Wait, could I still qualify for stimulus money from 2021? I thought those were all sent out automatically. I definitely never received anything back then.

Yes, you might still be able to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 return if you didn't receive the stimulus payments and were eligible! The third stimulus payment (Economic Impact Payment) of up to $1,400 was issued in 2021, and many people who were eligible didn't receive it for various reasons. If you file your 2021 return now, you can claim this as the Recovery Rebate Credit. There's a worksheet in the 2021 Form 1040 instructions to help you determine if you qualify and how much you can claim. This is exactly why filing a return even with zero income can be beneficial - you might have money waiting for you!

Also remember to sign and date the return! IRS will reject unsigned returns and that just delays everything further. Ask me how I know 😩

H&R Block's truly free version doesn't support Schedule C or self-employment income. You'd need their Self-Employed version which runs about $85 for federal filing plus another $37 per state. I switched from them to FreeTaxUSA last year and saved a ton of money. H&R Block isn't terrible, but they're almost as expensive as TurboTax for self-employment stuff.

Thanks for the info! That's disappointing but good to know before I waste time starting with them. Seems like FreeTaxUSA is the winner for most people in this thread.

I've thought about going the direct form route, but I'm a bit intimidated by figuring out depreciation schedules on my own. Did you find good resources for learning how to do that part correctly? I'm comfortable with the general Schedule C stuff but some of the more technical aspects make me nervous about doing it without software guidance.

I found Publication 946 from the IRS really helpful - it explains all the depreciation rules. There are also some free online depreciation calculators that can help you determine the right amounts. I created a spreadsheet that I update each year for tracking my business assets and depreciation. The first year was definitely the hardest, but now I just update my spreadsheet annually. I actually feel more confident now because I understand exactly what's happening rather than trusting software to make the right choices for me. If you're comfortable with spreadsheets, it's totally doable with a bit of research.

Is the $600 limit per person or per return? Like if I'm married filing jointly, do we get $1,200 total or still just $600?

The limit is per tax return for single filers, but for married filing jointly, it's per person. So for 2021 (which had the $300 per person limit), a married couple filing jointly could claim up to $600 total on line 10-B if taking the standard deduction. The exact limits have changed over the years as this was a temporary provision, so always check the current year's instructions. The most important thing is that this special deduction on line 10-B is ONLY for people taking the standard deduction. If you itemize, you'll include all charitable contributions on Schedule A instead.

TurboTax is correct - you can't do both. It's either all on Schedule A (if you're itemizing) OR up to $600 on line 10-B (if taking the standard deduction). Your accountant friend might be confusing this with some other deduction rules.

I hadn't even thought about the insurance angle! I do have a small liability policy that covers me at craft shows. And I joined the local artisan guild last year ($175). Do you know if online courses count for professional development? I took a $350 course on advanced metalsmithing techniques.

Yes, online courses absolutely count for professional development! That $350 metalsmithing course is 100% deductible as long as it relates to your current business. Even somewhat related skills can qualify - like if you took a course on photography to better capture images of your jewelry for your website. The liability policy and artisan guild membership are definitely deductible as well. Keep the receipts for everything, and if the guild offers any events or shows, track expenses for those separately as they might fall under different categories.

You only deduct materials when they're actually used in products that are sold. So if you bought $2000 of silver but still have half unused, you'd only deduct $1000 (the used portion). Keep a simple inventory sheet tracking: 1) starting inventory value, 2) purchases during the year, 3) what was used in sold products, and 4) ending inventory value. You can use a basic spreadsheet for this.

Thanks so much for this info! It's reassuring to hear this is a known issue. For the sake of my own records, should I keep a copy of the original 1099-DIV along with a note about the adjustment I made? Just trying to be thorough in case questions ever come up.

Yes, definitely keep a copy of your original 1099-DIV form. I always recommend that clients maintain a simple document noting any adjustments they made when filing, along with the reason for the change. Just a basic note like "Adjusted Webull 1099-DIV Box 5 from $X.XX to match Box 1a amount of $X.XX due to reporting inconsistency" is sufficient. This creates a clean audit trail if you ever need to explain the adjustment. Though as I mentioned, these tiny discrepancies are so common with certain brokers that they rarely raise any questions. The IRS systems understand that small rounding differences occur, especially with fractional share investments.

I tried looking for an override button but couldn't find it in the newest version of TurboTax. Did they remove this option for 2025 filing season? Where exactly should I be looking?