Thanks for the suggestion! I don't think I qualify for EITC since I don't have kids and my income is a bit too high for a single person. I am taking the standard deduction though. It sounds like my real issue is the self-employment taxes on that gig income that I didn't plan for. Lesson learned for next year - I'll be setting aside money each month from my gig work.

Completely agree! TurboTax kept trying to upsell me to their $120 version to "maximize self-employment deductions." FreeTaxUSA found all the same stuff for like $15. And their interface actually explains things better too.

That's good to know! I felt like I was taking crazy pills when I switched and suddenly found all these deductions TurboTax never mentioned. Their basic version is practically useless for anyone with slightly complicated taxes. FreeTaxUSA actually walks you through the self-employment section with helpful explanations instead of dangling premium features in front of you constantly.

Thank you for this detailed information. I've been worried about the 5-year rule. Since I started school in Fall 2013 and left in March 2019, have I already exceeded the 5-year limit for the student exemption? Or does it work by calendar years rather than academic years?

The 5-year rule works by calendar years, not academic years. So if you were first present as a student in 2013, then 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 would be your five exempt years. Starting in 2018, you would need to count days toward the substantial presence test. However, there's an important exception - you can still claim the exemption beyond 5 years if you can establish that you do not intend to reside permanently in the US and you have substantially complied with the requirements of your visa. Since you left the US and canceled your OPT, you have a strong case that you didn't intend to remain permanently, which might allow you to claim the exemption for 2018 and the partial year 2019 as well.

I tried using TurboTax for my international student filing and it was a disaster. It's really not designed for nonresident aliens or Form 8843. I ended up having to do it manually. H&R Block has slightly better options for international students but still limited.

Thanks for mentioning this! I've already gotten my Michigan driver's license, registered to vote, and changed my car registration. I kept my California bank account open though since they have locations in Michigan too. Should I still consider closing it to be safe?

You don't necessarily need to close the California bank account, but definitely make sure you've changed the primary address on the account to your Michigan address. Having a CA bank account with a CA address could be one factor they look at. The most important things are already done - driver's license, voter registration, and vehicle registration show your intent to permanently reside in Michigan. Also make sure your employer has your Michigan address for your W-2, and that any investment accounts are updated with your new address.

TurboTax Premium worked great for my CA to WA move. It walked me through allocating income between states and explained which income belongs where. It costs more than the basic version but worth it for multi-state situations.

Thanks for mentioning the interest part - I wouldn't have thought of that! Do you typically include bank statements or something to prove when we called the SSA? I'm trying to figure out what kind of documentation would be most convincing.

For documentation, phone records are helpful if you have them, but emails are better since they show the content of the communication. If you have any confirmation emails from when you registered the new employee with the SSA, definitely include those. Screenshots of the registration process showing dates are also useful. The postmarked envelope that contained your PIN is excellent evidence - keep that if you still have it! What really helps is creating a simple timeline document that lines up all your actions chronologically so the IRS can easily see your good faith efforts. The clearer you make it for them, the better your chances.

I did this for a different tax issue. The online setup was pretty easy but there's a small setup fee. I think it was like $130 for the online application but would have been more if I'd done it by phone or mail. Just be aware that interest continues to accrue on the outstanding balance throughout the payment plan.

Thanks for mentioning this! I actually did do some freelance work last year that I reported on Schedule C. Would I need to open a specific type of account for this SEP IRA thing? And does the contribution have to be from the freelance income specifically or can it come from my savings?

You'll need to open a specific SEP IRA account at a brokerage like Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Most have simple online applications and you can designate it as a SEP IRA during the account creation process. The contribution can come from any of your personal funds - it doesn't have to be directly from your freelance earnings. The important thing is that your contribution can't exceed 25% of your net self-employment income (after deducting expenses and the self-employment tax deduction). If you made $10,000 in net profit from freelancing, you could contribute up to about $2,500 to a SEP IRA which would directly reduce your AGI by that amount.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) only work if you're 70.5 years or older, and they're made directly from your IRA to the charity. They don't technically reduce your AGI but they do reduce your taxable income. If you're younger, regular charitable contributions won't reduce AGI either - they're itemized deductions that come after AGI is calculated.