Thanks for mentioning this! I do actually use my personal phone to coordinate with the cleaning company about the referrals, and sometimes I drive to meet potential referral clients to assess their needs before connecting them. Would those miles be deductible? And what percentage of my phone bill could I reasonably claim?

Yes, the mileage for driving to meet potential referral clients would absolutely be deductible! Keep a log of those trips with dates, miles driven, and purpose. The current mileage rate for 2025 is 67 cents per mile, which adds up quickly. For your phone, you would deduct the percentage that you use for business purposes. If you use your phone about 30% of the time for these referrals, then you could deduct 30% of your bill. Just make sure you have a reasonable basis for whatever percentage you claim and keep your phone bills as documentation. You might also consider a separate phone line for business if the volume increases.

But you can deduct half of the self-employment tax on your 1040, which helps a little bit at least!

Florida repealed their intangible tax in 2007. There's no Florida state tax on interest income anymore. Been a Florida resident for 20+ years and a tax preparer for 15.

Thanks for the correction! I was confusing it with documentary stamp taxes on other financial instruments. That's why I should check my facts before posting. Good to know Florida residents truly don't have to worry about state taxes on interest income.

I hadn't considered that! Is it too late to do that for this tax year or can I still make a contribution that would count for this filing?

You're in luck! You can still make IRA contributions for the previous tax year until the tax filing deadline (usually April 15th). So you absolutely still have time to make a contribution and have it count for this filing. Just make sure when you make the contribution you specifically tell your financial institution it's for tax year 2024 (assuming that's the year you're filing for). They'll know how to code it properly. Then you can include that deduction in your tax return and it should reduce what you owe.

Thanks for pointing that out about the child support. I didn't think it was deductible but wasn't 100% sure. Do you know if there are any tax benefits I can still get even with the married filing separately status? I'm worried my tax bill is going to be much higher now.

While married filing separately does limit many tax benefits, you can still claim some deductions. You can take your portion of mortgage interest and property taxes if you itemize (though remember you can only deduct what you actually paid). You can still contribute to retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, though income limits for deductible IRA contributions are much lower when filing separately. You might still qualify for the child and dependent care credit if you're the custodial parent, but the income limits are lower. And don't forget that you can still take your standard deduction - it's just half of what joint filers get. Your tax professional can run scenarios to see whether itemizing or taking the standard deduction benefits you more in your specific situation.

Just want to add to this - if you're losing health insurance coverage because of divorce, that counts as a qualifying life event that lets you enroll in a marketplace plan outside of open enrollment. You have 60 days from when you lose coverage to enroll. Don't wait until the divorce is final if your coverage will end before then!

You definitely want to include specific language about how uncovered medical expenses will be split (like 50/50 or proportional to income). Make sure it clearly defines what counts as a medical expense - does it include just doctor visits and prescriptions, or also dental, vision, therapy, and orthodontics? Also include details about who needs to approve non-emergency medical treatments, how information about health issues will be shared between parents, and how reimbursement will work (timeframes for providing receipts and making payments). The more specific you can make these provisions, the fewer conflicts you'll have later. And remember that medical expense arrangements for the children can be modified in the future if circumstances change significantly.

You make a really good point about the regulatory compliance stuff. I hadn't even thought about the FDA labeling requirements. I'm going to ask him specifically about packaging, shipping supplies, and the labels since those definitely couldn't have been "gifted years ago" - they would be ongoing expenses. I've been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the more I think about it, the more impossible it seems to run any business with zero expenses. I'm going to have a more direct conversation with him and explain that I'm trying to help him avoid unnecessary IRS scrutiny.

Glad I could help! The FDA requires supplements to have specific labeling including ingredients, nutrition facts, serving sizes, and various disclaimers. He's definitely paying something for compliant labels unless he's operating completely under the table (which would be a whole different problem). Also consider asking about things like shipping costs, payment processing fees (Venmo might charge business accounts), any social media or advertising costs, and home office expenses if he's producing these at home. Sometimes clients don't realize these all count as legitimate business expenses that would actually reduce his tax liability.

Do business Venmo fees show up separately somewhere? I've been paying them but haven't been tracking them for my small business.

This is super helpful, thank you! Do you know if I would need to file any US tax returns if I'm classified as a non-resident alien? And if I do submit a W-8BEN to PayPal, how long does it typically take for them to process it and stop the 30% withholding?

Yes, you would likely need to file Form 1040NR (U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return) if you have U.S. source income above certain thresholds, even as a non-resident alien. For income received through PayPal that's considered U.S. sourced, you'd generally need to report it. For the W-8BEN processing, PayPal usually takes about 1-2 weeks in my experience, though sometimes it can be faster. The tricky part is determining if your income through PayPal is actually U.S. sourced or not - it depends on where the services were performed or where the payer is located, not just where your PayPal account is based. If you're performing services while physically outside the U.S. for non-U.S. clients, that income might actually be foreign-sourced and not subject to U.S. taxation at all.

This is such a good point! I had a similar situation and ended up double paying taxes because I didn't understand the source rules. Does anyone know if there's a way to explain to PayPal that the income isn't US-sourced even though it's going into a US account?