If they do have these threshold amounts, why doesn't the IRS just publish them? Seems like it would save everyone a lot of time and stress over tiny amounts.

They don't publish the exact thresholds for a strategic reason. If everyone knew precisely what amount they could "get away with" not reporting, many people would deliberately stay just under that threshold, and the cumulative effect across millions of taxpayers would be significant. The IRS wants everyone to report everything accurately, but they have to allocate their limited enforcement resources effectively. They keep these internal tolerance levels confidential and also change them periodically to prevent systematic abuse.

For overpayments, the calculation is different. You're getting YOUR money back, so it depends on how much your time is worth. A refund of $20 might be worth the 30-45 minutes it takes to prepare and mail a paper amendment. Remember though, paper amendments can take 6-12 months to process currently, so you'll be waiting a while for that $20.

How do you prove mileage if you get audited? I've been taking pics of my odometer before and after shifts... is that enough?

A mileage log is your best bet. You don't need to take pics of your odometer (though it doesn't hurt), but you should record the date, starting location, ending location, purpose of the trip, and total miles driven. There are free apps that can help track this automatically. The IRS mostly wants to see that you have a consistent record-keeping system, not just estimates after the fact. Even a simple spreadsheet or notebook works as long as you update it regularly. If you claim a ton of miles with zero documentation, that's when audit flags can pop up.

While technically all income should be reported, the practical reality is that the IRS is not going to come after you for a few dollars in tax on $38. DoorDash won't issue any tax documents for this amount. That said, it's generally best to develop good tax habits from the start. If this is your only income, you likely wouldn't even need to file. If you have other income requiring you to file anyway, including the $38 is the right thing to do, but realistically, the impact on your tax bill will be minimal and the chances of issues arising from omitting it are extremely low.

Do you have to create an account with the IRS to use their free fillable forms for the extension? And is it actually free or do they try to upsell you?

You do need to create an account on the Free File Fillable Forms site, but it's pretty straightforward. It's completely free with no upsells - it's the official IRS program. It's basically just the raw forms without any guidance, so the extension form (4868) is simple enough, but some people find the complete tax forms overwhelming without software guidance. For just the extension though, it's a great free option.

Yeah, filing an extension will definitely delay your refund since the IRS won't process your actual return until you submit it. The extension just gives you more time to file the paperwork, but your refund won't be processed until after you submit your complete return.

That's a really good point I hadn't considered. I did file pretty early (mid-February) because I usually get a refund. I'm going to log into my brokerage account right now and see if they issued a corrected 1099-B that I missed. If they did, would I need to file an amended return or just respond to the notice with the updated information?

You typically don't need to file an amended return in this case. The response to the notice effectively serves as your correction. In your response letter, you should explain that you filed with the original information provided by your brokerage, and include copies of both the original and corrected 1099-B forms. Make sure to clearly reconcile the differences between what you reported and what the corrected form shows. The IRS mostly wants to see that you can account for the discrepancy and that you're not trying to hide income. They're generally reasonable when the error originated with the brokerage rather than you.

Online response is definitely better when available! But you still need to scan and upload all your supporting documents. I did mine online last year and still had to upload about 20 pages of stock transaction records. But processing time was only about 3 weeks versus the 2+ months it took when I mailed in a response the previous year.

You make a good point about still needing to provide all the documentation. I should have been clearer. The main advantage isn't reducing what you need to submit, but rather the processing time and confirmation. When you submit online, you get an immediate confirmation that they received your response, which gives peace of mind compared to wondering if your mail got lost. The other major advantage is that online responses typically get processed in the order received, while paper responses can get shuffled into various processing backlogs. This is especially important when responding to a notice with a deadline.

Does Etsy charge sales tax? I buy a lot of stuff from small creators there and never really paid attention to whether tax was included.

Etsy began automatically collecting and remitting sales tax in most states starting around 2019, but implementation rolled out gradually. For current purchases, they should be collecting the appropriate sales tax based on your delivery address. If you're calculating use tax for previous years, you'd need to check your receipts. Prior to their automated system, it depended on whether the individual seller collected sales tax, which varied widely. Small sellers below certain thresholds weren't always required to collect tax in all states.

Wait really? So if I went on vacation to Oregon (which has no sales tax) and bought a laptop there, I'd owe use tax in my home state when I got back?