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A quick tip about scholarships and Form 8615 that might help others. Remember that only the TAXABLE portion of scholarships counts toward the $2,600 unearned income threshold. If your child's scholarship money went directly to qualified education expenses (tuition, required fees, books), that portion isn't taxable and doesn't count toward the $2,600. Only amounts used for room, board, or other non-qualified expenses are taxable and count as unearned income for Form 8615 purposes. This distinction helped us avoid having to file Form 8615 for our daughter last year, even though her total scholarship was substantial.
Wait, I thought scholarships used for room and board counted as earned income, not unearned? This is why tax stuff makes my head explode. Can anyone clarify this? I might have filed wrong last year.
That's a common confusion. For general tax purposes, taxable scholarships (amounts used for room, board, etc.) are considered earned income. However, specifically for the Form 8615 "kiddie tax" rules, these same taxable scholarships are counted as unearned income when determining if the child meets the $2,600 threshold. It's frustrating that the same money is classified differently depending on which tax rule you're looking at. For filing requirement purposes, taxable scholarships are earned income, but for kiddie tax purposes, they're unearned income. This dual classification is exactly why so many people get confused about Form 8615.
Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this Form 8615 situation? My daughter has about $3,400 in taxable scholarship money and $700 in interest from her savings account. She worked part-time but made under $10k. We're trying to figure out if the software handles this correctly?
I used TurboTax for my son's return with almost the exact same situation. The software asked if he was required to file (not if he wanted to file, but if he was required). I answered no, and it correctly didn't include Form 8615. Just make sure you answer the "required to file" question accurately based on the thresholds, not based on whether you're actually filing. TurboTax also correctly included the taxable scholarship as income but didn't trigger the kiddie tax form since he wasn't required to file.
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Another angle to consider: if you have a legitimate home office deduction (which many ICs do), you might be able to deduct coffee as part of your home office utilities or supplies. I've been doing this for years - not itemizing each coffee purchase, but including coffee supplies as part of my overall home office expense calculation.
Do you have any documentation on this approach? I've never heard of being able to include coffee as part of home office expenses and want to make sure I don't get audited.
I don't have official documentation, just what my CPA advised me. The key is not to list "coffee" as a line item but to incorporate reasonable office supplies/consumables into your overall home office deduction. The regular home office deduction already accounts for things like this. My approach is just making sure that my home office is legitimate (dedicated space, regular use for business, etc.) and then taking the standard deduction for it. I don't specifically break out coffee as a separate expense - it's just considered part of the overall home office usage.
Just a practical tip as someone who's been audited before: keep in mind that even if you technically CAN deduct something, you have to ask if it's worth the potential scrutiny. $500/year in coffee deductions could trigger questions that end up costing you thousands in accounting fees or time spent defending the deduction.
This is really good advice that people overlook. What was your experience with the audit like? Did they focus on small deductions or bigger issues?
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Salim Nasir
One thing that doesn't get mentioned enough is that LLC status CAN affect your taxes in certain states even if it doesn't at the federal level. In my state, we have to pay an annual LLC fee of $800 regardless of whether the business makes any money. That's a real tax consequence of having an LLC! Also, some states tax LLCs differently than sole proprietorships at the state level. Worth looking into your specific state's rules before deciding whether to form an LLC.
Hazel Garcia
ā¢Are you in California by any chance? That $800 minimum tax is brutal. Do you think the liability protection is worth that annual fee for a small side business making maybe $15k a year?
Salim Nasir
ā¢Yep, California's $800 LLC tax is exactly what I was referring to! For a business only making $15k annually, I personally don't think the LLC is worth it unless you're in a high-liability industry. That $800 represents over 5% of your gross revenue before any other expenses. Many small business owners don't realize they can get decent liability protection through good business insurance policies without the LLC structure and fees. A general liability policy might only cost $500-700 annually compared to the $800 state fee plus LLC formation costs.
Laila Fury
Random question but how does all this LLC stuff affect my taxes if I'm a single-member LLC but drive for uber part time and also sell stuff on etsy? Do I need separate LLCs or can I just have one for everything?
You can have a single LLC that covers multiple business activities if you want. On your Schedule C, you'd either need to: 1) file separate Schedule Cs for each substantially different business activity or 2) use the primary business code that represents your main activity. For tax purposes, it's more about properly categorizing and reporting the different income streams than about having multiple LLCs.
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Hugo Kass
Something important to consider is the timing of your amended returns. There's a 3-year statute of limitations for claiming refunds, measured from the original due date of the return or the date you filed, whichever is later. If you paid AMT in 2021 due to the option exercise, make sure you file your amended returns for 2022 and 2023 soon. For a 2022 return filed on April 15, 2023, you'd have until April 15, 2026 to amend.
Thanks for bringing up the timing issue. I'll definitely get on those amended returns right away. Do you know if there's any penalty for filing amended returns simply to claim credits I missed? Or is it just a matter of potentially leaving money on the table if I wait too long?
Hugo Kass
ā¢There's typically no penalty for filing amended returns to claim additional credits you were entitled to but missed. The IRS actually encourages taxpayers to file amended returns if they discover they've paid too much tax. The only real penalty is potentially losing out on the money if you wait beyond the 3-year window. Also worth noting that if you're due a refund, the IRS generally doesn't pay interest on refunds if you file the amended return within 3 years of the original filing date. If you're really close to that deadline, it becomes more urgent.
Has anyone dealt with reporting these losses on Form 8949? I've got iso exercies that led to AMT, then shares that became nearly worthless. I'm confused about which adjustment code to use when reporting the transaction.
For Form 8949, you'd report this with adjustment code B "Basis as reported to the IRS on Form 1099-B does not reflect the impact of the AMT adjustment. Taxpayer is increasing the basis by the income recognized under AMT." That's assuming your 1099-B shows only your original cost (strike price paid). If no 1099-B was issued because it was a private company acquisition, you'd use code L for "Other adjustment" and include an explanation. In either case, your basis should be the strike price plus the amount included in AMT income.
A Man D Mortal
21 Pro tip that worked for me: File with Cash App Taxes (formerly Credit Karma Tax). They include Form 8962 for the Premium Tax Credit in their free version with no income limits or upsells. I've used them the past two years with my marketplace insurance and PTC without any issues.
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A Man D Mortal
ā¢8 Does Cash App Taxes handle state filing too? Or just federal? I'm in a state with income tax so I need both.
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A Man D Mortal
ā¢21 Cash App Taxes includes both federal and state filing for free. I've used it in Minnesota which has state income tax, and it handled everything including carrying over the PTC information where needed for state filing.
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A Man D Mortal
6 I made the EXACT same mistake last year! The trick is to NEVER go directly to TurboTax's website. Always start at the IRS Free File page. When you access TurboTax through that portal, it unlocks more forms (including 8962 for Premium Tax Credit) without charging you. The companies have two completely different products with the same name - the commercial "free" version that upsells constantly, and the actual IRS Free File version that's truly free if you qualify. They don't make the difference obvious on purpose.
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A Man D Mortal
ā¢16 This worked!!! I just went through the IRS Free File portal, clicked on TurboTax, and it actually gave me a message asking if I wanted to switch from Deluxe to Free File. When I said yes, suddenly the $109 fee disappeared and I could enter my Premium Tax Credit info without charge. THANK YOU!!!
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