Wait, so employees can't deduct mileage at all anymore? I've been tracking all my miles going between worksites thinking I could claim them. Does that only work for self-employed people now?

Yes, that's exactly right. Since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed business expenses, including mileage, on their personal tax returns. This elimination of miscellaneous itemized deductions is scheduled to continue through 2025. Self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and business owners can still deduct their legitimate business mileage on Schedule C or their business returns. So if you're an employee, your best option is to request an accountable reimbursement plan from your employer.

Yes! This varies by state. In California, labor laws require reimbursement for all necessary business expenses including mileage, which can be interpreted more broadly than IRS rules. Massachusetts and Illinois have similar requirements. Always check your state's specific regulations.

This is really good advice. We got audited in our third year and they actually asked for documentation going back to our formation date, including stuff from before we had any financial activity. Do you know if there's a specific format the IRS prefers for board meeting minutes? We've just been doing informal notes.

There's no specific IRS-required format for board meeting minutes, but they should be formal enough to clearly show proper governance. At minimum, include date, time, location, board members present/absent, all motions made and voting results, and any significant discussions about financial matters or organizational policies. Having a consistent format helps tremendously. We created a template that includes approval of previous minutes, financial reports review, and any board actions taken. Date and sign them after approval at the next meeting. Even for those early meetings when you had no financial activity, document discussions about your mission, fundraising plans, and organizational structure. These help establish that you were operating consistently with your exempt purpose from the beginning.

We did that for our first 18 months and it was SO much easier. A local community foundation acted as our fiscal sponsor, handled all the tax filing/reporting, and we just focused on our programs. We paid them 8% of donations, but it was worth it until we were big enough to justify the administrative overhead of independence.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Did your wife formally register her business, or was it just reported on Schedule C? And did your tax preparer mention anything about the ACA marketplace insurance specifically working differently with this deduction?

She never formally registered it - just reported everything on Schedule C using her SSN. No business registration, no EIN, nothing fancy required. Regarding ACA marketplace insurance, there's nothing special about it from a self-employed health insurance deduction perspective. The key is that you're paying the premiums with post-tax dollars (not getting a subsidy). If you were getting premium tax credits, you'd need to account for that, but since you mentioned you're unsubsidized, it should be straightforward.

This isn't quite right. The self-employed health insurance deduction isn't affected by whether you COULD qualify for subsidies but didn't take them. It's only affected if you DO receive premium tax credits (PTC). Then you can only deduct premiums you paid out of pocket.

Thanks for the advice! I do have some small 1099 income from a side gig but otherwise pretty straightforward. How much did your CPA charge if you don't mind me asking? Also, did you find them locally or use an online service?

I paid $350 for my return which included federal, state, and the Schedule C for my side business. That seemed reasonable considering the savings. The previous year I'd paid about $120 for TurboTax with all the add-ons. I found my CPA through a local referral - a colleague at work who had similar tax needs. I'd recommend getting a personal recommendation rather than just picking someone random. The quality and pricing varies dramatically. Also consider asking potential CPAs if they offer a free initial consultation to discuss your situation before committing.

I second FreeTaxUSA! TurboTax kept increasing their prices and I switched last year. Got the exact same refund but paid $30 instead of $120. Their interface isn't as polished but it gets the job done.

That's a really helpful list of questions, thanks! Did you find your CPA through a referral or some other way? And how often do you actually meet with them throughout the year?

I found my CPA through a referral from another online business owner in a Facebook group for entrepreneurs. Definitely the best way to find someone good is through other business owners in your specific industry. I meet with my CPA quarterly for planning sessions. We look at my income and expenses for the past quarter, make projections for the upcoming quarter, and adjust my estimated tax payments accordingly. We also discuss any major business decisions I'm considering and their tax implications. This regular check-in has been absolutely worth it - she's caught things mid-year that would have cost me thousands if we'd only discovered them at tax time.

This is so true! I found my tax person through my neighborhood WhatsApp group. A lot of really good professionals don't advertise much because they get all their clients through word of mouth. Looking in industry-specific groups is definitely the way to go.