If your husband is the only owner of the LLC, did you elect S-corp taxation? Because that would completely change how this all works. With S-corp status, he should be on payroll like a regular employee with withholding that would show up on a W-2 that gets entered directly into TurboTax.

I had a very similar situation with my consulting business last year! The key thing to understand is that with a single-member LLC (which sounds like what you have), the business is "disregarded" for tax purposes - meaning all income and expenses flow through to your personal return on Schedule C. The withholding payments your payroll company made are likely a mix of two things: 1. Employee withholding for your 2 workers (this gets reported on their W-2s and you don't enter it anywhere in your personal TurboTax) 2. Estimated tax payments for your husband as the business owner For #2, you'll find these in TurboTax under "Federal Taxes" > "Payments and Estimates" > "Estimated Tax Payments." You'll need to get documentation from your payroll company showing exactly what payments were made toward your husband's personal tax liability (usually quarterly payments). The payroll company should be able to provide a year-end summary separating employee withholding from owner estimated payments. If they can't clearly break this down for you, that's a red flag about their service quality. Don't let TurboTax push you into their expensive business package - a simple LLC shouldn't need that!

For investment portfolio discrepancies specifically, make sure you have all your corrected 1099 forms (1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT) and any Schedule D adjustments ready before filing. I had a similar situation where my broker issued corrected forms after I'd already filed. The key is being thorough - include a detailed explanation letter with your Form 1040-X explaining exactly what changed and why. Also, if your amendment results in owing additional tax, you'll owe interest from the original due date, so factor that into your calculations. The good news is investment corrections are pretty straightforward compared to business amendments.

I'm in a very similar situation with my 2020 investments! Had some issues with wash sale calculations that I just discovered. Reading through all these responses, I'm feeling much more confident about moving forward. One question though - has anyone here dealt specifically with wash sale adjustments on an amended return? I'm wondering if I need to recalculate everything from scratch or if there's a way to just adjust the specific transactions that were affected. Also, @Chloe Martin, thank you for posting this - the timing is perfect since we're all running up against that May 17th deadline!

Hey Diego! I totally understand the confusion - tax season can be overwhelming when you're dealing with it for the first time. Based on what you've shared, everyone here is giving you spot-on advice. With only $2,200 in income and being 19, you're in a pretty straightforward situation. That $143 shown in Box 2 of your W-2 (federal income tax withheld) is almost certainly what you'll get back as your federal refund. You're way below the standard deduction threshold ($13,850 for single filers), so you won't owe any federal income tax. The people suggesting you might get $1.5k-$4k are probably thinking of tax credits that unfortunately don't apply to your situation yet - like the Earned Income Tax Credit (need to be 25+ without kids), Child Tax Credit (need dependents), or education credits (need qualifying school expenses). But hey, $143 is still your money that was taken from your paychecks! Definitely file to get it back, and since your return is super simple, use one of the free filing options. Don't pay for expensive tax prep when you can handle this yourself in under an hour. Also, don't forget to check if your state has income tax - you might have a small state refund too depending on where you live. Every bit helps when you're just starting out! Good luck with your first filing experience.

Diego, you've gotten some excellent advice here! As someone who works in tax preparation, I can confirm that everyone is absolutely right about your expectations. With $2,200 in income at age 19, you're looking at getting back exactly what was withheld - that $143 from Box 2 of your W-2. The confusion about big refunds usually comes from people mixing up different situations. Those $1.5k-$4k refunds typically involve the Earned Income Tax Credit (need to be 25+ without children), Child Tax Credit (need dependents), or education credits (need qualifying school expenses). None of these apply to your current situation. Here's what will happen: You'll report your $2,200 in income, claim the standard deduction of $13,850, which means your taxable income is $0. Since you already had $143 withheld for federal taxes, that entire amount comes back to you as a refund. Definitely file your return - you're required to since you had income, plus you want that money back! Use IRS Free File or another free option since your return is super straightforward. And don't let anyone pressure you into paying for expensive tax prep when this will literally take you 30 minutes to complete online. Your sister is absolutely right that you need to file, and now you know exactly what to expect. Good luck with your first tax return!

You're absolutely correct that Form 709 and Form 1040 can be filed separately - this is actually the standard approach! Since Form 709 cannot be e-filed and must be paper-filed, your plan to e-file your 1040 through TurboTax and mail the 709 separately is perfect. However, I'd strongly encourage you to first verify whether you actually need to file Form 709 at all. You mentioned paying your nephew's tuition "directly to the school" - if you literally wrote the check to the educational institution (not to your nephew), this qualifies for the unlimited qualified educational expense exclusion under IRC Section 2503(e). This means no Form 709 would be required regardless of the amount. The key distinction is: - Direct payment to educational institution for tuition = no Form 709 needed - Money given to nephew who then pays the school = Form 709 required if over annual exclusion If you do need to file Form 709, make sure to: - Mail it to the correct IRS service center based on your state (check form instructions) - Use certified mail for proof of delivery - Remember both forms share the same April 15th deadline This could save you the hassle of filing an unnecessary form!

You're absolutely on the right track! Filing Form 709 separately from your Form 1040 is completely normal and won't cause any issues. Many taxpayers do exactly what you're planning - e-file their 1040 through software like TurboTax and then paper file Form 709 separately since it can't be e-filed. Just make sure to send Form 709 to the correct IRS processing center (the instructions will specify the address based on your state) and consider using certified mail for proof of delivery. Both forms share the same April 15th deadline. However, I'd definitely double-check whether you actually need to file Form 709 at all! Since you mentioned paying your nephew's tuition directly to the school, this likely qualifies for the unlimited educational expense exclusion under IRC Section 2503(e). If you wrote the check directly to the educational institution (not to your nephew who then paid the school), no Form 709 is required regardless of the amount. The key distinction is: direct payment to school = no filing needed, but giving money to your nephew who pays = Form 709 required if over the annual exclusion limit. This could save you the hassle of filing an unnecessary form entirely!

Reading the comments, I'm still confused about one thing. My son's 1098-T shows a big amount in Box 4 ($3270) but nothing in Box 1. If they adjusted a prior year payment, shouldn't that money show up somewhere on this year's form?

Based on what you've described, you're in a pretty straightforward situation. Since you didn't claim any education credits in 2021 and your scholarships exceeded your qualified expenses that year, the Box 4 adjustment of $2,016.12 likely won't require you to amend your previous return. Here's what I'd recommend: First, check your 2021 1098-T to see if that $2,016.12 was included in Box 1 (payments received) that year. If it was, and you didn't use it for education credits because your scholarships already covered everything, then removing it now doesn't change your 2021 tax situation. For your 2022 return, you only need to worry about the $1,425 in Box 5. Since you dropped the classes and presumably didn't have qualifying expenses to offset this scholarship amount, that $1,425 would be taxable income for 2022. The Box 4 adjustment is just the school's way of saying "we reported this payment in the wrong year previously" - but if you weren't getting tax benefits from it anyway, the correction doesn't hurt you.