I went through this exact same situation with my small consulting business last year! The unemployment office really just wants to see that you're being transparent about your business income (or lack thereof). What worked for me was creating a very simple one-page document with these sections: **Business Information:** Your LLC name, your name, ownership percentage, time period **Revenue:** All money received from sales ($980 in your case) **Expenses:** Break these down by category: - Initial equipment investment: $3,200 - Cost of goods sold (inventory): $600 (4 months × $150) - Transportation/mileage for restocking - Any permits, licenses, or other startup costs **Net Loss:** Show the clear loss you're operating at The unemployment representative I spoke with said they see these all the time and they're really just checking that you're not hiding significant income. Since you're clearly operating at a loss, this should actually help demonstrate that your business isn't affecting your benefit eligibility. Keep it simple, honest, and well-organized - that's all they need!

I actually just went through this process myself with my small handmade jewelry business! The unemployment office was really understanding - they just needed to see that I wasn't hiding significant income while collecting benefits. Here's what I learned: Keep your P&L super straightforward. List your total sales revenue at the top, then break down expenses into clear categories (equipment, supplies, materials, etc.). For your vending machine, that $3,200 equipment cost definitely shows you're invested in the business but not profiting yet. One tip that helped me: Include a brief note at the bottom explaining the nature of your business and that you're still in the startup phase. Something like "Specialty vending machine business launched 4 months ago, currently reinvesting all revenue into inventory and equipment." This context helps them understand why you're showing a loss. Also, don't stress about making it look super professional - mine was literally a basic Word document with clear headings and they accepted it without question. The key is being transparent and organized, not fancy formatting. Your situation actually demonstrates exactly what they want to see - someone being honest about a side business that isn't generating significant income yet.

Hey CyberSamurai! First off, congratulations on the raise - that's awesome! And don't worry, you're definitely not alone in this situation. What you're experiencing is incredibly common and you didn't do anything wrong. Here's what happened: When you got your raise in August, your employer's payroll system started withholding taxes based on your new $62K salary, but it doesn't know or adjust for the fact that you were making less money earlier in the year. So for January through July, taxes were being withheld as if you'd make $47K all year, and then August onwards, it switched to withholding as if you'd make $62K all year. The reality is your actual annual income for 2025 fell somewhere in between. The jump from getting a $1,200 refund to owing $840 might seem dramatic, but it actually shows that your total tax withholding was pretty close to what you actually owed - just slightly under. In some ways, this is better than getting a huge refund, since you kept more of your own money throughout the year instead of giving the government an interest-free loan. Moving forward, definitely update your W-4 now that you're settled into your new salary. The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator on their website is really helpful for figuring out the right settings. Since your income is now consistent at the higher level, next year should be much more predictable. You've got this! $840 is manageable, and if you need to, the IRS offers payment plans with reasonable terms.

This is completely normal and you're definitely not alone! When you get a substantial raise mid-year like that, it creates a perfect storm for owing taxes instead of getting a refund. Think about it this way: for the first 7 months of 2025, your employer withheld taxes assuming you'd make $47K for the entire year. Then starting in August, they began withholding based on a $62K annual salary. But your actual income for 2025 was somewhere between those two amounts, and the withholding system can't retroactively adjust for that mismatch. Plus, jumping from $47K to $62K likely pushed some of your income into a higher tax bracket, which affects your overall tax liability. The withholding tables just aren't designed to handle these mid-year income jumps perfectly. The good news? Owing $840 after a $15K raise actually shows your withholding was reasonably close to your actual tax liability. You're in that sweet spot where you didn't give the government a huge interest-free loan (which is what big refunds represent) but also didn't massively underpay. For next year, definitely update your W-4 using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Now that you're settled at your new salary level, the withholding should be much more accurate going forward. And if $840 is tight to pay all at once, the IRS has payment plan options available. Congrats on the raise, and try not to stress too much about this - it's really a common situation!

One other thing nobody's mentioned - check if your parents ever filed Form 5498-ESA. This form reports Coverdell ESA contributions for each year, and your parents should have received one for each year they contributed. If they kept their tax records, these forms would provide official documentation of the contribution amounts.

