Thanks for mentioning the state unemployment taxes - I completely forgot about those! Do you know if the QuickBooks payroll service automatically handles those filings or is that something I need to set up separately? And any recommendations on finding a bookkeeper just for year-end stuff? Would I search for someone who specializes in "year-end closing" specifically?

QuickBooks Payroll handles federal and most state payroll taxes, but whether it includes unemployment taxes depends on which tier of service you have. With the higher tiers, they'll calculate and file these automatically, but with basic service you might need to handle filing yourself even if they calculate the amounts. For finding a year-end bookkeeper, I'd recommend searching for someone who specializes in "small business bookkeeping" and specifically mention you need "year-end closing and tax prep assistance." Many bookkeepers offer one-time cleanup services or quarterly/annual packages rather than requiring ongoing monthly work. Check the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers directory or platforms like Upwork where you can filter for people with QuickBooks and tax prep experience.

Does QuickBooks handle the e-filing of 1099-NEC forms? I've been using QB for years but always had my accountant handle the actual filing part.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Quick follow-up question - does getting an EIN mean we have to do anything special with state taxes or is that just for federal?

Getting an EIN is primarily for federal tax purposes, but you'll likely also need to register your business with your state. Most states have a separate business registration process and may issue you a state tax ID number that's different from your federal EIN. You'll need to check your specific state's requirements, but typically you'll need to register with your state's department of revenue or taxation, especially if you'll be collecting sales tax. Many states have online portals now that make this process fairly straightforward.

Be careful with S-Corps though - they require more paperwork, formal payroll processing, and you really need to justify that "reasonable salary." My accountant said for businesses making under $75k in profit it's usually not worth the extra hassle.

Does writing in red actually make a difference? I've never heard of that before. Also, do you have to redo all the calculations from scratch or just the changed portions for the second amendment?

The red ink absolutely helps - it flags the return for special handling in the processing centers. IRS employees are trained to look for these markings on paper returns. It's an old-school trick but still works. For calculations, your second amendment needs to show the correct final figures for your entire tax situation, not just the changes from the previous amendment. Think of each amendment as a complete replacement of your return, showing what it should have been if all information had been available originally. The "changes" column on Form 1040-X should show the difference between your last filed amendment and this new one, not between the original return and this one.

I filed an amended return in December and just got it processed last week, so that's about 3.5 months. My brother filed his in February and already got his processed though, so it seems inconsistent. Might depend on complexity or just luck of the draw.

Thanks for the insider perspective! Should I be worried about this holding up my tax refund? I was planning to file next week and really counting on that money soon.

You shouldn't have any delay in your refund as long as you address the 1098-T properly on your return. If you can contact the university quickly and get clarification before you file, that's ideal. If not, you can still file and include the information from the 1098-T as reported. If you later find out it was an error and get a corrected form, you can always file an amended return. But ignoring it completely could potentially flag your return for review, which would definitely delay your refund. So it's better to include it now based on what you have and make corrections later if needed.

I've had better luck with H&R Block's online software for education stuff. Last year I had three 1098-Ts (don't ask lol) and TurboTax kept getting confused, but H&R Block handled it fine. They have a specific education interview section that walks through all the weird edge cases.

Do you need to set up EFTPS separately for your business and personal taxes? I have both.

You can use the same EFTPS account for both business and personal taxes. When you make a payment, you select the tax form type and enter your tax ID (SSN for personal, EIN for business). The system keeps track of different payment types separately, so you can pay individual 1040-ES payments and business 941/940 payments through the same account. Really convenient if you have both personal and business tax obligations.

Yes! Same problem. I switched to DirectPay on the IRS website instead (when it works) or EFTPS. Payusatax was always slow to credit the payment even though they took the money from my account right away.