This worked for me too! The Marketplace phone reps were way easier to reach than the IRS. Found out they had recalculated my premium tax credit but the updated 1095-A wasn't automatically sent to me. Got the new form and resubmitted without issues.

Thanks for the advice! The panel review was all online, so I'm trying to figure out what I could reasonably deduct. Would a portion of my internet bill for the days I did the reviews count? And what about the electricity used by my computer during those hours?

Absolutely - a portion of your internet would be a legitimate deduction if you used it specifically for this work. Calculate the percentage of time you used it for the panel review versus personal use during the work period. For electricity, you can deduct the portion used specifically for business purposes. It requires some calculation - estimate how much electricity your computer uses, how many hours you worked, and what percentage of your total electric bill that represents. Keep good records of your calculations in case of an audit. You can also deduct a portion of your home office space if you have a dedicated area where you did this work.

I've used both, and honestly for a single 1099 with straightforward expenses, Deluxe is probably fine. Self-Employed has more detailed questions about business deductions and includes the QuickBooks Self-Employed app for tracking expenses throughout the year, but if you only have one gig, it might be overkill.

5 How do you calculate what bracket you're in? Is it based on total income including the interest or just your regular job income?

22 Your tax bracket is based on your total taxable income after deductions, which includes your job income, interest income, and any other taxable income you might have. The brackets are tiered, so you pay 10% on the first portion of your income, then 12% on the next portion, and so on. For most people with moderate incomes, interest from a savings account would be taxed at their highest marginal rate (the highest bracket they reach).

8 Really? That seems excessive for tiny amounts. Do people actually report like $2 in interest?

The program definitely had us working under faculty mentors! We didn't direct our own research - we were assigned to projects and supervised the whole time. I do have the acceptance letter that specifically calls it a "research stipend" and mentions it covers living expenses during the program. Would that help?

That acceptance letter is exactly the kind of documentation you need! It clearly shows this was a stipend, not self-employment income. Keep that letter and make a copy to include with your tax return. The fact that you worked under faculty supervision further strengthens your case that this wasn't self-employment. When you file, include a simple statement explaining that the amount was incorrectly reported on a 1099-NEC when it should have been classified as a student research stipend, not subject to self-employment tax. Reference that acceptance letter in your statement.

This is actually good advice. I had a similar issue with a teaching stipend and when I contacted the university accounting office, they agreed it was miscoded and issued a corrected form. Saved me tons of hassle.

Do you have any articles or links about these proposed changes? I'm working with my parents on their estate plan and we're considering a GRAT, but I'm worried about starting one right before the rules change.

There's a good overview in the most recent Treasury Greenbook - search for "General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals" and look in the section on estate and gift tax reforms. The proposals have been consistent for several years but haven't made it into legislation yet. If you're concerned about rule changes, you might consider using shorter-term GRATs (2-3 years) that would likely complete before any new legislation would take effect. Even if new rules pass, they typically don't apply retroactively to trusts already established. That's one advantage of the rolling GRAT strategy - you can adjust as the legal landscape changes.

Great question! If the assets in a GRAT underperform (meaning they don't grow faster than the IRS Section 7520 rate), you still have to make the scheduled annuity payments as defined in the trust document. This could mean returning most or all of the assets back to yourself as the grantor. In your example, if your $1 million of stock drops to $800k, you'd still need to make the promised annuity payments. The "worst case" is that all assets return to you and nothing passes to your beneficiaries - essentially the GRAT "fails" but you're not worse off tax-wise than if you'd done nothing. You've just incurred the setup and administration costs without achieving the tax benefit. This is actually why GRATs are considered relatively low-risk compared to some other techniques - there's upside potential if assets appreciate rapidly, but limited downside if they don't.

That makes so much more sense now, thanks! So basically if the investments tank, I just get my own assets back and it's like the GRAT never happened (minus the attorney fees). And if the investments do well, the excess growth goes to my kids tax-free? That seems like a pretty good risk/reward setup.