Slightly off topic but this is exactly why I now require ALL contractors to fill out W9 forms BEFORE I cut them their first check. No W9, no payment. Learned this lesson the hard way.

I actually dealt with this exact situation two years ago with a plumber who did major work on my office building. After months of trying to get his W9, I ended up consulting with a tax professional who walked me through the process. Here's what I learned: You absolutely need to file the 1099-NEC even without their TIN. Put "Applied For" or "Unknown" in the TIN field - don't leave it blank or put zeros. The IRS wants to see that you're making the effort to comply. Make sure you keep detailed records of every attempt you made to get their information - screenshot those texts, save voicemail recordings if you have them, and consider sending one final certified letter requesting the W9. This documentation is crucial if you face any penalties later. The backup withholding situation is tricky since you've already paid in full, but as others mentioned, documenting your good faith efforts can help reduce or eliminate penalties. The key is showing the IRS you were trying to follow the rules, not circumvent them. Don't let this stress you into not filing at all - that would be much worse than filing with incomplete information!

what about streaming royalties? thats where most of my artist income comes from these days not physical sales. do those get treated different for tax purposes when your also a label owner??

This is a really complex area that trips up a lot of music industry folks! One thing I'd add to the great advice already given is to make sure you're documenting everything properly from the start. Since you're both the artist AND a label owner, the IRS will want to see clear evidence that these are truly separate transactions. Keep detailed records showing market-rate royalty payments to yourself as the artist, just like you would pay any other artist on your label. Also consider having written agreements in place (even though you're paying yourself) that outline the royalty rates and terms. This helps establish that the payments are legitimate business expenses for the label and proper income for you as the songwriter/artist. The partnership vs individual income distinction is crucial - your royalties as a creator are active income subject to self-employment tax, while your 25% partnership share comes through on your K-1. Getting this right from the beginning will save you headaches if the IRS ever has questions about your income classification.

Has anyone calculated how much time they're losing on this? I've spent exactly 3.5 hours over 2 days trying to access my transcripts. Need them to verify my $4,750 refund status. Called IRS exactly 8 times with average wait time of 47 minutes before disconnecting. This is costing people real money in wasted time.

I'm experiencing the same issue! Been trying to access my transcripts since yesterday morning for a loan application and keep getting timed out. This is really concerning since I have a deadline coming up. Has anyone tried using the mobile app instead of the website? Sometimes different platforms have different server loads. Also wondering if there's an official IRS Twitter account or status page where they post about these outages?

Can someone explain in really simple terms what a capital gain actually is then? I'm a first-time homeowner and apparently have been misunderstanding this concept.

This is a perfect example of why you should always verify tax advice you see on social media! As others have correctly pointed out, paying off your mortgage absolutely does NOT trigger capital gains taxes. A capital gain only occurs when you sell an asset (like your home) for more than you originally paid for it. When you pay off your mortgage, you're simply completing a loan agreement - you're not selling anything or realizing any gain. Think of it this way: the house was always yours (you held the title), the bank just had a lien against it as security for the loan. Paying off the mortgage removes that lien, but doesn't change the ownership or create any taxable event. The only potential tax change is that you'll lose your mortgage interest deduction going forward, but that's completely separate from capital gains and is just because you're no longer paying deductible interest. Always be skeptical of tax advice from Instagram or other social media platforms - there's unfortunately a lot of misinformation out there that can lead people to make costly mistakes!

Has anyone tried Lacerte for trust returns? My accountant uses it for our more complicated partnership returns, and I was thinking about getting it for the trust returns I prepare personally.

I've been using UltraTax CS for my family trust returns for the past 3 years and it's been solid. It's definitely more expensive than consumer software (around $500-600 annually), but the reliability has been worth it after dealing with similar issues you described with H&R Block. What I really appreciate is how it handles the flow-through calculations from the 1041 to the K-1s automatically, and it has excellent error checking that catches common trust return mistakes before you file. The interface takes some getting used to if you're coming from consumer software, but their support team actually knows trust taxation rules, which has been helpful when I've had questions about distribution deduction calculations. One thing to note - they require you to maintain the subscription annually even if you only file during tax season, so factor that into your cost comparison. But given your bad experience with H&R Block's reliability issues, it might be worth the peace of mind to use something designed for professional preparers.