Thanks for mentioning this! My income is around 350% of the federal poverty line. Do you know roughly what the repayment cap would be at that level? And where exactly is the repayment limitation section in Publication 974?

The repayment limitation section is in Chapter 5 of Publication 974, usually around page 30-32 depending on which version you're looking at. For income between 300-400% of the federal poverty line, the repayment cap for 2024 is approximately $2,850 if you're filing as single, and about $5,700 if you're filing as married filing jointly. Those are the maximum amounts you'd have to repay regardless of how much premium tax credit you received in advance. Since your income is around 350% FPL, this cap would apply to you, which could save you quite a bit if your total advance payments were higher than that cap.

I used TurboTax for a similar marketplace/employer insurance overlap situation. It was slightly better than H&R Block - it has a guided interview that specifically asks about employer coverage availability month by month. It also directly references the relevant sections of Publication 974 and explains what you need to do more clearly. That said, it still took me a couple hours to figure everything out, and I had to manually look up some information. The interface for entering the 1095-A information is pretty similar across all the major software options.

Thanks for the feedback! Think I'll give TurboTax a try - anything that makes this process easier is worth it. Did TurboTax automatically adjust your refund/amount owed when you entered the correct information about employer coverage availability?

How detailed did you have to get with your documentation? Did you need to show that you had a separate room entirely, or would a dedicated portion of a room work if it's clearly separated and only used for business?

You don't necessarily need a separate room, though that's ideal and easiest to defend. A dedicated portion of a room can work if there's a clear division (like a partition) and you can demonstrate that particular area is used exclusively for business. In my audit, I had to provide multiple photos from different angles, measurements, and a floor plan showing the relationship of the office to the rest of the house. I also had to provide a written explanation of how I use the space, when I use it, and affirm that there was no personal use. They were particularly interested in whether there was a TV, bed, or other personal items in the space.

The simplified method is definitely easier but often results in a smaller deduction. When I ran both calculations for my 250 sq ft home office, the regular method gave me about $3,800 in deductions while the simplified would have been only $1,250. Worth doing the math both ways.

Does the electronic version work the same for filing? My tax guy always wants the "official" form and I'm worried the electronic one won't count.

The electronic version is exactly the same as the paper one for tax filing purposes - it contains all the same information and is considered an "official" form by the IRS. Your tax preparer can use it just like the paper version. I actually find the electronic ones better because there's no risk of faded print that scanners can't read properly. Plus you can download it as a PDF and keep it stored safely without worrying about losing the physical copy. Just make sure you save it somewhere secure since it has your Social Security number on it.

Last year mine had the wrong state tax withholding amount. Double check all the numbers against your final paystub of the year! Box 1 (wages) and Box 2 (federal tax withheld) are the most important to verify. If there's a mistake, contact HR immediately for a corrected W-2.

At what income level do you need to start doing the quarterly payments? I'm just starting out and made like $800 last year from my art channel.

The general rule is if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes for the year (after accounting for any withholding from other jobs), you should make quarterly payments. At $800 total income, you're probably fine waiting until tax time, especially if you have another job with withholding. But as your content income grows, keep an eye on it. Many creators don't realize they need to start making these payments until they get hit with penalties. I recommend setting aside 25-30% of your creator earnings for taxes just to be safe.

You don't need to track each individual deposit for tax purposes. What matters is the total income for the year. However, keeping a spreadsheet of your deposits can help you reconcile your total earnings against what the platform reports. What I do is download the annual tax summary from Etsy, which shows gross sales, fees, shipping costs, etc. That's the document you'll use for your Schedule C, not your bank deposits (which won't show fees taken out).

That spreadsheet approach sounds really helpful! Do you have any template or example you could share? Also, does your spreadsheet account for the half-year convention that applies in the first year for most MACRS assets?

I don't have a shareable template, but I can describe how I set it up. I created columns for: Asset Description, Date Acquired, Cost Basis, Recovery Period, and then a row for each year of depreciation showing the percentage and calculated amount. Yes, my spreadsheet definitely accounts for the half-year convention! That's one of the most important aspects of MACRS. For 7-year property, I use the standard MACRS percentages: 14.29% in year 1 (reflecting half-year convention), 24.49% in year 2, 17.49% in year 3, and so on. The spreadsheet automatically applies these percentages to the basis amount.

This is only partially correct. The 50% rule doesn't automatically force you to use ADS. It limits your Section 179 expensing, but you can still use regular MACRS for depreciation. The actual rule is that if business use drops BELOW 50%, then you must switch to ADS.