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Have you tried contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service? They're an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve problems. This seems like exactly the kind of situation they'd be able to help with - especially since your CPA filed an amendment without your approval.
Ethan Moore
ā¢I hadn't thought of the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Do you know how I would contact them or if there's a long wait time to get help? My CPA hasn't mentioned this as an option.
You can call them directly at 877-777-4778 or find your local office through the IRS website. Wait times vary depending on the time of year - right now during tax season they're busier than usual, but still worth contacting. Start by explaining that your CPA filed an amended return without your authorization before your original refund was processed. Be sure to mention the significant amount of money involved ($13,500) as they prioritize cases involving financial hardship. They may not be able to speed up processing dramatically, but they can often give you accurate information about what's happening with your return and make sure it doesn't fall through the cracks.
Your CPA messed up twice - first with the incorrect SEP deduction and then by filing an amendment without your approval. I'd seriously consider finding a new tax professional next year...
100% agree. A CPA should NEVER file anything without your signature/approval. That's a major red flag and possibly against professional ethics standards. I'd report them to your state's board of accountancy.
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11 Don't forget about quarterly estimated tax payments if your wife's business grows! My husband and I got hit with an underpayment penalty our first year running our Etsy shop because we didn't realize we needed to pay quarterly when self-employed. Also look into self-employment tax (Schedule SE) - that surprised us too.
19 How do you know how much to pay for those quarterly payments? Is there a minimum amount your business needs to make before you have to start doing that?
11 The general rule is you should make quarterly estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes for the year. The amount depends on your projected income, but there's a "safe harbor" provision - if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability (or 110% if your AGI was over $150,000), you won't face penalties even if you end up owing more. You can use Form 1040-ES to calculate your estimated payments. Alternatively, you can increase withholding from a W-2 job if either of you has one, which accomplishes the same goal. The IRS treats withholding as if it happened evenly throughout the year, even if it's all at the end.
16 Something that really helped me with my side business was using expense tracking apps like QuickBooks Self-Employed or even just a dedicated credit card for business expenses. Makes it so much easier at tax time to separate business vs personal expenses. Whatever you do, start tracking EVERYTHING now - it's a nightmare to reconstruct expenses after the fact!
23 Is it ok to just use a spreadsheet instead of paying for software? I'm trying to minimize costs while the business is still small.
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Ethan Brown
Quick tip from someone who was in your shoes last year: be careful with the home office deduction if you're using Form 8829. While it can save you money, it has to be a space used EXCLUSIVELY for business. If you're working from your living room couch or kitchen table, it doesn't qualify. I learned this the hard way after claiming it and then reading more about the requirements. Ended up filing an amended return because I didn't want to risk an audit. But you can still deduct business percentages of internet, phone, and any supplies/equipment you buy specifically for work!
Thanks for the warning! So if I have a desk in my bedroom that I only use for work, but it's in my bedroom where I also sleep, would that area around the desk qualify? Or does the entire room have to be exclusively for business?
Ethan Brown
ā¢The space needs to be exclusively for business, not the entire room necessarily. So if you have a clearly defined area in your bedroom that's used only for work (like a desk and the surrounding area), that specific space can qualify. Take measurements of that dedicated workspace to calculate what percentage of your home it represents. You'll need to be able to prove that area is used exclusively for business if audited. Take photos of your setup, keep records of business activities conducted there, and ensure nothing personal is stored in that specific area. I recommend consulting a tax professional if you're unsure, but many people successfully claim partial room deductions.
Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you're truly self-employed and not misclassified, don't forget you can deduct half of your self-employment tax on your 1040! This is an adjustment to income, so you get this benefit even if you don't itemize deductions. Also look into setting up a SEP IRA or Solo 401k if possible. You can put away a portion of your income tax-deferred, which reduces your taxable income now. The limits are pretty generous compared to regular IRAs.
Carmen Ruiz
ā¢This is great advice. I started a SEP IRA when I was contracting and it made a huge difference in my tax bill. I think you can contribute something like 20% of your net earnings? Definitely worth looking into.
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Ellie Lopez
Just wanted to offer a different perspective - my wife and I were in the EXACT same situation last year (marriage, house purchase, marketplace insurance). We ended up going to a tax professional, and it was actually worth it for us. The tax preparer found that we could file as "married filing separately" which in our specific case limited how much of the marketplace subsidy we had to repay. It's not the right choice for everyone (you lose some tax benefits this way), but for us it saved about $800. The tax professional cost us $350, but the savings made it worthwhile. They also helped us adjust our W-4 withholding for this year to prevent this happening again.
I didn't even consider filing separately! Did you still get to claim the mortgage interest and property tax deductions that way? And did you have to do anything special with the marketplace insurance forms?
Ellie Lopez
ā¢When filing separately, only the spouse who actually paid the mortgage interest and property taxes can claim those deductions. In our case, we had set up our mortgage so both our names were on it, and we paid from a joint account, so we could document that my wife (the lower earner) paid those expenses. This helped maximize the benefit. For the marketplace insurance forms, it gets a bit complicated. You'll need to allocate the premium and subsidy amounts between spouses. Our tax preparer handled this for us, dividing it based on who was actually covered by the policy. The key benefit was that by filing separately, my wife's income alone (not our combined income) was used to calculate the subsidy repayment for the months before we were married.
Don't forget to check if you're eligible for the Saver's Credit (officially called the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit) if you contributed to a retirement account last year! With your income levels, you might qualify for a credit of up to 10-20% of your contributions up to $2,000. Also, did you look into whether you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit? The income thresholds are higher for married couples, and it could help offset some of what you owe.
The Saver's Credit phases out pretty quickly though. For 2025 filing, married couples filing jointly lose eligibility when their AGI exceeds $73,000. Given their combined income of about $103k, they probably won't qualify.
Jacob Lewis
22 If you're just getting started and making under a few thousand dollars, consider if this actually qualifies as a business or just a hobby in the IRS's eyes. The "hobby loss rule" means you have to show profit in 3 out of 5 years to be considered a legitimate business. If it's classified as a hobby, you can't deduct expenses against other income. Just something to be aware of when deducting expenses from a side gig that's not profitable yet.
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Jacob Lewis
ā¢11 Wait, so if my candle making business hasn't been profitable yet, I can't deduct ANY of my expenses?? I've spent like $2000 on supplies and only made like $800 in sales so far this year.
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Jacob Lewis
ā¢22 That's not exactly right. You CAN deduct expenses even if you're not profitable yet. The hobby loss rule doesn't kick in immediately - it's more of a guideline the IRS uses after several years of losses. The key is demonstrating that you have a profit motive and operate in a businesslike manner, even while you're in the startup phase. Keep good records, have a separate business bank account, develop a business plan, market your products, and maintain professional practices. These all help show it's a legitimate business attempt, not just a hobby.
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Jacob Lewis
2 Quick tip: if you're selling handmade items, don't forget to deduct the cost of your time as labor when pricing your products! It's not a tax deduction but it's important for making your business actually profitable.
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Jacob Lewis
ā¢16 That's not actually how tax deductions work for sole proprietors. You can't "deduct" the value of your own labor - you can only deduct actual expenses paid. Though I agree it's important for pricing products correctly!
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