I'm a tax preparer and see this confusion all the time. The software is programmed to be overly cautious to avoid missing potential credits/deductions. Form 8880 won't hurt your return - it's just calculating if you qualify for the Savers Credit based on retirement contributions and income. If you're filing last minute, honestly just pay the fee and file. It's not worth risking a late filing penalty which would be way more than $75. You can learn more about the retirement contribution patterns for next year to potentially qualify. The income limits are pretty low - $36,500 for single filers and $73,000 for married filing jointly for 2024.

I went through this exact same nightmare last year! The key thing to understand is that Form 8880 (Savers Credit) is triggered when you indicate you have retirement accounts, even if you didn't contribute. The software assumes you might qualify and forces the form. Here's what worked for me: Go back to the retirement account questions and be very specific. If you have a 401(k) but made ZERO contributions in 2024, make sure you clearly indicate $0 contributions. Don't just say "yes I have a 401(k)" - the software needs to know you contributed nothing. For TurboTax specifically, look for the section about "Retirement Plans" in your interview and edit those answers. You should be able to change it from having retirement contributions to having no contributions, which will remove Form 8880 entirely. The Savers Credit only applies if you contributed AND your income is below certain thresholds. If either condition isn't met, you don't need the form and shouldn't be forced into paid tiers. Don't let the software scare you with warnings about "missing credits" if you know you don't qualify!

I went through this exact same confusion last year! The key thing to understand is that "four years of postsecondary education" for AOTC purposes is measured by academic credit hours, not calendar years. Here's what helped me figure it out: I contacted my school's financial aid office (not just the registrar) and asked them specifically about AOTC eligibility. They were able to pull up my record and tell me exactly how many "academic years" worth of credit I had completed based on their full-time equivalency. In your case, if you've been going part-time for several calendar years but haven't accumulated four full academic years worth of credits before 2016, you should still be eligible. Most schools consider 24-30 credit hours to be one academic year, so do the math based on your transcript. One thing that surprised me: even credits from community college or courses that didn't count toward my current major still counted toward the four-year limit. So make sure you're accounting for ALL college-level courses you've taken, not just ones at your current school or in your current program. The financial aid office should be able to give you a definitive answer since they deal with these calculations regularly for various aid programs.

Just wanted to share my experience since I was in almost the exact same situation! I was taking classes part-time for about 6 calendar years but was worried I might have exceeded the 4-year AOTC limit. What really helped me was getting an official "Academic Standing Report" from my school's registrar office specifically for tax purposes. This document showed not just my total credit hours, but also broke it down by academic year equivalency according to their full-time standard (which was 30 credits per year at my school). Turns out even though I'd been enrolled for 6 calendar years, I had only completed about 3.1 academic years worth of credit by 2016, so I was still eligible! The key insight for me was that summer courses, part-time enrollment, and even semesters where I only took 1-2 classes all get factored into this calculation differently than I expected. One tip: when you contact your school, specifically ask for documentation "for federal tax credit eligibility" - they're familiar with these requests and can usually provide exactly what you need for your tax preparation. Good luck!

FYI for anyone interested in short selling - the tax reporting on your 1099-B can be a total nightmare. My broker reported my short sales in a really confusing way last year. Box 1a showed proceeds from the short sale (when I sold the borrowed shares), but the cost basis in Box 1e was reported as $0 since technically I hadn't purchased anything yet. Then when I closed the position months later, it showed up as a separate transaction with the purchase price as my cost basis. Made it look like I had a huge gain on the first transaction and then a completely separate transaction later. TurboTax couldn't handle it properly without manual adjustments.

The 1099-B reporting issue you mentioned is exactly why I switched to FreeTaxUSA last year. It has a specific section for adjusting short sale transactions where you can manually link the opening and closing transactions together. You enter both the short sale date and the covering date, and it calculates the proper gain/loss and holding period. I also learned that some brokers will issue a corrected 1099-B if you contact them about short sale reporting errors. Schwab actually sent me an amended form after I pointed out that they had incorrectly split my short-against-the-box transactions across multiple tax lots. Worth checking with your broker before spending hours manually adjusting everything. One tip: keep detailed records of your short sale dates and covering dates separate from what the broker reports. The IRS matching system sometimes flags discrepancies when the 1099-B doesn't clearly show the complete short sale cycle.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is quarterly estimated tax payments. Since you're generating $13,500 in business income and will owe both income tax and self-employment tax on this, you might need to make quarterly payments to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS generally expects you to pay taxes as you earn income, not just when you file your annual return. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes when you file, you should be making quarterly payments. For 2024, the deadlines are April 15, June 17, September 16, and January 15, 2025. You can calculate your estimated payments using Form 1040ES. Don't forget that self-employment tax is 15.3% on top of your regular income tax rate, so the total tax burden can be higher than people expect when they're used to just W-2 income. Setting aside about 25-30% of your cash sales in a separate savings account for taxes is a good rule of thumb. This way you won't be scrambling to come up with the money when quarterly payments are due or at tax time.

Another thing to consider is keeping a detailed log of your vintage clothing sales beyond just the money order deposits. Since you're selling at local markets, I'd recommend tracking which items you sold, what you paid for them originally (if you can remember/document), and any related expenses like booth fees, gas to get to markets, etc. The IRS likes to see that you're treating this as a legitimate business if you're claiming it as such. Having organized records showing your cost of goods sold, business mileage, and other expenses will help establish that this isn't just a hobby. Plus, these deductions can significantly reduce your taxable income. I'd also suggest taking photos of your inventory and keeping receipts for any clothing purchases you make specifically for resale. If you're sourcing from thrift stores, estate sales, or other places, those purchase receipts become your cost basis for calculating actual profit on each item sold. The money order deposits are just one piece of the puzzle - the real work is in documenting the entire business operation properly. Good luck with your vintage clothing business!

I went through this exact same situation two years ago! Filed as resident on F1 visa when I should have been nonresident. The good news is that the IRS generally doesn't penalize you for voluntary corrections, especially for residency status mistakes which are super common for international students. You definitely should amend using Form 1040X and file the correct 1040NR. The key is to do it proactively before they catch it. In my case, I actually ended up owing about $200 more because I had to give back some credits I wasn't eligible for as a nonresident, but it was way better than waiting and potentially facing penalties. One thing to check - make sure you look into any tax treaty benefits your country might have with the US. Some countries have special provisions for students that can actually reduce your tax liability. Also, if you had any scholarship income, the treatment might be different as a nonresident (sometimes better!). The whole process took about 8-10 weeks to get resolved, but the IRS sent me a letter confirming the adjustment and I paid the small difference. Much less stressful than I expected!

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now! Filed as a resident when I should have been nonresident (F1 visa, been in the US for 16 months). I was terrified about penalties but after reading everyone's experiences here, I feel much better about voluntarily correcting it. Quick question for those who have been through this - when you file the 1040X, do you need to include copies of your original return or just the amended pages? And should I send it certified mail or is regular mail okay? Also seeing all the mentions of tax treaties - I'm from South Korea, does anyone know if there are specific benefits for Korean students? My university's international office wasn't very helpful when I asked about this. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences, it's so helpful to know I'm not the only one who made this mistake!