This is such a timely post for me! I was just selected to be on The Price is Right next month and I've been wondering about the tax implications. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening. A couple of follow-up questions based on what I've learned: 1. For those who've been on game shows, do they typically give you any tax guidance during the taping process, or do they just hand you the 1099-MISC later and leave you to figure it out? 2. I'm seeing conflicting information about estimated quarterly taxes. If I win something substantial (like a car worth $30K+), will I need to make estimated tax payments for the current year, or can I just handle it all when I file my return? 3. Has anyone had success negotiating with the show about the fair market value they assign to prizes? Some of the values mentioned here seem pretty inflated compared to what you could actually buy the same items for. Thanks for sharing all your experiences - this thread is going to save me from making some expensive mistakes!

Just to add another perspective - I won on Jeopardy! two years ago and can confirm everything said here about game show winnings being treated as ordinary income, not gambling income. One thing I'd emphasize is to start setting money aside immediately if you win big prizes. I won $45,000 in cash and some smaller prizes, and even though they withheld taxes from the cash winnings, I still owed about $8,000 more when I filed. The withholding rate they use (usually 24%) often isn't enough if the winnings push you into a higher tax bracket. Also, for anyone going on shows in the future - ask about the "5-day rule" for California. If you're a non-resident who wins on a show filmed in CA, you might be able to avoid California state taxes if you leave the state within 5 days of winning. It's worth looking into depending on your situation and the value of what you win. The whole experience was incredible though, and honestly the taxes are just part of the deal. Better to win and pay taxes than not win at all!

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago and completely understand the panic! The CP81 notice is scary when you first get it, but it's actually pretty routine. Here's what worked for me: First, definitely check your TurboTax account for the acceptance confirmation like others mentioned. But also check your email - TurboTax usually sends a confirmation email with your acceptance date and confirmation number. This is golden evidence that you filed. One thing I learned is that the IRS systems sometimes have glitches where returns get "stuck" in processing even though they were successfully transmitted. My return was actually in their system the whole time, but flagged for manual review which delayed the processing. I ended up responding by mail with my TurboTax acceptance confirmation and a simple cover letter stating "I electronically filed my 2023 tax return on [date] as evidenced by the enclosed confirmation. Please update your records accordingly." Sent it certified mail and got a letter about 4 weeks later confirming everything was resolved. The key is responding quickly and providing clear proof of filing. Don't ignore it hoping it will go away - that's when you can run into real problems with substitute returns and penalties. But if you filed legitimately and have proof, this should resolve pretty smoothly once you respond.

I just want to echo what others have said about not panicking - I know it's easier said than done when you get that intimidating IRS letter! I went through a CP81 situation about a year ago and it really does resolve much more smoothly than you'd expect. One additional tip I'd suggest: if you're having trouble locating your TurboTax confirmation, check your spam/junk email folder. I spent hours looking through my regular inbox before finding the acceptance email buried in spam. TurboTax confirmations sometimes get flagged by email filters. Also, when you do respond (whether by mail or online), make sure to keep the CP81 notice itself in a safe place even after you resolve this. I needed to reference mine months later when dealing with a state tax issue, and having that documentation was really helpful for proving the timeline of events. The whole process taught me to be much better about keeping tax records organized. Now I create a dedicated folder each year for all confirmations, notices, and correspondence. It's one of those things you don't think about until you need it!

Might be a dumb question but does taking online classes from your home country count as being "present in the US" for the substantial presence test? I was stuck in my home country during part of 2022 due to COVID but still enrolled in US university online.

Just wanted to add some clarity about the 5-year exempt period for F-1 students since there seems to be some confusion in the thread. The 5 calendar years start counting from the first year you were present in the US on F-1 status, regardless of how many days you were actually here. So for the original poster who first entered in 2019, your exempt years would be 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. This means 2024 would be your first year where days count toward the substantial presence test. However, since you were only present for about 240 days in 2024 (and this is your first countable year), you likely don't meet the substantial presence test yet and would still file as a non-resident alien using Form 1040NR. One important thing to remember: even as a non-resident alien, your US-source income (like your on-campus job) is still fully taxable. You'll report this on Form 1040NR, and depending on your home country's tax treaty with the US, you might qualify for certain exemptions or reduced tax rates.

Just to clarify the main question here - yes, if you file and owe taxes, you absolutely have to pay them regardless of whether filing was required or not. The IRS doesn't care if you filed voluntarily - once you submit that return, you're locked into whatever tax liability it shows. However, given your income level, you're likely looking at owing around $1,500-1,700 in self-employment tax (as Isabella mentioned), but you'll probably qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit which could reduce or eliminate what you owe. Plus you can deduct business expenses to lower your taxable income. My advice: definitely file since you're required to anyway (that $400 self-employment threshold applies to you), but make sure you claim all possible deductions and credits. You might be surprised and end up with a refund instead of owing money!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year! I made about $10,800 from freelance work and was also confused about the filing requirements. Here's what I learned: Yes, you absolutely have to file because of the $400 self-employment threshold, and yes, you have to pay whatever taxes you owe once you file. BUT - and this is important - make sure you're taking advantage of every deduction and credit available to you. I ended up owing about $1,400 in self-employment tax, but after claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit ($538 for my situation), deducting my home office space, and claiming legitimate business expenses like my laptop and internet costs, I actually got a small refund of $127! The biggest mistake I almost made was not keeping track of my business expenses throughout the year. Even small things like printer paper, pens, and software subscriptions added up to over $800 in deductions. Start gathering those receipts now - you'll be surprised how much you can legitimately deduct. Don't let the fear of owing money keep you from filing. With your income level and the credits available, you might actually come out ahead!

I've been following this thread and wanted to add something that might help with the transcript confusion - the IRS actually has a pretty detailed publication (Pub 5307) that explains how to read wage and income transcripts. It maps out exactly what each code means and which boxes on your W-2 they correspond to. What really helped me when I was in a similar situation was printing out both the transcript and this publication, then going line by line to make sure I understood what each entry meant before entering anything on my tax forms. The transcript codes can be really confusing (like "WH-FIT" for federal income tax withheld), but once you have the decoder it becomes much clearer. You can download Pub 5307 directly from the IRS website. It's only about 6 pages long but it saved me from making some costly mistakes when I was trying to file with just my transcript. Just thought this might be useful for anyone else dealing with transcript interpretation issues!

As someone who's dealt with this exact situation multiple times, I want to emphasize that you're definitely on the right track with the wage and income transcript - it's completely acceptable for federal filing and contains all the key information the IRS needs. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that if you're really pressed for time and can't get your state withholding information sorted out, you might want to consider filing your federal return first using the transcript data, then handling your state return separately once you track down that information. Many states have later deadlines than the federal April 15th deadline anyway. Also, for future reference, I'd highly recommend setting up an online account with your state's tax agency if they offer one. Many states now provide digital access to your withholding information similar to how the IRS provides transcripts. It's one of those things that seems obvious in hindsight but can really save you in situations like this. The main thing is don't panic - you have several good options here and the IRS understands that sometimes documents get lost. The transcript route is legitimate and widely used by tax professionals when clients are missing their W-2s.