Did your accountant recommend any specific software for tracking dual businesses? I'm currently using a spreadsheet but it's getting unwieldy.

I started with QuickBooks Self-Employed but found it limiting for multiple businesses. I switched to QuickBooks Online Small Business which lets you track multiple businesses with separate profit & loss statements. FreshBooks is another good option that many of my freelancer friends use. The key feature to look for is the ability to tag transactions by business/project and run separate reports. If you're on a tight budget, Wave is free and can handle basic tracking for multiple ventures. Whatever you choose, set it up correctly from the beginning - I wasted hours recategorizing transactions because I didn't have a proper system initially.

This is actually super important advice that saved me thousands last year. My accountant initially combined my businesses, but when we separated them, I was able to claim QBI on my consulting income while still deducting all startup losses.

I went back through everything and you're totally right! There was a question that asked "Did you receive all Economic Impact Payments you were eligible for?" and I must have clicked "No" by accident. When I changed it to "Yes" the huge credit disappeared and now I owe $3,275 like I originally expected. Thank you! Do you know if I would have gotten in serious trouble if I had filed with that error?

Glad you found it! That question trips up so many people. Since it was clearly just a mistake on a confusing question, you probably wouldn't have faced fraud penalties, but the IRS definitely would have caught it, rejected the credit, and you'd end up owing the correct amount plus interest for the late payment. You might have also had your return flagged for additional review, which could have delayed any legitimate refunds on other parts of your return. Always better to catch these things before filing!

This is such good advice. I never look at the actual forms cuz all the tax software just asks questions instead. Where exactly do you find the forms view in TurboTax? Is it obvious or hidden in some menu?

In TurboTax, you can usually find the forms view by looking for "Tax Tools" in the left sidebar and then selecting "View Tax Forms." If you're using the web version, it might be under a menu called "Tools" or there's sometimes a "Preview" button near the end of the filing process. It's definitely worth checking before filing. The software is generally accurate, but only if all the questions are answered correctly. Looking at the actual forms helps catch errors like this $10,000 credit that shouldn't be there.

Thanks for bringing up the EITC! I actually don't have any dependents, it's just me. Would I still qualify? And would that be instead of the dental deduction or in addition to it?

You can still qualify for EITC without dependents, though the amount is smaller. For 2025, if you're single with no children and income around $24k, you might qualify for a small EITC (around $600-700 depending on your exact income). The EITC is completely separate from the dental deduction issue. You can claim both if you qualify for both. The EITC is a credit while the dental expense would be a deduction if you itemize. Credits directly reduce your tax bill dollar-for-dollar, while deductions just reduce your taxable income, so credits are generally more valuable.

Good point about the FSA, but it sounds like OP might not have benefits if they're making around $24k. Might be part-time or gig work. The FSA is only helpful if you have access to employer benefits.

This was definitely a purchase, not a refinance. But your comment about spreading the deduction over the loan term made me wonder - if points for a refinance are spread over the loan term, is there any scenario where points for a purchase could be treated similarly?

For a home purchase, points are generally fully deductible in the year paid, assuming they meet the IRS criteria (which most standard mortgage situations do). There's no option to voluntarily spread them over the loan term like with a refinance. The only scenario where purchase points would be spread over the loan term is if they fail to meet the IRS criteria for immediate deduction - like if they're unusually high for your area or if the property isn't your primary residence. But from what you've described about your standard mortgage on your primary home, those exceptions wouldn't apply to you.

Is there any advantage to amending your 2022 return to itemize instead of taking the standard deduction? Or would the math still work out the same?

What about if you swap to a different crypto and then immediately back? Like ETH to USDT and then back to ETH? Does that still count as a valid loss?

Yes, that absolutely counts as a valid loss (or gain). Each conversion is a separate taxable event. So if you go from ETH to USDT and recognize a loss, and then from USDT back to ETH, those are two distinct transactions. The IRS doesn't care what you do with the proceeds after you sell, they just care that you're reporting each taxable event. This is actually why crypto can be such a tax nightmare - every single swap, conversion, or trade is a reportable event, not just when you cash out to fiat.

Most states follow federal treatment, but there are exceptions. For example, Nevada, Wyoming, and South Dakota have no state income tax so it's not an issue there. New Jersey doesn't allow carrying forward capital losses like the federal government does. Always worth checking your specific state's rules.