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18 Have you checked if Box 7 on the 1099-MISC is filled in? If not, the income might not be subject to self-employment tax. The 2020 1099-MISC form changed, and some income that used to go on that form now goes on 1099-NEC. The way TurboTax interprets these forms can sometimes cause this exact confusion!
1 I just double-checked and you're right - Box 3 is filled out for "Other Income" rather than Box 7. Does that mean we don't need to file a Schedule C at all? TurboTax still seems to think we do though.
18 That's great news! If the amount is in Box 3 "Other Income" and not Box 7, then this is NOT self-employment income. You should report this on Schedule 1, Line 8 as "Other Income" instead of on Schedule C. TurboTax might be incorrectly guiding you through the self-employment section because it sometimes assumes 1099-MISC equals self-employment. You'll need to back out of the self-employment/Schedule C section and find where to enter miscellaneous income instead. Look for something like "Less Common Income" or "Other Income" in the TurboTax navigation. This should eliminate the self-employment tax entirely!
5 One additional thing to consider - if you're claiming your son as a dependent on your taxes, make sure you're indicating that correctly on his return. If TurboTax thinks he's filing independently when he's actually a dependent, that could cause calculation issues too!
11 This is a really important point! My daughter checked the wrong box about being claimed as a dependent last year and it messed up both our returns.
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One approach that's worked for our mid-sized construction company is to use a combination of accounting software and a sales tax service. We use QuickBooks for the accounting side, then Avalara for the tax rates and filing. The key is making sure your invoices clearly separate taxable vs non-taxable items. For example, we always itemize materials, equipment rental, labor, permits, and subcontractor costs as separate line items. Then we apply the right tax code to each component based on the work type and location. Avalara does handle construction better than TaxJar in my experience, but you still need to understand the basic rules of what's taxable for your specific services in each state. No software can completely automate the decision of whether something is a repair vs an improvement without your input.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Do you find the combination works well for handling things like tax-exempt projects or partial exemptions? And roughly how much setup time did it take to get everything configured correctly?
The system handles tax exemptions pretty well - we store all customer exemption certificates in Avalara and it automatically applies them. For partial exemptions (like 50% taxable labor), we had to create special tax codes, which took some setup time. Initial setup took about 3 weeks of part-time work to configure everything correctly, including defining all our service types and mapping them to the right tax treatments by state. The ongoing maintenance is minimal now - maybe 1-2 hours per month to check for any rule changes or unusual transactions. Definitely worth the upfront investment though - our last audit went super smoothly because everything was so well documented.
One thing nobody's mentioned yet is the small contractor exception that exists in some states. If your annual revenue is under certain thresholds (varies by state, usually $100k-500k), you might qualify for simplified reporting or even exemptions. I'd also recommend joining your local builders association if you haven't already. Ours provides members with updated tax guidance documents specific to our state, and they even host quarterly seminars with tax professionals to cover changes. Way cheaper than paying for individual consulting.
Our association does something similar - they even have an attorney on retainer who specializes in construction tax issues and offers members a free 30-min consultation. Definitely worth the membership fees just for that!
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I had an issue with a K-1 from my late father's estate last year. What I ended up doing was filing for the extension with Form 4868 and paying an estimated amount based on what the executor told me might be coming my way. You should definitely reach out to whoever is managing the estate distribution and ask for at least a rough estimate of what your distribution might be. They should be able to give you some ballpark figure even if the final K-1 isn't ready. If it's a smaller amount, you might not need to worry too much. If it's substantial, paying something with your extension request will help minimize any interest and penalties.
The executor is my uncle who isn't great with communication. I've tried asking for estimates, but he just says "we're working on it" and doesn't give me any numbers. Did you have to pay any penalties when you finally filed with the actual K-1 information?
I didn't end up paying any penalties because my estimate was pretty close to the actual amount - I actually slightly overpaid which meant I got a small refund when I finally filed. Your situation sounds more challenging with an uncommunicative executor. In your case, I'd recommend trying to find any documentation about the estate's total value, then making an educated guess about your share. Even if you have to estimate on the high side, it's better than facing penalties. Also, keep records of your attempts to get information from your uncle - this shows good faith effort if the IRS ever questions you.
