Can you really just decide which year to count income in? I thought you had to report income in the year you receive it, not when you decide to invoice for it?

It depends on your accounting method. If you're on a cash basis (which most small businesses and freelancers are), you report income when you receive it, not when you earn it. So if you complete work in December but don't send the invoice until January, you'll receive and report that income in the following tax year. This is totally legitimate as long as you're not artificially manipulating when you actually receive payments. You can't deposit a check and not record it - that would be illegal. But you can time when you bill clients and when you make business purchases within reason.

I've used it for clients with seasonal businesses. It's more paperwork (Form 2210 Schedule AI), but it can be worth it if your income is heavily concentrated in certain periods. Basically, you calculate your required payment for each quarter based on what you actually earned that quarter, not 1/4 of your annual income.

While rescheduling will help with 280E issues, banking is a separate problem governed by different regulations. The SAFE Banking Act would be needed to fully address financial services access. That said, some banks might be more willing to work with cannabis businesses after rescheduling since it reduces certain legal risks. Still, expect many institutions to remain cautious until there's explicit banking legislation.

Thanks for that clarification. I've been trying to explain to clients that these are separate issues. Do you have any recommendations for cash-heavy businesses in the meantime? The lack of banking creates so many tax reporting and documentation problems.

There hasn't been any official indication about FinCEN guideline updates, but it would be logical to expect changes there as well. Rescheduling should trigger a cascade of regulatory reviews across multiple agencies. The current SAR filing requirements were designed for Schedule I substances, so they should theoretically be revised to reflect the new status. However, until something is officially announced, financial institutions will likely continue following current guidelines. These administrative processes tend to move slowly and often with minimal coordination between agencies. I'd recommend continuing to follow current compliance protocols while staying alert for updates.

1 Thanks, I didn't even think about freezing my credit! Do you know if there's any downside to doing this? Will it affect anything with my existing accounts?

14 No downside to your existing accounts - those all continue to work normally. Credit cards, loans, anything already open is completely unaffected. The freeze only prevents NEW accounts from being opened. The only minor inconvenience is that you need to temporarily lift the freeze when you want to apply for new credit (like a car loan or new credit card). This just requires logging into the credit bureau websites or calling them to lift the freeze temporarily - you can even specify exactly how long you want it lifted for.

16 Did you have any issues getting the IP PIN? I tried getting one online but couldn't pass their identity verification (they asked about an old loan I don't remember details about). Is there another way to get it?

What about quarterly tax payments? I heard you need to make those when self-employed, but I've never done them before. How do you figure out how much to pay each quarter?

Quarterly tax payments are definitely something you need to handle. The IRS expects you to pay taxes throughout the year, not just at filing time. For someone making $75k in self-employment income, not making quarterly payments will likely result in penalties. The simplest way to handle this is to use the "safe harbor" provision - pay either 90% of this year's tax obligation or 100% of last year's tax (110% if your income was over $150k). I personally use an online calculator at the beginning of each year to estimate my quarterly payments, then set calendar reminders for the due dates: April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year.

I work with 3 different exchanges and only the US-based one sends me a 1099-NEC. The other two (based in Asia) don't provide any tax documents at all. I just download my commission reports and use those as documentation. My accountant says this is pretty common with international companies - they don't always comply with US reporting requirements.

Not a dumb question at all! For tax purposes, the nature of the service generally doesn't matter - all self-employment income gets reported on Schedule C. The IRS doesn't treat "phone service" income differently than tutoring or other services. What DOES matter is properly classifying whether you're an employee (W-2) or independent contractor (1099), and ensuring you keep good records of business expenses that could be deductible. You might also need to look into quarterly estimated tax payments if your side income is substantial.

Thanks for clarifying! That makes me feel better. One follow-up question - do I need to be super specific about the nature of the service when filling out Schedule C, or can I just put something general like "consulting services"?

Thanks for pointing that out! I definitely plan to report the income properly. I was mainly trying to figure out the timing (this year vs. next) and what forms I'd need. Sounds like I should probably just provide my SSN now and deal with it on this year's taxes instead of waiting. Really appreciate everyone's advice!

You're making a smart choice! It's always better to handle tax situations promptly rather than letting them linger. And yes, providing your SSN now would be the proper approach - you'll get the correct documentation (likely a 1099-NEC), which will make reporting much simpler. One other tip: since this is self-employment income, keep track of any related expenses that might be deductible. Even for a small amount like $850, deductions can still help reduce your tax liability a bit. Good luck with your taxes!