One other thing to consider - has your son checked if his state taxes were also filed? Sometimes people focus on just the federal return but forget they may have also paid state taxes unnecessarily. Make sure to check that too and file the equivalent state form for a refund if applicable!

Be prepared for quite a wait on that refund. My daughter was in exactly this position last year, and while the IRS did approve her Form 843, it took nearly 6 months to process. They're seriously backlogged still. Also, make sure your son doesn't file next year if he's not required to - some tax software automatically reminds previous customers to file again, which could lead to the same issue next year.

Something I learned the hard way after a few years running my production company - make sure you're tracking your state film incentives properly! Depending on your state, these can be tax credits, rebates, or grants, and they're all treated differently for tax purposes. I'd recommend creating a separate tracking system just for incentives and credits. Also, if you're filming in multiple states, you might need to file taxes in each of those states if you meet their thresholds. And please don't forget about sales tax! Some states require you to pay sales tax on production equipment and services, while others have exemptions for qualified productions. Worth checking before you make big purchases.

Don't forget about tracking non-cash compensation! If you're giving crew members credit in the film or rights to use footage for their reels in lieu of some payment, technically that has value. Same with giving people copies of the film or other perks. I learned this when I got audited two years ago. The IRS questioned why some of my "staff" didn't receive 1099s despite being listed in credits. It became a whole thing about whether their compensation fell below reporting thresholds when including non-cash benefits. Now I document EVERYTHING - meals provided, equipment they get to use, credit value, etc. Better to have too much documentation than not enough!

22 Just to add another perspective - I'm an accountant and see this situation all the time. The IRS doesn't care if you only did one job or a hundred jobs - income outside of a W-2 employment relationship is considered self-employment income and needs to be reported on Schedule C. The threshold for the payer to issue a 1099-NEC is $600, but your obligation to report income exists regardless of whether proper documentation was provided to you. The IRS considers ALL income taxable unless specifically excluded by law. One thing to consider: since this is over $400 net income, you'll also need to pay self-employment tax on it (the SE tax threshold is lower than the income tax threshold). Make sure you complete Schedule SE along with your Schedule C.

11 FYI - I'm a freelance coder and tax preparation software doesn't always handle one-time self-employment situations well. They often try to categorize you as either "fully employed" or "fully self-employed" which creates confusion. If using software like TurboTax or H&R Block, make sure you enter this under "additional income" or "self-employment income" rather than trying to create a whole business entity. You'll need to complete a Schedule C regardless of how small the job was. The important thing is reporting the income correctly - not necessarily fitting into their pre-defined categories. And don't forget about state taxes too! Many states also require you to report self-employment income separately.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that while marginal tax rates work as described above, there are other income-based thresholds that DON'T work that way. For example, certain credits and deductions phase out completely once you hit certain income levels. These aren't marginal - they're cliffs where you either qualify or you don't. Also remember that your taxable income isn't the same as your gross income. Contributing to a traditional 401k, HSA, or taking the standard deduction all reduce your taxable income, potentially keeping you in a lower bracket.

do any of yall know if the tax calculator on turbotax is any good for figuring out marginal tax stuff? i tried using it but im not sure if its calculating everything right especially with the new tax brackets

I'm also in a community property state (Arizona) and had this exact issue with my husband. Here's what we found out after consulting with a CPA who specializes in this area: 1. For community property states, the legally correct way is indeed to split all community income 50/50 on Form 8958 2. For PSLF purposes, this often creates a problem because even though you're filing separately, your spouse's income effectively gets counted in your AGI 3. Some tax preparers (especially chain preparers) don't understand these special rules well What we ultimately did was hire a CPA who specialized in student loan issues to help us identify which of our income was truly separate property vs. community property. There were actually several things we could legally classify as separate property, which helped minimize the impact. Whatever you decide, just make sure both returns are consistent with each other. The biggest red flag for the IRS is when spouses in community property states report inconsistently on MFS returns.

Speaking from personal experience in Texas (another community property state), you really need to be careful here. My wife and I did something similar - she reported only her income, I reported only mine - and we got letters from the IRS about two years later. We ended up having to amend both returns and pay some penalties and interest. The IRS specifically cited our failure to properly allocate community income on Form 8958. If I were you, I'd strongly consider: 1. Having your wife amend her return to properly split community income 2. Filing your return correctly (as the preparer suggests) 3. At minimum, making sure both returns use the SAME methodology The inconsistency between your returns is more likely to trigger questions than both of you doing it the same way, even if that way isn't technically correct.