I went through this exact mess last year! Nobody tells you how to handle these estate K-1 situations. Here's what worked for me: 1) Filed extension with Form 4868 2) Paid an estimated amount (I went with about 30% of what I thought I might receive) 3) When the K-1 finally arrived in June, I filed my complete return One thing to know - the K-1 from estates are different from partnership K-1s. They're reported on Schedule E, and the character of the income (ordinary vs capital gain) is specified on the K-1. Most tax software can handle K-1s, but if your situation is complex, consulting a CPA might be worth it.
Did you use TurboTax or another program? I'm wondering if the standard consumer versions can handle estate K-1s or if I need the premium/business versions.
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Another thing to check - make sure you're not somehow getting hit with the Additional Medicare Tax. That kicks in for singles at $200K income, but if you accidentally entered something wrong, the system might think you're subject to it. That's an extra 0.9% on earnings above the threshold. Also, check if you're getting hit with any underpayment penalties for your quarterly estimated taxes. If the system thinks you didn't pay enough during the year, it can add penalties and interest.
I just spent the last hour going through everything line by line and I found the issue! Somehow I had entered my quarterly estimated payments of $12,000 as "Additional income" rather than "Payments already made." So the system thought I had earned $105,000 AND hadn't paid any estimated taxes, which is why it was calculating such a high effective rate and saying I owed so much more. I fixed the entry and now my blended rate is showing as 31.4% and I'm getting a refund of $1,200. That makes WAY more sense. Thanks everyone for the help!
Just a general tip for anyone with W-2 and self-employment income: always use the IRS tax withholding calculator at the beginning of the year to figure out proper withholding. I do about 70/30 W-2 and freelance and had a similar shock a few years ago. Now I adjust my W-2 withholding to account for self-employment taxes and make sure my quarterly payments are at least 100% of last year's tax liability to avoid penalties.
The withholding calculator is great but I found it super confusing with mixed income. Do you enter your anticipated freelance income somewhere specific? Or just add it to your total expected income?
You add your expected freelance income to the section that asks about "other income" not subject to withholding. Then it calculates both your income tax on that amount plus factors in the self-employment tax. The key is updating it a few times throughout the year as your freelance income might fluctuate. I usually do it quarterly right before making estimated payments to make sure everything still looks on track.
Jay Lincoln
Have you considered asking your hospital to provide scrub caps or implement a reimbursement program? My hospital started a $250 annual uniform allowance after several of us brought it up to administration. It's not perfect but helps offset some costs without having to worry about tax deductions.
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Ryan Vasquez
•That's actually a great idea! I hadn't thought about approaching administration about this. Did you have to get a bunch of nurses together to request this, or was it something you could bring up individually? My hospital is pretty large so I'm not sure who I'd even talk to about starting something like this.
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Jay Lincoln
•I started by talking to my direct supervisor, who directed me to HR. We eventually got several departments together (surgery, L&D, ICU) to show it was a widespread concern. The key was framing it as both an employee retention benefit and infection control issue - pointing out that hospital-provided caps would ensure proper laundering and replacement. I'd recommend starting with your unit manager and asking who handles employee benefits or uniform policies. Having a few colleagues support you definitely helps, especially if you can get someone from administration on your side. Even a small allowance is better than nothing!
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Jessica Suarez
Has anyone looked into setting up an LLC for nursing side gigs? I've heard this can help with deducting these kinds of expenses if you pick up extra shifts through your own business entity instead of as a regular employee.
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Avery Saint
•Setting up an LLC can be helpful if you're doing independent contractor work, but it doesn't automatically change your tax situation. The key is whether you're working as an employee (W-2) or independent contractor (1099-NEC). If you're getting 1099 income, then you can deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses (like scrub caps used for that work) on Schedule C, whether or not you have an LLC. The LLC mainly provides liability protection, but for tax purposes, a single-member LLC is typically treated as a "disregarded entity" and you'd still report the income on Schedule C.
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