As someone who's been dealing with both US and international tax compliance for years, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help other expats: 1. **Keep detailed records**: For Form 8938, you'll need to track not just year-end values but also the highest balance during the year. I recommend taking screenshots of your account balances monthly, especially for accounts that fluctuate significantly. 2. **Currency conversion timing matters**: Use the Treasury's published exchange rates for the specific dates you're reporting. Don't just use average rates or whatever Google shows you - the IRS expects you to use their official rates. 3. **Australian superannuation complexity**: While your super is technically reportable on Form 8938, there are ongoing debates about whether it should also be reported on Forms 3520/3520-A as a foreign trust. The IRS hasn't provided clear guidance, so many practitioners take a conservative approach and report it on multiple forms. 4. **P2P lending platforms**: These can be tricky. If you're lending directly to individuals, it's likely "other financial assets." If the platform pools funds and you own units/shares in a fund, it's probably custodial. Check your statements to see exactly what you own. Remember that Form 8938 and FBAR have different thresholds and requirements, so you might need to file one but not the other depending on your account values.

Just went through this exact situation last year as a fellow Aussie expat! Your regular bank accounts (CommBank savings, etc.) are definitely deposit accounts - pretty straightforward there. For your trading platform shares, that's a custodial account since the platform holds the securities on your behalf. Your superannuation is also custodial, though as others mentioned, there might be treaty protections to consider. The P2P lending is the tricky one - it really depends on the platform structure. If it's something like RateSetter or SocietyOne where you're essentially buying loan parts directly, that's usually "other financial assets." If it's more like a managed fund where you own units, then custodial. One thing I learned the hard way: make sure you're converting to USD using the Treasury rates for the actual dates, not just year-end rates for everything. Also, keep really good records of your highest balances during the year - I had to go back through 12 months of statements to find peak values. The good news is once you get the hang of the classifications, subsequent years are much easier. And don't forget about FBAR filing if your combined account values hit $10K+ at any point!

Just wanted to add something that might help other creators reading this - don't forget about quarterly estimated taxes! Since Patreon and other platforms don't withhold taxes like a regular employer would, you're responsible for paying estimated taxes throughout the year if you expect to owe $1,000 or more. I learned this the hard way my second year when my channel grew and I suddenly owed a big chunk at tax time plus underpayment penalties. Now I set aside about 25-30% of my creator income in a separate savings account and pay quarterly estimates. It makes tax season much less stressful! The IRS has a safe harbor rule where if you pay at least 100% of last year's tax liability through withholding and estimated payments (110% if your prior year AGI was over $150k), you won't owe penalties even if you end up owing more at filing time. This gives you some flexibility as your creator income fluctuates.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with my podcast Patreon - made about $900 last year and was wondering the same thing about reporting requirements. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from my accountant: even though you need to report all income regardless of amount, there's actually a threshold for when you need to file Schedule SE (self-employment tax). If your net profit from self-employment is less than $400, you don't have to pay self-employment tax on it, though you still report the income on Schedule C. So for someone like you who made $1,350, if your business expenses bring your net profit below $400, you'd still report the income but wouldn't owe the additional 15.3% self-employment tax. That could be significant savings! Definitely worth tracking those software subscriptions and equipment purchases you mentioned.

One important thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure your margin interest is actually for investment purposes! If you've used margin for personal expenses (even temporarily), that portion of the interest isn't deductible. Also, keep in mind that if your investment generates tax-exempt income (like municipal bonds), you can't deduct the margin interest associated with those investments. The IRS has allocation rules if you have both taxable and tax-exempt investment income.

Make sure you keep really good records! I got audited specifically on my investment interest expense deduction last year because I had a large amount ($47k) compared to my portfolio size. Had to provide statements showing all my margin positions and trading activity. The IRS was particularly interested in the connection between my margin use and investment activities. They wanted to confirm I wasn't deducting interest for leverage used for personal expenses.

Three weeks is definitely way too long! I had a similar situation earlier this year - my SBTPG check was supposed to arrive in 7-10 business days but took almost a month. Turns out it got stuck at a distribution center due to staffing issues. You should definitely call them at 800-901-6663 ASAP. Have your SSN, exact refund amount, and filing info ready because they'll need to verify everything before they can help you. Ask them to put a trace on the check - they can tell you if it was delivered somewhere, returned to them, or lost in transit. Also double-check that the address they have matches your tax return exactly. I mean EXACTLY - down to apartment numbers, street abbreviations, everything. Even tiny differences can cause major delivery problems. The frustrating part is if it's actually lost, they make you wait 30 days from when it was originally mailed before they'll cancel and reissue. But don't wait any longer to start the process - better to get that clock ticking now rather than wonder for another week. I know it's super stressful when your refund seems to disappear, but hang in there! In most cases these do get resolved, it just takes longer than anyone wants. Good luck!

Three weeks is definitely too long for a SBTPG check - I'd be calling them right now if I were you! Normal delivery time is usually 7-10 business days, so you're well past that. I went through something similar last year where my check took forever to arrive. When I finally called their customer service at 800-901-6663, it turned out there was an issue with my address (they had my apartment number wrong by one digit). Make sure you have your SSN, exact refund amount, and filing info ready when you call - they'll need all of that to verify your identity before they can tell you anything. Ask them to do a check trace to see exactly what happened - whether it was delivered, returned, or lost somewhere in the mail system. The frustrating part is if it's truly lost, they make you wait 30 days from the original mail date before they'll cancel and reissue a new one. But don't wait any longer to start that process - better to get the ball rolling now. Also double-check that your mailing address matches your tax return exactly. Even small differences can cause major delivery problems. Hope you get it sorted out soon!

This is really helpful info! I'm in a similar boat with a PayPal 1099-K from sports betting. One thing I'm still confused about - if I had sessions where I won on some days and lost on others, do I need to report each winning session separately, or can I just report my total net winnings for the year? For example, let's say I had 10 betting sessions: won $500 in 4 sessions (total $2,000 in winnings) but lost $300 in 6 sessions (total $1,800 in losses). My net profit was $200. Do I report $2,000 as gambling winnings on Schedule 1 and then claim $200 worth of losses on Schedule A? Or do I just report the $200 net as gambling income? I've been going back and forth on this and want to make sure I handle it correctly with the PayPal 1099-K showing my total withdrawals.

Great question about the PayPal 1099-K situation! I dealt with something similar last year and wanted to share what I learned from my tax preparer. The key thing to understand is that the PayPal 1099-K is just a third-party payment processor reporting form - it's not actually determining your taxable income. PayPal has to send this form when they process over $600 in payments for you, but it doesn't mean that entire amount is taxable income. For your situation, you're absolutely correct about reporting the $8,200 in actual gambling winnings on Schedule 1, Line 8z. The fact that PayPal's 1099-K shows $12,200 doesn't change this - that's just the gross amount they processed in withdrawals. One tip that really helped me: create a simple spreadsheet showing your deposits, withdrawals, and net winnings by month. This makes it easy to reconcile your actual gambling income with what PayPal reported. If the IRS ever questions the difference between your reported income and the 1099-K amount, you'll have clear documentation showing that the 1099-K includes return of your original stake, not just winnings. Also double-check that you didn't receive any W-2G forms from DraftKings directly for individual large wins (usually $600+ and 300x your bet). Those would need to be reported separately from your Schedule 1 reporting.