I'm a tax attorney and wanted to add one more important consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet. While everyone is correctly confirming that you CAN deduct both standard mileage and loan interest as a self-employed person, you should also consider the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) implications. For some self-employed individuals with higher incomes, certain deductions can trigger AMT, which could reduce the benefit of your interest deduction. This typically becomes relevant when your adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds, but it's worth discussing with a tax professional if you expect to have a really successful first year. Also, since you mentioned you're deciding between financing and paying cash, don't forget that if you pay cash, you'll get to depreciate the full vehicle cost over time (for the business portion), which might actually provide more total tax benefit than the interest deduction depending on the interest rate and your tax bracket. Consider running the numbers both ways - the depreciation schedule for a cash purchase versus the interest deduction for financing - to see which gives you better overall tax savings given your specific situation.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same decision process last year as a new agent. I ended up financing my vehicle specifically because I could take advantage of both deductions as self-employed. One thing that really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to compare the total tax benefits. I calculated the annual standard mileage deduction (my business miles × $0.683/mile for 2025) plus the annual interest deduction (loan interest × business use percentage). Then I compared that to what I'd save with actual expenses method including depreciation if I paid cash. For my situation, financing came out ahead because I got a low interest rate (2.9%) and my business use percentage is high (about 80%). The combination of mileage deduction plus interest deduction gave me more total tax savings than depreciation alone would have. Also, financing helped with cash flow in my first year when income was unpredictable. Having that extra cash available for marketing, continuing education, and other business expenses was really valuable while I was building my client base. Just make sure whatever you decide, you're absolutely meticulous with your record keeping from day one. I learned that lesson the hard way when my CPA asked for documentation I didn't have properly organized!

I'm glad you found this community to ask about this! As someone who's dealt with similar roommate situations, I can confirm what others are saying - you're definitely in the clear here. The IRS has pretty clear guidance on this: when someone is living in your home as their primary residence and just contributing to shared expenses (not paying you rent for profit), it's considered cost-sharing rather than rental income. The fact that she's paying $1100 toward your total housing costs of $2350+ shows you're not making any profit - you're actually still covering more than half the expenses yourself. This is exactly what legitimate expense-sharing looks like. One thing that might give you extra peace of mind: keep simple records of the arrangement. Screenshots of her payments to you, copies of your rent receipts, maybe even a simple text exchange acknowledging that you're splitting living expenses as roommates. Nothing fancy needed, just basic documentation that shows this is cost-sharing if anyone ever asks. You don't need to file any amended returns or worry about getting in trouble. This type of arrangement is super common and the IRS recognizes the difference between being a landlord (who reports rental income) and being someone who just has a roommate help with expenses.

You're absolutely right to ask about this, but I think you can breathe easy! Based on what you've described, this sounds like a classic cost-sharing arrangement rather than rental income that needs to be reported. The IRS looks at a few key factors: whether you're making a profit, whether the person is living there as their primary residence, and whether you're just splitting actual expenses. Your situation checks all the boxes for legitimate expense sharing - your friend lives there full-time, pays less than half your total housing costs ($1100 vs $2350+ total), and you're clearly not profiting from the arrangement. Since you're not making money off this (actually still paying more than half the costs yourself), there's no rental income to report. This is very different from being a landlord who owns investment property and charges rent for profit. For your peace of mind going forward, consider keeping simple records - screenshots of her monthly payments, copies of your rent receipts, maybe even a casual text exchange acknowledging you're splitting expenses as roommates. Nothing formal needed, just basic documentation that shows this is cost-sharing if anyone ever questions it. You didn't need to report this last year and you won't need to going forward as long as the arrangement stays the same. No amended returns, no landlord paperwork - you're good to go!

Same thing is on mine did you get your refund?

Code 898 on your transcript indicates that your refund was offset to pay a debt - this could be for student loans, child support, state taxes, or other federal debts. The $0 amount in the 898 line shows that your refund was reduced to zero after the offset, but you should see another line (usually code 896) showing where your refund money actually went. Check your transcript for any Treasury Offset Program entries that will specify exactly what debt was paid with your refund.

Has anyone used the "check the box" election (Form 8832) to treat their wholly owned LLC differently? My accountant mentioned this might give us more flexibility than just defaulting to disregarded entity status.

I went through this exact same situation last year when our S-Corp acquired a small IT consulting firm. The confusion about where to report the disregarded entity's EIN on the 1120S is totally understandable - there really isn't a specific line item for it. What I learned from our tax preparer is that the key is in the EIN application process. When you applied for the disregarded entity's EIN (Form SS-4), you should have indicated the "responsible party" and the tax classification. Even though an individual SSN was required as the responsible party, the IRS systems link that EIN to your S-Corp for tax reporting purposes. One thing that helped us was keeping a detailed memo in our tax files explaining the acquisition, the disregarded entity election, and how we're treating the income. This documentation proved valuable when we had questions during our S-Corp examination last year. The IRS examiner appreciated having the clear paper trail showing the business relationship. Also, make sure you're consistent in how you handle the 1099 reporting - if the disregarded entity is receiving 1099s under its EIN, just include those amounts in the appropriate income categories on your 1120S. The IRS computer matching systems are pretty sophisticated at tracking these relationships now.

I'm seeing this same pattern with a lot of people getting that "return closed" message from Input Correction ERS/Rejects and panicking (totally understandable!). What's helpful is that everyone who's shared their timeline here got their refund within 2 weeks of that message, with most getting it in 8-14 days. The late night timing seems to be super common too - their automated system just processes whenever they finish reviewing cases. It's frustrating that the IRS uses such confusing language when they could easily say "your return has been reviewed and approved for processing" instead of the scary-sounding "return closed." But based on all the experiences shared here, you should definitely see your refund soon! 🤞

I know exactly how stressful that message can be - I got the same "return closed" notification from Input Correction ERS/Rejects about 5 weeks ago and had the exact same panic! But after going through it, I can tell you it's actually really good news. When they say "closed the return," they mean they finished processing whatever correction or review was needed - not that you're denied. The ERS team handles returns flagged for manual review, so this message means they resolved the issue and your return is moving forward. The late night timing is totally normal for their automated system. I ended up getting my refund deposited 12 days after that message. Don't reply since they said not to, just keep checking Where's My Refund every few days. Your refund is definitely coming - you're actually in the final stretch now! 💰🙏