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Coming back to the original question - we were in an almost identical situation last year. Husband with woodworking business, me with 3 kids. We calculated our taxes both ways (jointly and separately) and filing jointly saved us about $4,200! The biggest factors were: 1. Child Tax Credit - filing jointly let us maximize this based on our combined income 2. Earned Income Credit - not available if filing separately 3. Lower overall tax bracket for some of our income when combined 4. Still got to take all the business deductions The business deductions worked the same either way, but we got more tax benefits overall by filing jointly.
Paolo Rizzo
ā¢Did filing jointly affect how your husband claimed his business expenses at all? That's one thing I'm worried about - if somehow his carpentry deductions would be limited if we file together.
Not at all! He claimed exactly the same business expenses either way. The Schedule C for his business worked exactly the same whether we filed jointly or separately. All his tools, materials, vehicle expenses, studio rent, insurance - everything was deductible exactly the same way. The only difference was that when we filed jointly, all those business deductions helped offset our combined income, plus we qualified for additional credits that saved us thousands. If we had filed separately, I would have gotten some credits for the kids, but not as much as when we combined everything, and we would have lost some credits entirely.
Has anyone looked into the Self-Employment tax implications? That's what killed us last year. My husband's carpentry business did well but we got hit with a huge SE tax bill.
Self-employment tax is calculated the same way regardless of filing status. It's always 15.3% of net business profit (12.4% for Social Security up to the wage limit and 2.9% for Medicare on all profit). Filing jointly doesn't change this amount. What filing jointly DOES help with is the income tax portion, where you get better rates and more credits. So while the SE tax stays the same, your overall tax burden is usually lower when filing jointly because of how everything else is calculated more favorably.
Thanks for explaining that! I guess we were confusing the SE tax with regular income tax. Makes sense that the 15.3% stays the same regardless. Good to know the filing status mainly affects the income tax portion.
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Ravi Sharma
Don't forget to check if your state treats Roth IRA withdrawals the same way as federal. I made this mistake last year with my excess contribution and ended up with a state tax notice because I only reported it on my federal return.
Which state are you in? I'm in California and wondering if I need to handle this differently for state taxes.
Ravi Sharma
ā¢I'm in Massachusetts, which generally follows federal treatment but has a few differences for reporting. In California, they mostly follow the federal treatment for excess contribution withdrawals, but you should still report the distribution on your CA return. The main thing is to make sure the state knows the nature of the withdrawal (correcting an excess contribution) so it's not mistakenly treated as an early distribution subject to penalties. The tax software should handle this correctly if you input the 1099-R information properly, but it's worth double-checking the state section specifically.
Omar Zaki
Has anyone actually gotten the withholding back when they filed? I had the same situation (excess Roth contribution that I withdrew) and Vanguard withheld 20%, but when I filed my taxes I somehow still owed money!
AstroAce
ā¢You should definitely get credit for the withholding! Check your 1040 - the withholding from your 1099-R should be included in the total federal income tax withheld on line 25d. Sounds like something else in your return might have been causing you to owe.
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Carmen Diaz
Another important thing to understand about 1099-K forms is how they differ from 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC forms. They all report income but in different ways: - 1099-K: From payment processors for transactions over $600 - 1099-NEC: From clients who paid you directly for freelance/contract work over $600 - 1099-MISC: For other income like rent, prizes, etc. You might get multiple forms in the same year depending on how you get paid! Just be careful not to double-count income if you get both a 1099-NEC from a client and a 1099-K from the payment processor they used.
This is so confusing! So if my client pays me through PayPal, and it's over $600, would I get both a 1099-NEC from the client AND a 1099-K from PayPal for the same money? How do I avoid reporting the same income twice?
Carmen Diaz
ā¢Good question! It depends on how sophisticated your client is with tax reporting. Technically, if they pay you through PayPal, the payment processor (PayPal) should issue the 1099-K, and the client should not issue a 1099-NEC for those same payments. However, many clients don't understand this distinction and might issue a 1099-NEC anyway. If you receive both for the same income, you should still only report the income once on your tax return. Keep detailed records showing they're duplicate reports of the same earnings. You can include a note with your tax return explaining the situation. The important thing is that your reported income matches your bank deposits to avoid audit flags.
