That's interesting! So if the bonds had only been in my name without the "OR my mom" part, I could have qualified for the exclusion myself? Do you happen to know if there's any way to change the registration on existing bonds to make them solely in my name?

That's not quite right - I think I confused things. Even if the bonds are solely in your name, you still need to have been 24 or older when they were issued to qualify for the Form 8815 exclusion yourself. What I meant was that my grandmother had them in her name only (she was over 24), then used them for my education expenses. As for changing registration, you can reissue savings bonds in some circumstances, but changing ownership to qualify for tax benefits would likely be considered tax avoidance by the IRS. The registration needs to reflect the original intent of purchase. You're better off having your mom claim the exclusion if she paid for your education, as the other commenters suggested.

Do those income limits apply to the person who cashed the bonds or the person claiming the exclusion? Like if the mom is claiming the exclusion but the student cashed the bonds, whose income matters?

The income limits apply to the person claiming the exclusion on their tax return. So if your mom is claiming the exclusion (because she meets the age requirement and paid for your education), then it's her income that matters for the phase-out limits. In this situation, it doesn't matter who physically cashed the bonds. What matters is who's claiming the tax benefit. The IRS looks at the modified adjusted gross income on the tax return where Form 8815 is being filed.

Thanks for this suggestion! Unfortunately my state doesn't have paid family leave, and my company is definitely too small for FMLA (we only have 12 employees). I did check into short-term disability but was told I would have needed to enroll before becoming pregnant. It's frustrating how few options there are for maternity leave in small businesses.

That's really tough. Another option might be to negotiate a flexible arrangement with your employer that doesn't involve unemployment fraud. Maybe you could work reduced hours remotely during part of your leave, use any accumulated PTO, or spread a reduced salary over a longer period. Many small businesses work out these kinds of arrangements. Remember that while what they're suggesting might seem helpful, they're asking you to take all the risk. If unemployment investigates (which they often do), you'd be the one who filled out a fraudulent application, not your employer.

What did you end up doing instead? I'm in a similar situation now and feel stuck between no income or doing something that might be illegal.

Would driving for Uber on weekends count as side work? I started doing that to make extra cash. Do I need to keep track of my mileage and car expenses?

Yes, driving for Uber definitely counts as self-employment/side work! You'll receive a 1099 form from Uber (most likely a 1099-K) reporting your earnings. You'll report this income on Schedule C, and this is where you CAN deduct expenses. For driving, you have two options for deducting vehicle expenses: the standard mileage rate (which will be around 67 cents per mile for 2025) OR actual expenses (gas, maintenance, depreciation, etc.). Most Uber drivers find the standard mileage rate easier and often more beneficial. Just make sure you keep a detailed log of your business miles!

You would only want to itemize deductions if your total eligible itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction amount. For 2025, that's $14,350 for single filers and $28,700 for married filing jointly as you mentioned. Common itemized deductions include mortgage interest, state and local taxes (limited to $10,000), charitable contributions, and certain medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If adding all these up gives you more than the standard deduction, then itemizing makes sense. Otherwise, take the standard deduction.

Thanks for explaining! Our mortgage interest is only about $8,000, state taxes maybe $6,000, and we donate like $2,000 to charity. So we're at $16,000 total which is way less than the $28,700 standard deduction. Standard deduction it is!

Do you need any background to volunteer? I'm interested but literally know nothing about taxes beyond my simple W2 job.

No background needed at all! They start from scratch with the training. I knew basically nothing when I started - just filled out 1040EZ forms for my own simple returns. They provide all the training materials and have experienced volunteers who mentor you. They have different certification levels, so you can start with the basics and work your way up as you learn more. Even the basic certification teaches you WAY more than most people know about taxes. And when you encounter something you don't understand, there's always a more experienced volunteer to help explain it.

Waste of money. Those courses just teach basic deductions that are readily available in IRS publications or any tax prep software. They make it sound like secret knowledge but it's really not.

The IRS distinguishes between negligence (misunderstanding the law, making mistakes) and willful evasion (deliberately hiding income). From what I understand, most servers who underreport tips fall into the negligence category, especially if coworkers told them it was normal practice. Criminal charges typically only come into play with large-scale, deliberate tax evasion schemes. The IRS is much more interested in collecting the taxes owed than pursuing criminal charges against servers who come forward voluntarily to correct their returns.

Thanks so much for the clarification! That makes a lot of sense about the difference between negligence and willful evasion. My friend will be relieved to hear this explanation. I'll definitely suggest they file those amended returns sooner rather than later. Seems like being proactive about fixing the situation is way better than waiting for the IRS to discover it on their own.

I was in a similar spot last year (different job but same issue with unreported income). I handled it myself with Form 1040-X and a letter explaining my situation. It wasn't that complicated tbh, and I probably saved like $2000 by not hiring a professional. As long as you're willing to gather your income info and fill out some forms, you can probably DIY this.

Thanks for sharing your experience! That's really helpful to know. I'll probably try to handle it myself first and save the money. Did you use any specific tax software to help with the amended returns or just fill out the forms directly?