Thanks for this advice! I never thought about filing an identity theft form, but that makes sense if my info is being used on an account that isn't mine. Have you dealt with incorrect income reporting yourself? How long did it take to get resolved?

Yes, I had a similar issue when a company I briefly consulted for reported all their platform income under my SSN by mistake. It took about 5 months to fully resolve, which was frustrating but eventually worked out. The Identity Theft Affidavit is helpful because it flags your account in the IRS system and can help prevent collection activities while you're resolving the dispute. Just be clear in your explanation that this is a case of incorrect income reporting by a business, not someone stealing your identity for credit fraud.

This is exactly what happened to me in 2023! Request those transcripts ASAP because they'll show the exact source of the reporting. In my case, it was a former business partner who kept using my SSN for company accounts after I left. Such a nightmare to fix.

For Lifetime Learning Credit, the educational institution needs to be eligible to participate in federal student aid programs. Many coding bootcamps don't qualify because they aren't accredited in the right way. Check if your bootcamp has a Federal School Code and if they're on the Federal Student Aid Code List. If they gave you a legitimate 1098-T that's a good sign, but double-check their eligibility on the IRS website just to be sure!

Thanks for that info. I just checked and my bootcamp does have a Federal School Code. I was confused because it's not a traditional 4-year college, but apparently they do qualify for federal aid programs. Guess I'll go ahead and claim it!

This Box 1 vs Box 2 thing tripped me up too! My school put stuff in both boxes and I had no idea which one to use. Does anyone know the difference?

Box 1 shows amounts the school actually received during the calendar year, while Box 2 shows amounts that were billed for qualified expenses during the year. The difference matters because of timing - sometimes you might pay in December for classes starting in January, or pay in January for classes that started the previous December. You generally want to claim the credit in the year you actually paid the expenses, which would align with Box 1. However, you should look at both boxes and understand what educational expenses they represent. If there's a big difference between them, you might need to figure out exactly when you made payments and what academic periods they were for.

That's a good point I hadn't considered. I think each employer is definitely calculating as if that's our only income. How would I figure out what the right additional withholding amount should be for each job? Is there a calculator for that?

The IRS has a Tax Withholding Estimator tool on their website that's designed exactly for situations like yours with multiple jobs. It will walk you through entering info from all four W-2s and then recommend specific withholding amounts for each job. For a quick rule of thumb, take your total expected annual tax bill (probably around $44-45k based on your income) and subtract what you're currently having withheld. Then divide that shortage by the number of pay periods remaining in the year to determine how much additional withholding you need across all jobs. You can split that amount across all four jobs however makes sense for your cash flow.

At their income level ($270k), they're probably phased out of most credits. The Saver's Credit phases out at $73k for married filing jointly, and the Child Tax Credit starts phasing out at $200k. Education credits have similar income limitations.

Thank you so much for this confirmation. I'm definitely going to find a new tax preparer. Quick follow-up - if I claim the standard mileage deduction, can I still deduct the cost of the new tires separately or is that considered included in the mileage rate?

If you use the standard mileage rate (which is typically the better option with high mileage like yours), that rate is designed to cover all costs of operating your vehicle including depreciation, maintenance, repairs, tires, gas, oil, and insurance. So no, you cannot separately deduct the cost of tires in addition to taking the standard mileage rate. However, you can still deduct other legitimate business expenses that aren't related to your vehicle operation, such as business supplies, a portion of your cell phone bill if used for business, business insurance, or any other ordinary and necessary business expenses.

I used TurboTax Self-Employed for a similar situation last year. When you get to the 1099-MISC section, just enter the information exactly as it appears on your form. Then when it asks about your business, create a Schedule C for your personal assistant business, and TurboTax will guide you through entering all your expenses including mileage. It worked perfectly - just make sure you choose the Self-Employed version not the cheaper ones.

But this seems super unfair to people barely getting by. So the tax code basically says "ur so poor u dont owe taxes... unless ur self employed then pay up"?? Is there any way around this or any special credits for low income self employed people?

You make a good point about the seeming unfairness. There are actually some options that can help. You may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which is specifically designed for lower-income workers, including self-employed people. This credit is refundable, meaning you can get money back even if you don't owe income tax. Also, don't forget about business deductions. You can deduct legitimate business expenses from your self-employment income before calculating the 15.3% tax. This includes things like supplies, mileage, home office expenses, phone/internet costs used for business, etc. For many gig workers, these deductions can significantly reduce the taxable self-employment income, sometimes by 30-50% depending on your situation.

TurboTax does handle this correctly. I was in this situation and it asked if I had any self-employment income. When I entered my DoorDash earnings, it automatically added Schedule C and SE to my return. It also walked me through possible deductions like mileage and phone expenses that helped lower the self-employment tax I owed.