Has anyone used TaxJar or Avalara for this? I'm wondering how they count transactions for economic nexus thresholds compared to what everyone's saying here about invoice vs payment.

This is such a timely question for me! I'm actually dealing with the same confusion as I'm setting up my new consulting business. From what I've been reading in the state tax codes, it seems like most states are pretty consistent about counting "transactions" as unique sales events rather than payment events. I found it helpful to think about it this way: if a customer walks into a physical store and buys something for $500 but pays with 3 different credit cards to split the cost, that's still just one sale/transaction from the store's perspective. The economic nexus rules seem to follow the same logic - they're trying to measure your business activity level, not your payment processing volume. That said, I'm definitely going to implement some of the tracking solutions mentioned here because manually keeping track of this across multiple states sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. Thanks for asking this question - the responses have been super helpful!

Has anyone dealt with Bonfire specifically for mission trip fundraising? Do they automatically check the 501(c)3 box or do you have to select it? Also wondering if they send the 1099 forms directly or if you have to request them?

I'm dealing with something similar right now! My church youth group is doing a mission trip to Honduras this summer and I also set up a Bonfire campaign. From what I've learned talking to other people who've done this, the key thing is that you personally are NOT a 501(c)3 even though your trip is through a church that is. The mistake people make is thinking that because the trip has a charitable purpose, they can claim non-profit status. But the IRS looks at who actually received the money - and that's you as an individual, not the church organization. I've been keeping detailed records of everything - not just receipts but also documentation from my church about the trip's charitable mission, photos from our preparation meetings, and a letter from the youth pastor explaining the service work we'll be doing. This way if I need to show the IRS that the expenses were for legitimate charitable work, I have proof. One thing that helped me understand this better was talking to someone at my church who handles their finances. They explained that if they had run the fundraiser through the church's accounts, it would be different - but since the money came directly to me through Bonfire, I need to report it as income and then document the trip expenses. Hope this helps and good luck with your Guatemala trip!

Make sure when you get this fixed that you also check state taxes! If they reported the higher income to the IRS, they probably did the same on state returns. My tax guy made a similar mistake and I focused so much on fixing the federal return that I completely forgot about state taxes until months later.

This is exactly why I always recommend doing a quick sanity check on your tax return before signing off on it. A $36,000 difference in income should have been caught immediately - that's a massive red flag that any competent preparer should have noticed. Beyond getting your money back from the preparer, make sure you're documenting everything for potential future issues. Keep copies of all communications with them, the original incorrect return, the corrected return, and any receipts for additional costs you incurred. If they refuse to make this right, you might want to check if they're enrolled with the IRS (you can search their database) and file a complaint if they are. Also, consider leaving detailed reviews on Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau once this is resolved. Other taxpayers deserve to know about this level of carelessness. A simple data entry error that costs someone $11,000 is not acceptable professional service.

The new layout actually makes more sense once you learn it. Account transcript shows processing, Return transcript shows what you filed, Wage transcript shows income docs, Record of Account has everything combined. Its actually more organized now imo

Honestly the IRS website has always been a nightmare to navigate but this year seems especially bad. I spent way too long trying to figure out which transcript to check too. At least now I know it's the Account Transcript - wish they would just make it clearer on the actual site instead of making us guess!

Have you considered hiring a tax professional to help you out? Sometimes it's worth paying someone who knows how to navigate the system.

Another option is to try calling the IRS early in the morning (like 7 AM sharp when they open) or during lunch hours when call volume might be lower. I've had better luck getting through during those times. Also, if you have any local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers near you, you might be able to schedule an in-person appointment - sometimes that's faster than trying to get through on the phone. Just make sure to bring all your documents with you!