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Something nobody mentioned yet - if you have a regular W-2 job AND self-employment income, you still need to report the self-employment income even if it's under $400. The $400 threshold is just for paying the self-employment tax (Social Security/Medicare), but you still pay income tax on all your earnings. I learned this the hard way when I got a letter from the IRS about unreported income from a small web design project I did.
Wait seriously? So even if I only make like $200 from dog walking, I still need to report it? Does that mean I need all those complicated self employment forms too or just report it as extra income somewhere? This is exactly the kind of detail that confuses me.
Yes, you still need to report it, but it's not as complicated as it sounds. You'll need to fill out a Schedule C to report your business income and expenses, but it's pretty straightforward for a simple side gig like dog walking. You won't need to pay the self-employment tax (the Social Security and Medicare portion) if your net profit is under $400, but you'll still include that income on your regular 1040 form and potentially pay income tax on it depending on your overall tax situation. Many tax software programs will walk you through this pretty easily.
Dylan Cooper
Jumping in to add something important - keep GOOD RECORDS of your self-employment income and expenses! I've been self-employed for 3 years and the biggest thing that saved me was creating a simple spreadsheet from day one. Log every payment you receive and every expense related to your work. Take photos of receipts. If you use your car for business, track miles. It's so much easier to do this as you go than to try reconstructing everything at tax time.
What kind of expenses can I actually deduct? I do graphic design from my apartment. Can I deduct part of my rent? Internet? My computer? How do you calculate all that?
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Has anyone used the IRS Free File program with both W-2 and 1099 income? Or is it better to just pay for TurboTax or something? My income is under the limit but idk if it works well with self-employment stuff.
I used IRS Free File with FreeTaxUSA last year with both W-2 and 1099 income. It worked pretty well and handled my Schedule C without issues. The federal filing was completely free, and I only paid like $15 for state filing. Way cheaper than TurboTax which wanted to charge me $120+ for self-employment income.
Maya Lewis
With your income mix, don't forget that you should have been making quarterly estimated tax payments on that 1099 income! I made this mistake my first year freelancing and got hit with underpayment penalties. If you haven't been making quarterly payments, you'll likely have an additional penalty on top of what you owe.
Nick Kravitz
ā¢Oh no, I definitely haven't made any quarterly payments. I had no idea I needed to do that. How bad are these penalties usually? Is there any way to avoid them at this point?
Maya Lewis
ā¢Unfortunately, there's no way to completely avoid the penalties now for 2023 since those quarterly payments should have been made throughout last year (typically due in April, June, September, and January). The penalty is basically interest on the amount you should have paid. For perspective, the penalty rate is currently around 8% annually, so if you should have been paying roughly $3,000 each quarter ($12,000 total for the year), the penalty might be around $500-800 depending on how late each payment was. Not catastrophic, but definitely an unnecessary expense.
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Myles Regis
Former bank employee here. The Payer's TIN should absolutely be on the 1099-R. It sounds like you might be dealing with an employee who doesn't understand tax documents. Try calling and specifically asking for their tax document department or someone in operations rather than a regular teller or customer service rep. Ask them to send a corrected 1099-R with the TIN included. If they stonewall you, you can try looking up the bank's EIN online. For larger banks, it's often publicly available. You can search "[Bank Name] EIN" or check their investor relations page.
Brian Downey
ā¢If I use a bank's EIN I found online and it's wrong, will I get in trouble with the IRS? I'm in a similar situation.
Myles Regis
ā¢If you make a good faith effort to get the correct information and document your attempts, you won't get in trouble. The IRS understands these situations happen. If you're using an EIN you found through legitimate research and have documented that the bank refused to provide the correct information, you should be fine. The worst that would happen is the IRS might send a notice about the mismatch, at which point you can explain the situation and provide evidence of your attempts to get the correct information.
Jacinda Yu
Has anyone tried just entering all zeros for the TIN when the bank won't provide it? My tax preparer did that last year when we had a similar issue and nothing bad happened.
DON'T DO THIS! I tried that once and got a CP2000 notice from the IRS about unreported income. They couldn't match the 1099-R to my return because of the missing/incorrect TIN. Ended up having to file an amended return and pay interest.
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Jamal Brown
Don't overthink this! I've been driving for Lyft and Uber on weekends for 3 years while working my regular 9-5. Here's what I do: 1. Track ALL my miles when the app is on (I use Stride - it's free) 2. Save receipts for car washes, phone mounts, etc. 3. Put aside about 25% of what I make from driving 4. At tax time, I use the 1099 from Uber and fill out Schedule C and Schedule SE I've never done quarterly payments and never had an issue. My regular job withholding covers the extra tax. If you're really worried, just put some money aside in case you owe at tax time.
Mei Zhang
ā¢Do you think 25% is enough to set aside? I've heard people say to save 30-35% for self-employment stuff. Also does the mileage deduction really make that big a difference?
Jamal Brown
ā¢I find 25% is plenty for me, but it depends on your tax bracket and how much driving you're doing compared to your main job. If Uber is a small percentage of your total income, 25% should be more than enough. The mileage deduction is HUGE! Last year I drove about 4,200 miles for rideshare and got a deduction of nearly $2,460. That significantly reduced my taxable income from driving. In fact, after the mileage and other deductions, I only had to pay taxes on about 30% of what Uber/Lyft paid me. That's why I emphasize tracking every single mile you drive with the app on.
As a teacher who also drives for DoorDash during breaks, I recommend using the IRS withholding calculator on their website. Input both your teaching income AND estimated gig earnings, and it'll tell you if you need to adjust your W-4 at school to cover the extra income. I just had my school district withhold an extra $50 per paycheck, which covered my DoorDash earnings so I didn't need to bother with quarterly payments. Way simpler than figuring out estimated payments!
Thats actually really smart. I never thought of just adjusting my regular job withholding instead of dealing with quarterly stuff. Does your school district HR department ever question why youre withholding extra?
Evelyn Rivera
Quick question - if I amend my 2022 return for missed mileage, will that increase my chances of being audited? I've heard that filing amendments raises red flags.
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Julia Hall
ā¢Filing an amended return doesn't automatically trigger an audit, but significant changes that substantially reduce your tax liability might get more scrutiny. The key is having proper documentation for your mileage claims. If you have good records (or even reconstructed records based on actual evidence like your delivery history), you shouldn't worry too much. The IRS understands that people make mistakes or learn about deductions they missed.
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Evelyn Rivera
ā¢That makes me feel better, thanks. I have all my delivery records from the apps so I should be able to reconstruct everything if needed. I just didn't want to open a can of worms by amending returns if it meant automatically getting flagged or something!
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Arjun Patel
For those amending multiple years of tax returns for mileage, be strategic about when you file them. Don't send them all at once because that can look suspicious to the IRS. Space them out a few weeks apart. Also, don't forget that if your self-employment net income (after deducting mileage) was over $400 for any of these years, you still owe self-employment tax even if you were below the standard filing threshold. When people say "I made less than the threshold," they're often thinking of income tax, not self-employment tax which kicks in at a much lower level.
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