This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who's dealt with payroll issues before, I wanted to add one more thing to check - make sure your sister's W-4 wasn't accidentally processed under the old allowances system if HR is using outdated forms or procedures. Even though the W-4 was redesigned in 2020, some smaller companies or older payroll systems still try to convert the new format back to "allowances" for their calculations. If someone mistakenly entered a high number of allowances (like 8-10) when trying to interpret her W-4, that could result in extremely low withholding like the $78 you're seeing. Also, given that this is a new job, she should double-check that HR has her correct Social Security number in the system. I've seen cases where a single digit error in the SSN causes the payroll system to default to minimal withholding because it can't properly verify the employee's tax information with IRS databases. The fact that so many people in this thread have shared similar experiences and solutions really shows how common these issues are. The key is catching it early like you did - waiting until tax season would definitely have been painful! Hopefully between checking the W-4, verifying her SSN, and looking into potential system errors, she can get this resolved quickly.

Wow, this thread has been incredibly thorough! I'm impressed by how many different potential causes everyone has identified. As someone who works in tax preparation, I see these withholding issues ALL the time, especially with new employees. Based on everything discussed here, I'd recommend your sister take a three-step approach: 1) **Immediate action**: Get a copy of her W-4 from HR and verify it's filled out correctly. Pay special attention to whether she accidentally claimed exempt status or if there are any errors in her personal information. 2) **Verify payroll setup**: Ask HR to confirm her salary, filing status, start date, and SSN are all entered correctly in their system. As several people mentioned, new employee setup errors are incredibly common. 3) **Calculate catch-up withholding**: Once the issue is identified and fixed, use the IRS withholding calculator to determine if she needs additional withholding for the remaining pay periods to avoid owing a large amount in April. The $78 per paycheck is definitely a red flag for someone making $65k annually. For comparison, that's only about $2,000 in federal withholding for the entire year, which would likely result in owing several thousand dollars at tax time. Acting now could save her from both a huge tax bill and potential underpayment penalties. Good catch on spotting this early!

This whole discussion has been incredibly valuable! As someone who's been considering hiring help but was worried about the tax implications, I now feel much more confident about how to structure this properly. The key takeaways I'm getting are: 1) Keep meticulous records separating business vs personal tasks, 2) Document the measurable business value/ROI from the assistance, 3) Have a written agreement that clearly defines roles and responsibilities, and 4) Be very careful about proper worker classification. I think I'm going to start with a part-time business-only assistant to handle client communications, scheduling, and invoicing. This creates a clean deduction scenario while I test out how much it actually improves my productivity and income. If it works well, I can always expand their role or add personal assistance separately. Has anyone found particular time-tracking apps or documentation systems that work especially well for this type of setup? I want to make sure I'm capturing all the detail needed for tax purposes from day one.

Great thread! I'm also a 1099 contractor and have been thinking about this exact situation. One thing I'd add that might be helpful - if you're in a field where client confidentiality is important (like consulting, legal services, etc.), make sure your assistant signs a confidentiality agreement before handling any business-related tasks. I learned this the hard way when I realized my assistant would potentially have access to client information through scheduling, email management, and file organization. Having that confidentiality protection in place not only protects your clients but also strengthens the business nature of the relationship for tax purposes. Also, for anyone worried about the complexity of all this tracking and documentation - it's really not that bad once you get a system in place. The time you save by having help far outweighs the extra bookkeeping, and knowing you're doing everything correctly gives you peace of mind. Plus, good record-keeping habits benefit your business in other ways too.

I completely understand the confusion and stress you're both feeling! As someone who went through this exact same situation during college, I can confirm that your dad is mixing up different tax rules, which happens to SO many families. The bottom line is this: as a full-time student under 24, there is absolutely NO income limit that would prevent your parents from claiming you as a dependent. You could make $20K, $30K, or even more - it doesn't matter at all for dependency purposes. Your dad is likely thinking of either the $4,300 limit that applies to "qualifying relative" dependents (like elderly parents) or the standard deduction threshold where you'd start owing income tax yourself. Neither of these affects whether your parents can claim you as a qualifying child dependent. The only test that matters is whether your parents provide more than 50% of your total support. With them paying $18,000 for tuition alone, plus presumably covering things like your health insurance, phone bill, car insurance, and housing when you're home, they're almost certainly providing way more than half your support even with your $13,200 in earnings. I'd recommend checking out the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant tool (search "ITA dependency" on irs.gov) - it's free and will give you an official answer in about 5 minutes that you can show your dad. Also look up IRS Publication 501, Table 5, which clearly shows "No limit" for the income test for qualifying child dependents. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts without worry! Your parents will still be able to claim you, and you won't mess up anyone's tax situation. In fact, earning more money helps reduce the financial burden on your family while building your work experience. Win-win!

