Did you have any issues with penalties even though you were owed refunds? And how long did the whole process take from when you first contacted the CPA to getting everything resolved?

No penalties at all since I was due refunds! That's the good news about being owed money - the IRS doesn't penalize you for filing late when they owe YOU. They only charge penalties and interest when YOU owe THEM. The process took about 3 weeks total. First meeting was dropping off all my documents (W-2s, 1099s, etc.). About 10 days later they had all the returns prepared for me to review and sign. Filed electronically for the two most recent years, paper filed the older ones. Got my electronic refunds about 3 weeks after filing, and the paper filed ones took about 4 months. The whole thing was way less painful than the years I spent worrying about it!

This is so true! Those places prey on fear with their scary commercials about IRS collections. A regular tax preparer or CPA is totally sufficient for unfiled returns when you have all your documents.

Thank you for this warning! I've been hearing those commercials and they definitely play up the fear factor. I'll look for a local CPA instead of one of those national chains. Appreciate the advice!

I haven't heard of OnPay before. How user-friendly is it for someone who understands accounting basics but isn't a payroll expert? And does it integrate with any accounting software?

It's super user-friendly! I'd say it's actually easier to navigate than QuickBooks Payroll, with a cleaner interface. The setup wizard walks you through everything including tax registrations. They have good help articles that explain things in plain English. It does integrate with QuickBooks Online, Xero, and a few other accounting systems. The integration with QuickBooks works well in my experience - it automatically records payroll expenses in the right categories. If you understand basic accounting concepts as a CPA candidate, you'll have no trouble with it.

ADP is way overpriced for small businesses! I used them for my repair shop and switched to Gusto which does the same thing for half the price. Plus ADP's interface feels like it was designed in the 90s.

Thanks for bringing this up. Do the streamlined procedures actually cover Form 5472 though? I thought those were mainly for individual tax returns and FBARs, not for business entities and their reporting requirements?

You're right that the streamlined procedures primarily focus on individual returns and FBARs. Form 5472 penalties technically aren't included in the standard streamlined relief program. However, once your friend enters the streamlined program for their personal returns, they can often make a separate reasonable cause argument for the business filings that has a higher chance of success. The IRS tends to view compliance efforts more favorably when taxpayers are comprehensively addressing all their filing obligations. So while the Form 5472 penalties aren't directly covered, being in the streamlined program can create a more favorable environment for negotiating those specific penalties through separate reasonable cause requests.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service has been completely overwhelmed since COVID. They're now only taking the most extreme hardship cases. Unless your friend can prove they're facing immediate eviction or something similar, TAS probably won't take the case.

That's an angle I hadn't considered. The grant money is from my advisor's research funding, and I'm definitely working on their project rather than just my own educational pursuits. The money is paid biweekly like a salary, but it's never been called a salary explicitly - it's always referred to as a "research stipend." Does that distinction actually change how I should report it on my taxes?

Yes, the distinction can definitely change how you report it! If the money is compensation for services rendered (which sounds possible in your case since you're working on your advisor's project and being paid regularly like a salary), it would be treated as employment income rather than a scholarship/fellowship. In that case, the university should have issued you a W-2 for that portion of income. But universities are notoriously inconsistent with how they classify these payments. Some will issue 1099-MISCs for research stipends, while others report them as scholarships on the 1098-T, and some don't report them at all (expecting you to self-report).

This is excellent advice. I work in a university accounting office, and I can tell you that how the university reports these payments matters a lot. If they issued a W-2 for any portion, that's definitely reported as wages. If they included the research stipend on the 1098-T as a scholarship, that's how the IRS will expect to see it reported.

Thanks for this info! I had no idea there were "marketplace facilitator" laws. Do you know if there's an easy way to check what my state requires? I've been collecting and remitting sales tax on the full amount (including their commission) which sounds like it might be wrong.

The easiest way to check is to google your state name plus "marketplace facilitator sales tax law" - most states have published guidance specifically for restaurants dealing with delivery apps. In most states that have these laws, the delivery apps should be giving you reports that show what portion of sales tax they collected vs what you need to collect. If you've been remitting tax on the full amount including their commission, you might actually be overpaying! You might want to look into filing an amended return to get that money back. Some of my restaurant clients have received significant refunds after realizing this mistake.

On the tax-exempt topic - be super careful with catering orders for churches and non-profits. I learned the hard way that in my state, they need to provide their exemption certificate BEFORE the sale, not after. Had to eat the tax cost on a $2000 order because they gave me their certificate a week later!