Try FreeTaxUSA instead. I used it for my student and server taxes and it was actually free for federal (state was like $15). They don't pull that bait and switch nonsense that TurboTax and H&R Block do.

The American Opportunity Credit is usually better though if you qualify (up to $2,500 vs $2,000 for Lifetime Learning). Plus AOTC is partially refundable while LLC isn't. But yeah if you've used AOTC for 4 years already or don't meet other requirements, Lifetime Learning is a great backup!

Still getting timeout errors on my end. What browser are you using? I'm wondering if that's making a difference.

I'm using Chrome with all extensions disabled. Try clearing your cache completely and restarting your browser. I also found that using their mobile site rather than the full desktop version seems more stable right now. If you're still having trouble, try logging in from a different device entirely. I switched from my office computer to my personal laptop and that's when it finally worked.

100% agree. I've started telling clients April 10th is the "deadline" just to build in this buffer. Still had a few stragglers insisting on April 15th filing though, and now look at this mess. TaxWise should offer partial refunds for today's outage.

Can you explain more about this S-Corp election thing? At what income level does it actually start making sense from a tax perspective?

The S-Corp election starts making financial sense when your business profit is high enough that the tax savings exceed the additional costs of maintaining an S-Corp. For most small businesses, that's typically around $60,000-$80,000 in annual profit. The primary tax advantage comes from splitting your income between a reasonable salary (which still gets hit with self-employment tax) and distributions (which avoid self-employment tax). But there are additional costs - you'll need payroll processing, more complex tax filings, and possibly higher accountant fees. It's definitely not worth it for businesses with modest profits.

Which state are you in? Some states have crazy high annual LLC fees! California is brutal at $800/year minimum.

I did call them but the office manager wasn't sure. They just said their accountant told them to issue 1099s for all referral partners who got over $600. They don't care how I file it on my end, just that they reported the payment to the IRS.

That makes sense - the $600 threshold is the standard for when businesses must issue 1099s. Based on that and what others have said here, it sounds like Schedule C is definitely your answer. The cleaning company is treating you as an independent contractor for these referrals (separate from your regular HVAC employment). Remember that with Schedule C income, you're responsible for both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes, which comes out to about 15.3%. That's calculated on Schedule SE. You'll want to make sure you're setting aside enough to cover this additional tax burden.

The home office deduction is super strict though. You need a space used EXCLUSIVELY for business. If you use your dining table for paperwork but also eat there, it doesn't qualify.

You're absolutely right about the exclusive use requirement. The space must be used regularly and exclusively for business purposes to qualify for the home office deduction. A dedicated desk or room that's only used for managing these referrals would qualify, but a multi-purpose space like a dining table wouldn't. It's also worth mentioning that there are two methods for calculating the home office deduction: the regular method (based on actual expenses and the percentage of your home used for business) and the simplified option (a standard deduction based on the square footage of your office space). For someone with a small amount of self-employment income like the OP, the simplified method might be easier.

Does this still apply if the old house was vacant for the last month of 2022? We moved out completely but it didn't sell until 2023, so it was just sitting empty for December 2022.

Yes, it absolutely still applies even if the house was vacant. The mortgage interest deduction is based on ownership of a qualified residence, not occupancy. As long as you owned the home and it was either your primary residence or second home for some portion of the year, you can deduct the interest you paid. The IRS actually allows for temporary absences (even if you're not physically living there) as long as the home is not rented out during that period. So your vacant house in December still qualifies for the mortgage interest deduction on your 2022 taxes.

I used TurboTax last year for a similar situation and it had a specific section where you could enter multiple mortgage interest statements. Look for something like "I have more than one mortgage" or "Add another 1098 form" option. It should be somewhere after you enter the first 1098. For the $750k limit, the software should automatically calculate this if you enter all your mortgage information correctly, including the date each mortgage originated and the original loan amounts.

Thanks for the suggestion! I looked again and found a tiny "Add another property" button I completely missed before. Now I see where to enter both properties. Still confused about the $750k limit though - I guess I'll just trust the software to calculate it correctly.