1 You're right, the letter is specifically asking about my business travel expenses ($4,200) and home office deduction ($2,800). Does that mean they're accepting the other deductions without question? Should I just focus on these two categories?

19 Yes, focus on just those two categories they're specifically questioning. The IRS typically doesn't expand an audit unless they find serious issues with the items they initially selected. The travel expenses will need more substantiation since they have stricter requirements - try to find emails about the conferences, calendar entries, photos from the events, or even statements from clients or colleagues confirming your attendance. For the home office, measurements of the space, photos, and a statement explaining how it was used exclusively for business purposes will help. Also look for utility bills, internet bills, or other expenses that support your use of that space as an office. Remember that your records don't have to be perfect - you just need to show reasonable evidence that these were legitimate business expenses.

3 When I went through an audit 2 years ago, they charged me the additional tax plus interest from the original due date. They didn't add accuracy-related penalties because they determined I made a good faith effort and had some backup documentation (even though incomplete). If they think you were negligent or deliberately claimed false deductions, that's when the 20% accuracy penalty kicks in.

So if I'm just a regular person making videos, I should leave the business name blank even if I have a channel name? What about if I'm using a DBA ("doing business as") for my content?

If you're just a regular person making videos, yes, leave the business name field blank. Your channel name isn't relevant for tax purposes unless you've formally registered it as a business name. For a DBA situation, it gets a bit more complicated. If you've officially registered your DBA with your state or county, you can put that in the "Business name/disregarded entity name" field. But if you haven't formally registered it and just use it informally as your brand, many tax professionals recommend leaving that field blank and just using your legal name. The most important thing is that your name and SSN match what the IRS has on file.

This is good advice. How can you check what address the IRS currently has on file for you without calling them though?

What CRM do you use that works well with Liberty's systems? I'm looking at purchasing a franchise but want to make sure I can maintain relationships with my existing client base from my previous tax practice.

I use Zoho CRM which has worked well for us. Liberty doesn't have any specific integration with it, but they don't need to - I just export client data from their system at the end of each day and import it into Zoho for marketing and relationship management. They're fine with this approach as long as all actual tax work happens in their system. I was able to import my previous client base into Zoho before I even opened my franchise, which helped tremendously with my first-year numbers. Just make sure you're transparent with your franchise rep about what you're doing and get written approval to be safe.

That's good to know! What scanner model did you end up using? We're still using the recommended ones and they're terrible with multi-page documents.

Thank you for bringing this up - that's really important info! My immigration status is actually something I'm working on separately. Do you know if there's any downside to being classified as a resident alien for tax purposes? Like does it create any complications for immigration applications later?

There's generally no downside to being classified as a resident alien for tax purposes when it comes to future immigration applications. In fact, having a consistent tax filing history is usually seen as a positive factor when applying for permanent residency or citizenship. What immigration officers typically look for is that you've been properly filing and paying taxes according to your correct status. If you're physically present enough to qualify as a tax resident, then filing as a resident alien is exactly what you should be doing. The important thing is consistency and honesty in your tax filings. The only potential complication would be if you were trying to maintain nonresident status in the US for some specific tax treaty benefit. But for someone in your situation who has been here continuously for 22-23 years, filing as a resident alien is appropriate and won't create immigration complications.

Not everyone can "just become a citizen" - there are tons of complicated situations where someone might have been brought here as a child but doesn't have a straightforward path to citizenship. DACA recipients, for example, or people who fell out of status because of paperwork issues beyond their control. Plus, citizenship applications are expensive AF and take forever. My friend just spent over $4,000 on the process including lawyer fees.

Thank you so much for explaining this! I had no idea the IRS already knows about the interest income. If they might adjust it automatically, should I still file an amendment or just wait to see if they send me a notice? I'm using TurboTax if that matters.

I would definitely recommend filing the amendment yourself rather than waiting for the IRS to adjust it. When you handle it proactively, you're in control of the process and can verify everything is correct. If the IRS makes an automatic adjustment, they sometimes include penalties and interest that you might avoid by amending quickly. With TurboTax, it's really easy to amend. Just log into your account, look for the option to amend your return, and follow the prompts to add the 1099-INT. The software will fill out Form 1040-X for you and guide you through the process. It's actually much simpler than most people think, and for a small amount like $87, the additional tax will be minimal.

Good point about the withholding! Also, OP, if this is the first time you've earned bank interest over $10 (the reporting threshold), don't feel bad about not knowing. The tax code is ridiculously complicated and nobody teaches this stuff in school.