I went through this exact same headache two years ago with my own Coverdell ESA! The blank basis on the 1099-Q is so frustrating when you're trying to file. Here's what worked for me: I started by gathering every single statement I could find, then created a spreadsheet tracking all contributions chronologically. Don't forget to check for any contributions that might have come from grandparents or other relatives - those count toward your basis too. One thing that really helped was calling TD Ameritrade directly (not just emailing) and asking to speak with someone in their retirement/education account department. Even though they don't track basis, they sometimes have more detailed transaction histories than what shows up on your regular statements. They were able to pull up some older contribution records that I didn't have. Also, if your parents ever rolled money from one Coverdell to another (like when you transferred ownership), make sure you account for the full contribution history, not just what happened after the transfer. The good news is that once you figure out your basis, the tax software should handle the rest pretty smoothly. FreeTaxUSA is actually pretty good with education account distributions once you have the right numbers.

I went through this exact same situation with our family plumbing business partnership last year. We got hit with a $3,400 penalty for late 1065 filing due to similar circumstances (our CPA had health issues and we had some missing K-1s from a subcontractor). Here's what worked for us: we ended up going with the reasonable cause route since we had good documentation. The key things that helped our case were: 1. A letter from our CPA explaining his unavailability during the critical filing period 2. Email chains showing we were actively trying to get our documents together before the deadline 3. Records showing we filed an extension request (even though we missed the original deadline) We sent everything by certified mail to the address on our penalty notice, and it took about 8 weeks to get a response. They approved our reasonable cause request and removed the entire penalty. One thing I'd add to what others have said - if you're a small partnership like us, make sure to emphasize in your letter that you typically handle your tax obligations responsibly. The IRS seems to look more favorably on small businesses that can show they're not habitually non-compliant. Good luck! These penalties are brutal for small businesses, but there's definitely hope for getting them removed with the right approach.

I've been dealing with IRS penalty issues for our small accounting firm partnership, and I wanted to share what I learned about the documentation requirements since that seems to be a common question here. For reasonable cause requests, the IRS really wants to see a clear timeline that shows you made good faith efforts to comply but couldn't due to circumstances beyond your control. In your case with the accountant's family emergency and office flooding, here's what I'd recommend including: 1. **Accountant documentation**: A brief letter from your accountant stating the nature of the emergency, dates they were unavailable, and when they notified you they couldn't complete the return 2. **Flooding documentation**: Insurance claims, photos of damaged records, repair estimates - anything showing the scope and timing of the damage 3. **Communication records**: Emails or texts showing you were actively trying to gather documents and complete the filing before the deadline 4. **Timeline of events**: A clear chronological explanation of what happened when, and what steps you took to try to file on time The key is showing that despite these events, you were still trying to meet your obligations. The IRS distinguishes between taxpayers who ignore their responsibilities and those who face genuine obstacles while still making good faith efforts. One more tip: if this is truly your first penalty for late filing, definitely consider the first-time abatement route first - it's much simpler and doesn't require proving your specific circumstances were reasonable cause.

just upload it to taxr.ai and stop stressing. literally changed everything for me and now i help all my family use it too. way better than trying to piece everything together from reddit posts

Hey! I totally get the stress of waiting for a refund that size. Based on what you've shared, your cycle code 20250503 means your return was processed in 2025, week 05 (early February), on day 03 (Wednesday). The processing date of 02-17-2025 aligns with this. Looking at your transaction codes, the TC 150 shows your return was accepted, and you have withholdings (TC 806) and credits (TC 766, TC 768) that will result in your $8,462 refund. The fact that you're seeing these codes is actually good news - it means everything is moving through the system normally. Typically, refunds are issued 21 days from the processing date, so you'd be looking at around March 10th give or take a few days. Since you filed HOH with EIC, there might be additional review time, but your transcript doesn't show any hold codes which is positive. Keep checking your transcripts weekly - you'll want to look for a TC 846 code which will show your actual refund date. Hang in there!