I'm confused about why everyone's focusing just on Schedule C. Couldn't OP potentially use these expenses to qualify for education credits instead? If the courses and software are improving skills related to your current job, they might qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit. That would be worth looking into!

I faced a similar situation when I transitioned from freelancing to full-time employment. Here's what I learned from working with a tax professional: The IRS requires that Schedule C be used only for legitimate business income and expenses. Without any 1099 income or other self-employment earnings, you can't file Schedule C just to deduct professional expenses related to your W-2 job. However, you have a few potential options: 1. **Start small freelance work**: Even minimal freelance income (say $500-1000) would allow you to legitimately file Schedule C, as long as you have genuine profit motive and aren't just doing it to claim deductions. 2. **Check if your employer will reimburse**: Many employers will cover professional development, software subscriptions, or other job-related expenses if you ask. This is often more valuable than a tax deduction. 3. **Look into state-specific deductions**: Some states have deductions for remote work expenses or professional development that you might qualify for on your state return. 4. **Consider the educator expense deduction**: If you do any teaching or training as part of your work, you might qualify for up to $300 in unreimbursed educator expenses. The key is being honest about your intent and ensuring any business activity has genuine profit motive. The IRS looks unfavorably on arrangements that seem designed primarily to generate tax deductions rather than income.

This is really helpful information! I had no idea about the $600 threshold rule. I'm in a similar situation - took two online courses last semester totaling around $480 and was wondering why I hadn't received my 1098-T yet. My tax software kept asking for it and I was getting worried I was missing something important. Good to know I can still claim the Lifetime Learning Credit with just my payment receipts. I have all my transactions saved from my student account portal, so I should be all set. Thanks for posting this question - probably saved me a lot of stress and confusion!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I work in tax prep and see this confusion all the time. Just want to clarify a few key points for anyone else reading: 1. The $600 threshold is specifically for the INSTITUTION'S requirement to issue the form, not your eligibility to claim education credits 2. Keep all your payment records - receipts, bank statements, student account summaries. The IRS may ask for documentation during an audit 3. Make sure your expenses actually qualify - tuition and required fees yes, but things like room/board, transportation, and optional materials usually don't count for the credits 4. If you're part-time or taking just a few classes, the Lifetime Learning Credit is often better than the American Opportunity Credit since it doesn't have the "at least half-time" requirement Don't let the missing 1098-T stop you from claiming legitimate education expenses. The credit can be worth up to $2,000 for the Lifetime Learning Credit, so it's definitely worth pursuing if you qualify!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm just starting out with reselling and had no idea about the sales tax being part of cost of goods sold. I've been tracking everything wrong. One thing I'm curious about - do you need to keep physical receipts for everything or are digital photos/screenshots enough? I buy a lot of stuff from garage sales and thrift stores where they don't always give proper receipts. Sometimes it's just a handwritten note or I pay cash and get nothing. How do you document those purchases for tax purposes? Also, when you're calculating business use of your car (driving to garage sales, post office, etc.), do you track actual expenses or just use the standard mileage rate? I'm trying to figure out which method would be better for my situation.

This is exactly the kind of detailed tax discussion that makes me wish I had found this community sooner! I've been doing reselling for about 8 months now and made so many mistakes in my record keeping. One thing that's been really confusing me - when you're buying items specifically to resell, how do you handle situations where the item turns out to be worth way more than you thought? Like I bought a vintage camera at an estate sale for $25, then discovered it was worth $800. Do I need to report the full $775 as income, or is there some way to account for the fact that I got lucky with the valuation rather than actually "earning" that much through my business skills? Also, has anyone dealt with cryptocurrency payments? I've had a few buyers want to pay in Bitcoin or other crypto. I know I need to report the income, but do I use the crypto value at the time of sale or when I convert it to cash? And are there any special record-keeping requirements for crypto transactions?

Just a heads up to the original poster - if you haven't been making consistent estimated tax payments before now, you might want to check if you'll face any underpayment penalties. Starting EFTPS now is great going forward, but it doesn't fix any past underpayment issues. The IRS has a "safe harbor" rule where you generally avoid penalties if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability (or 110% if your income was over $150,000) or 90% of this year's liability in timely estimated payments.

As someone who just went through this exact process last month, I can confirm that the enrollment timeline is crucial to plan for. I'd also add that when you do enroll, make sure to keep your EFTPS login credentials somewhere very secure - unlike other online accounts, you can't just reset your password easily if you forget it. One thing that helped me was setting up recurring reminders in my calendar for the quarterly due dates (January 15, April 15, June 15, and September 15) so I never miss a payment deadline again. The peace of mind from electronic payments is definitely worth the initial setup hassle! Also, Sofia, since you mentioned having multiple businesses, you might want to consider keeping separate records of which payments correspond to which business income for your own bookkeeping, even though it all goes through one EFTPS account. It makes tax prep much easier at year-end.

@Keisha Jackson, I completely understand that panic when you think you're done with taxes and then get blindsided by late documents! This exact scenario happened to me two years ago with a forgotten Roth IRA account that sent me combined Forms 1098, 1099, 5498 documents in May. Here's what you need to know: You're absolutely not in trouble, but you do need to file an amended return (Form 1040-X) for that $380 in dividend income. The IRS computers will eventually match up the 1099 information they receive from financial institutions with your filed return, so it's much better to be proactive. The math isn't as scary as it seems - you'll owe additional tax on that $380, not the full amount. Depending on your tax bracket, you're probably looking at somewhere between $57-91 in additional federal taxes (15-24% of $380 for most people). You might also owe a small amount of interest from the original filing deadline, but if you file the amendment within the next month or two, the interest will be minimal. A few practical tips from my experience: - Make copies of everything before mailing your amendment - Include a brief cover letter explaining you received the tax documents after filing - Double-check if that combined statement has any other tax info you might have missed (like IRA contributions that could actually help you) The whole process took me about 3 weeks to prepare and file, and the IRS processed it without any issues. You've got this - it's just an administrative correction, not a crisis!

@Keisha Jackson, I totally feel you on this! The exact same thing happened to me last year - filed in March, got my refund, then got a surprise combined statement in June from an old investment account I'd completely forgotten about. Here's the reality check that helped calm my nerves: receiving tax documents after filing is super common, and the IRS has processes in place for exactly this situation. You're definitely not "screwed" - you're just dealing with a paperwork correction. For your $380 in dividend income, yes, you'll need to file Form 1040-X (amended return), but the financial impact is way less scary than it initially feels. You'll owe taxes on that $380 at your marginal tax rate - so if you're in the 22% bracket, that's about $84 in additional federal tax, plus maybe $10-15 in interest if you file the amendment in the next month or two. One thing that really helped me was calling it what it is: you're not "fixing a mistake" - you're reporting income that you literally didn't know about when you filed. That's completely different from making an error, and the IRS treats it that way too. The amendment process itself is pretty straightforward once you get started. Just make sure to check if that combined statement has any other tax information beyond the dividends - mine had some IRA contribution info that actually reduced what I owed! You've got this - it's annoying paperwork, not a tax disaster.