Make sure u update ur W-4 after the baby is born!! I made the mistake of not doing this and was getting way less in my paychecks than I should have. The IRS has an option specifically for reporting a new baby/dependent.

Yes, you can absolutely get back more than you paid in taxes! This is totally normal and legal through refundable tax credits. The big ones for your situation are the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit. With your income around $15,000 and a baby coming, you'll likely qualify for a substantial EITC - potentially around $3,995 for one child. Plus up to $1,600 from the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Since your baby will be born by December 31st, you can claim them for the entire 2024 tax year. These credits were specifically designed to help working families with lower to moderate incomes, so getting back $9,000 when you only paid in $2,700 is exactly how the system is supposed to work. The IRS calculator is accurate - you're not seeing a glitch, you're seeing the safety net in action! Just make sure to keep all your documentation and file accurately. Congratulations on your upcoming arrival!

Make sure you're considering all operational costs of the truck separate from depreciation. I've run a taco truck for 6 years now and wish someone had told me to track everything separately from day one. Create categories for: 1) Fuel 2) Regular maintenance (oil changes etc) 3) Major repairs 4) Permits and licenses (these vary hugely by city/county) 5) Insurance (commercial vehicle policy) 6) Commissary kitchen fees if applicable 7) Point of sale system costs This makes it way easier at tax time and helps you see where your money is actually going!

As someone who's been through the food truck startup process recently, I want to emphasize that you should also consider the timing of when you place the truck "in service" for tax purposes. Since you mentioned you've been operating since August, that's your placed-in-service date - not when you bought it if those dates are different. Also, keep detailed records of any modifications or improvements you make to the truck after purchase. Things like additional cooking equipment, POS system installations, or structural modifications to the kitchen area can often be depreciated separately and sometimes more favorably than the base vehicle. One thing I learned the hard way - if you're planning to expand to multiple trucks in the future, the depreciation strategy you choose now can impact your options later. Section 179 has annual limits that apply across all your business equipment, so if you're thinking about rapid expansion, you might want to discuss with a tax pro whether spreading some depreciation over time makes sense for your long-term plans. Good luck with the empanada business - the food truck industry is challenging but incredibly rewarding when you find your groove!

Just a heads-up for anyone applying for a trust EIN - make sure you're clear about what type of trust you have before starting the application. I messed up and had to call to get it fixed. Estate trusts, living trusts, and testamentary trusts are all handled differently. Double check your paperwork first!!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I ended up going with the online application route after reading through all your advice. @Sophia Gabriel your direct link was exactly what I needed - I had been getting lost in the general IRS website maze. I made sure to gather all my trust documents beforehand and set aside a solid 30 minutes without interruptions. The 15-minute timeout is real, so definitely don't start unless you're ready to finish! For anyone else doing this, the key info you'll need ready is: trust name, date the trust was established, trustee's full name and SSN, and the trust's address. Got my EIN instantly once I submitted the application. The whole process took about 10 minutes once I actually found the right page. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences - it made this so much less stressful!

I'm a CPA who deals with a lot of real estate clients. The most conservative approach is to capitalize and depreciate over 27.5 years. But I've had success with clients documenting the specific useful life of roof coatings (typically 10-15 years based on manufacturer specs) and depreciating over that period. Just make sure you have solid documentation from the manufacturer about the expected lifespan and keep that with your tax records. The key is consistency in how you treat similar expenditures and having documentation to back up your position if audited.

As someone who's dealt with similar situations, I'd recommend getting a structural engineer's assessment of the roof coating project. This documentation can be crucial for tax purposes because it provides independent verification of whether the work is extending useful life (capitalization required) or simply maintaining the existing condition (potentially expensable). The engineer's report should specifically address: 1) The current condition of the roof, 2) What the coating will accomplish (protection vs. restoration), and 3) The expected useful life of the coating itself. This third point is key - if the engineer documents that the coating has a determinable useful life of 15 years based on the specific product and application, you'll have stronger support for depreciating over that period rather than the building's 27.5-year recovery period. I've seen clients successfully use this approach, but it requires good documentation upfront. The cost of the engineering assessment (usually $2-3k) is often worth it when you're dealing with a $135k expenditure.

Great question! You're dealing with what's called "pre-rental" expenses, and the good news is that most of what you described should be deductible. Since you inherited the property in January and placed it in service in October of the same year, with clear intent to rent it out, those repair expenses should qualify for deduction. The key distinction is that repairs like fixing plumbing, patching roof leaks, and general maintenance are typically deductible in the year paid, even if done before officially renting. However, that water heater replacement would likely be considered a capital improvement that needs to be depreciated over 27.5 years (unless it qualifies for the de minimis safe harbor if under $2,500). Make sure to keep detailed records showing your rental intent from the beginning - any correspondence with contractors, rental market research, listing attempts, etc. This documentation will support your position if the IRS ever questions the timing of these deductions. Also consider whether you might qualify for Section 199A deductions on your rental income once you start receiving it - it's worth looking into for additional tax savings!

Just to add another perspective from someone who's been through multiple property acquisitions - timing documentation is absolutely crucial for pre-rental expenses. I learned this the hard way when the IRS audited one of my rental properties a few years back. Beyond what others have mentioned, I'd also suggest documenting any property inspections you had done, communications with property management companies (even if you didn't hire them), and any advertisements or listings you may have posted. The IRS wants to see a clear "business purpose" timeline. One thing that really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet tracking all expenses by category (repairs vs. improvements) with dates and descriptions. It made tax prep so much easier and showed the IRS I was treating this as a legitimate business from day one. Also worth noting - if you did any work yourself on the property, you can't deduct your own labor, but you can deduct materials and any tools you purchased specifically for the rental property work.