Don't forget that expenses can offset your 1099-K income! I freaked out last year when I got a 1099-K showing $12,000 from my Etsy shop, but after deducting costs of materials, shipping, fees, etc., my actual taxable profit was only about $3,800. Make sure you track ALL business expenses related to whatever generated that 1099-K income. Even things like a portion of your cell phone bill or internet if you use them for business. I use a simple spreadsheet to track everything.
Liam Mendez
ā¢What about mileage? I do food delivery and got a 1099-K from the app. Can I deduct all the miles I drive while working?
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Zara Ahmed
I went through the exact same thing last year! Just to add to what others have said - make sure your cost basis is reported correctly on your 1099-B. Sometimes brokers don't report the correct cost basis to the IRS for RSUs, which can make it look like your entire proceeds are gains (which would be bad). If the cost basis on your 1099-B doesn't match what was included in your W-2 income when the shares vested, you'll need to make an adjustment on your tax return. Look at Form 8949 - there's a code "B" you can use to indicate an adjusted basis. Also check if your broker is using "first-in, first-out" (FIFO) for calculating which shares were sold. This can affect your gains calculation if you received RSUs at different times with different vesting prices.
Ravi Sharma
ā¢Thank you for mentioning this! I just checked my 1099-B and I think this might be part of my problem. The cost basis seems lower than what I remember the shares being worth when they vested. How exactly do I use this Form 8949 to make the adjustment?
Zara Ahmed
ā¢You'll need to complete Form 8949 with your tax return. In column (a), enter the description of the property (your company stock). In columns (b) through (g), enter the information from your 1099-B. Then in column (g), enter the correct amount of gain or loss using your actual cost basis (the FMV on vesting date). In column (f), check box B to indicate you're reporting a basis different from what was reported to the IRS. You'll also need to attach an explanation statement to your return that explains why you're adjusting the basis - something like "Adjusting cost basis to fair market value at RSU vesting date, which was included as income on my W-2.
Luca Conti
One thing nobody has mentioned yet - check if your company has an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) in addition to the RSUs. Those have completely different tax rules and might be adding to your confusion if you're participating in both programs. Also, some companies provide statements that break down all your equity compensation events for the year. Ask your HR or benefits department if they provide a supplemental equity statement that might help clarify things.
Nia Johnson
ā¢Great point! I mixed up my RSUs and ESPP shares last year and almost reported everything wrong. ESPP shares are WAY more complicated tax-wise because of the discount and lookback provisions. What helped me was downloading a detailed transaction history from my company's stock administrator (like E*TRADE, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, etc.) and looking at the transaction types. RSUs will show as "RSU Release" or similar when they vest, while ESPP purchases will show as "ESPP Purchase.
Romeo Barrett
Has anyone had issues with FreeTaxUSA not matching the total losses reported by their broker? I entered everything exactly as shown on my 1099-B but my total loss is showing up different in FreeTaxUSA by about $340.
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Marina Hendrix
ā¢Check if you entered all the wash sales correctly. I had a similar issue and realized I missed marking some transactions as wash sales. Also, make sure you're entering the correct adjustment code if your broker provided one (like "W" for wash sale or "B" for basis reported to IRS). Those small details can cause discrepancies.
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Justin Trejo
ā¢Also make sure you included any transaction fees or commissions in your basis. Some brokers include these in the reported basis on the 1099-B, but others list them separately. FreeTaxUSA has fields for adding these to your basis if needed.
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Alana Willis
For anyone still struggling with this, I recorded a quick walkthrough of how to enter stock transactions in FreeTaxUSA: 1. Go to the Federal section 2. Click on Income 3. Scroll down to "Investments" 4. Select "Stocks, Bonds, etc. (Schedule D and Form 8949)" 5. Choose the correct Form 8949 type (usually Box A or B for most brokerage accounts) 6. Enter each transaction individually For meme stock losses specifically, make sure you're tracking your basis correctly. If you bought in multiple batches at different prices, each purchase needs to be tracked separately. Good luck to everyone dealing with their losing meme stocks! At least the tax deduction takes some of the sting out...
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