit payments. Here's what worked for me: First, call the IRS Child Tax Credit Update Portal helpline (not the main number) - it's usually less busy. Second, gather ALL your bank statements for July-December 2021 and check for deposits from "IRS TREAS" or "US TREASURY" - sometimes they don't show as "IRS". Third, if you truly didn't receive them, you'll need to file Form 8812 with your 2021 return to claim the missing credits. The IRS has been dealing with tons of these cases since the advance payments started, so they have a process for it. Just be prepared with documentation showing you never received the payments when you call!

Don't forget that even though you filed an extension, you still need to submit your return by October 15th to avoid late filing penalties! Extension season always goes by faster than people expect.

Just wanted to chime in with my experience - I switched from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA after filing an extension and it worked perfectly! The key thing to remember is that your extension (Form 4868) is completely separate from your actual tax return filing method. I was in a similar boat with TurboTax trying to charge me $89 for federal plus state fees. FreeTaxUSA ended up costing me only $15 for state filing (federal was completely free) and walked me through everything step by step. The interface isn't as fancy as TurboTax but it gets the job done and their support was actually more helpful when I had questions. One tip: make sure you have all your documents organized before you start with any new service since you'll be entering everything fresh. Also double-check that any estimated tax payments you made with your extension are properly reflected in the payments section of your return. Good luck!