I just went through this exact same situation with my parents last month! Your dad is definitely mixing up the tax rules - as a full-time student under 24, there's absolutely NO income limit that would disqualify you from being claimed as a dependent. The confusion usually comes from people seeing the $4,300 limit that applies to "qualifying relative" dependents (like elderly parents or non-student relatives), but that doesn't apply to you as a student. You're classified as a "qualifying child" dependent, which has completely different rules. What actually matters for your parents to claim you: 1. You're under 24 and a full-time student ✓ 2. You live with them more than half the year (dorms count as temporary absence) ✓ 3. They provide more than half your total support With your parents paying $18,000 for tuition alone, they're almost certainly providing more than 50% of your total support even with your $13,200 in earnings. When you add up tuition, housing, food, medical expenses, insurance, etc., that tuition payment probably covers the majority right there. The $14,500 figure your dad mentioned is just the standard deduction threshold - that's when YOU would start owing federal income tax on your earnings, but it has zero impact on whether your parents can claim you as a dependent. I'd recommend showing your dad IRS Publication 501, specifically Table 5, which clearly shows "No limit" for the gross income test for qualifying child dependents. That official documentation from the IRS should put his mind at ease immediately. Go ahead and pick up those holiday shifts guilt-free! Your earning more money won't affect your dependency status at all, and it'll actually help reduce the financial burden on your family while giving you valuable work experience.

My situation is a little different - I live with my brother and his kid, and I have my own child. We're both single parents. Our tax guy said only one of us can claim HOH because we share common areas like kitchen, living room etc. Is that right? Now I'm confused after reading all these replies...

I'm in a very similar situation and was worried about this exact issue! My partner and I have been living together for about a year now - I have two kids from my previous marriage and he has one. We've been keeping our finances separate and both filing as HOH, but I was always nervous we might be doing something wrong. Reading through all these responses is really reassuring. The key seems to be documentation - we've been keeping detailed records of who pays what portion of household expenses, and we allocate costs based on household size (my kids and me vs. his kid and him). One thing that helped us was setting up a simple spreadsheet at the beginning of the year to track our contributions. We note the mortgage portion each of us covers, utilities, groceries allocated by household, etc. It makes tax time way less stressful when you have everything documented from the start. Thanks for asking this question - it's helped clarify a lot of confusion I had about shared living situations!

I've been through this exact EFTPS nightmare myself! After reading through all these suggestions, I wanted to add one more thing that helped me - check if your business structure changed between when you enrolled and when you're trying to log in. I had enrolled as a sole proprietor but then formed an LLC a few months later. Even though I was still using my SSN for taxes, the IRS had updated my records to show the LLC information, which created a mismatch with my original EFTPS enrollment that was still tied to my sole proprietorship. The customer service rep was able to see this discrepancy and update my EFTPS profile to match my current business status. It was such a relief after weeks of thinking I was going crazy with formatting issues! Also, definitely try the early morning call strategy - I got through at 7:15 AM in about 12 minutes versus the hour+ waits I experienced calling later in the day. The morning agents also seemed more patient and willing to dig deeper into the technical issues rather than just giving the standard "wait 2-3 weeks" response. For your immediate payment, Direct Pay is absolutely the way to go. But don't give up on EFTPS - once it works, scheduling all your quarterlies in January for the whole year is such a game changer for peace of mind!

I feel for you - EFTPS can be incredibly frustrating when you're just trying to pay your taxes on time! I had a similar issue last year where the system kept rejecting my information even though everything seemed correct. One thing that worked for me was making sure I was entering my EIN without any dashes or spaces - just the 9 digits straight through. Also, double-check that you're using your legal name exactly as it appears on your tax returns, not any shortened or nickname versions. For your immediate Q2 payment deadline, definitely go with IRS Direct Pay like others have mentioned. It's completely free and you don't need to register - just have your bank account info ready. You can find it at irs.gov/payments/direct-pay and select "Estimated Tax" as your payment type. While you're working on getting EFTPS sorted out, you might also want to try calling them super early in the morning (like 7 AM) when hold times are much shorter. I got through in about 15 minutes calling right when they opened versus hours later in the day. Don't give up on EFTPS completely though - once you get past this initial setup headache, being able to schedule all four quarterly payments at the beginning of the year is really convenient. The system just has some quirky formatting requirements that aren't obvious upfront.