That's actually a really smart idea! Do you have any tips for foods that work well for car-based meal prepping? I'd be worried about things getting soggy or spoiling throughout the day, especially in summer.

Definitely go for foods that are stable at various temperatures. I keep a good insulated lunch bag with ice packs. Wraps work better than sandwiches because they don't get soggy as quickly. Pasta salads, grain bowls, and hearty salads (hold the dressing until eating time) all work great. I also keep a bunch of shelf-stable snacks in the car - nuts, granola bars, dried fruit, etc. These are perfect for shorter breaks between clients. If you invest in a good thermos, you can also keep soups or hot meals that stay warm for 4-5 hours.

Would apps like Spotify Premium or Apple Music count as deductible if you use them during lessons to demonstrate songs to students?

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.

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.

Thanks for sharing your brother's experience. I'm really torn about what to do here. Did your brother just keep it and not file any forms or make any reports about it? Did he just pretend he never got it?

He literally just kept it and did nothing. It's been over a year and he hasn't heard anything from the IRS. Not saying that's what you should do, just sharing what happened in his case. I think the IRS is so swamped that small individual cases like this aren't high priority for them to track down. But of course, the right thing to do would be to return it according to their procedures.

This is actually a good point. The American Rescue Plan expanded eligibility for adult dependents for the third stimulus payment. College students who are dependents didn't qualify for the first two stimulus payments but might qualify for the third one. Double-check which payment this is before returning anything.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.