Can I file taxes with my W-2 now and add my 1099 contractor income later?
I've got a somewhat complicated tax situation for 2024. I was a regular W-2 employee at a company from January through June. Then in July, I switched to 1099 contractor status with a startup. Here's my problem - I still haven't received the 1099 form from the startup, but I have all my other tax documents ready to go (W-2 from my previous employer and statements from my investment accounts). I'm wondering if I can just go ahead and file my taxes now with the documents I have, and then somehow add the 1099 information later when I finally get it? Or do I absolutely need to wait until I receive that 1099 and file everything together in one submission? I usually just use TurboTax for my taxes. Someone mentioned that if my current company doesn't provide a 1099 in time, I might be able to file by just reporting the income directly, but they didn't finish explaining how that works...
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Hannah Flores
You should wait and file everything together. While it might be tempting to file your W-2 income now to get a potential refund, filing an incomplete return and then amending it later creates unnecessary complications. If your 1099 hasn't arrived yet, the company is technically required to provide it by January 31. If they're late, you can contact them directly. If you still can't get it, you don't actually need the physical 1099 to file - you just need to know the exact amount you were paid. Check your bank deposits from the company and total them up. When you file with TurboTax, you'll report all your self-employment income even without the official form. Just be sure your numbers are accurate, as the IRS will eventually match what you report against what the company reports.
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Kayla Jacobson
•If I know how much I was paid but don't have the 1099, will I get in trouble if the amounts don't match exactly when the company finally submits their form to the IRS? Like what if I'm off by a few dollars in my calculations?
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Hannah Flores
•If there's a small discrepancy between what you report and what appears on the official 1099 when it's finally submitted, it's usually not a big problem. The IRS is primarily concerned with significant underreporting of income. If you're worried about accuracy, another option is to file an extension. This gives you until October 15 to file your complete return, though you would still need to estimate and pay any taxes you think you'll owe by the original April deadline to avoid potential penalties and interest.
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William Rivera
I was in a similar situation last year and found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) super helpful for dealing with missing documents. It helped me organize what I had while waiting for my 1099. The tool analyzed my bank deposits to estimate my contractor income and compared it to what I eventually received on my 1099. Made me feel way more confident that I wasn't missing anything!
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Grace Lee
•Does taxr.ai work with TurboTax? I'm already halfway through my return there and don't want to start over with a different system.
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Mia Roberts
•I'm skeptical about these tax tools. How does it actually help with missing 1099s? Couldn't I just total my bank deposits myself without paying for another service?
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William Rivera
•It works alongside TurboTax - you don't need to start over. You can use taxr.ai to analyze and verify your income data, then enter those numbers into TurboTax when you're ready to file. You're right that you could just add up bank deposits yourself, but what I found helpful was the verification process. It analyzed patterns in my deposits and flagged potential business expenses I might have missed that could be deductible for my contractor work. The peace of mind was worth it for me, especially since I was new to 1099 income.
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Mia Roberts
Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after my initial skepticism, and it was surprisingly helpful! It caught some business expenses in my transactions that I completely missed, which saved me around $1,800 in taxes on my contractor income. The document analysis feature also helped me organize all my tax stuff, which was a mess since I had W-2 and 1099 income. Wish I'd known about this last year!
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The Boss
If you're still waiting for your 1099 and getting frustrated, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was pulling my hair out trying to reach the IRS about a missing form situation last tax season. Their phone lines are impossible! Claimyr got me through to an actual human at the IRS in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for DAYS on my own. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c
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Evan Kalinowski
•Wait, how does this actually work? The IRS phone lines are intentionally understaffed - how could any service get you through faster than calling yourself?
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Victoria Charity
•This sounds like a scam TBH. You're telling me you pay money to get through to the IRS faster? Why would that even work when the rest of us have to wait on hold forever? 🤔
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The Boss
•It's not about skipping the line - Claimyr uses an automated system that waits on hold for you. When they reach a human agent, you get a call back so you don't have to stay on the phone for hours. It worked exactly as advertised for me. They're basically just handling the frustrating hold time for you. Anyone who's tried calling the IRS knows it can be a 2+ hour wait, and if you get disconnected, you start all over. This just eliminates that headache.
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Victoria Charity
I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it when I couldn't get answers about my missing 1099-MISC. I was on day 3 of trying to get through to the IRS myself with no luck. Used Claimyr and got a callback in 40 minutes when a real IRS agent was on the line. They walked me through exactly what to do with my missing form situation. Saved me literally days of frustration - worth every penny for my sanity alone!
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Jasmine Quinn
For your 1099 contractor income, don't forget about estimated quarterly tax payments going forward! Since taxes aren't withheld like they are for W-2 employment, you'll need to make those payments yourself. I learned this the hard way and got hit with an underpayment penalty my first year of freelancing.
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Oscar Murphy
•Is there a minimum amount of 1099 income before you need to do quarterly payments? Like if it's just a side gig making a few thousand?
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Jasmine Quinn
•You generally need to make quarterly estimated tax payments if you expect to owe at least $1,000 in taxes when you file your return. Even for side gigs, this can happen quicker than you'd think when you factor in both income tax and self-employment tax (which is about 15.3%). A good rule of thumb is to set aside around 25-30% of your 1099 income for taxes, depending on your tax bracket. The IRS has a form called 1040-ES that helps you calculate what you should pay quarterly.
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Nora Bennett
Anyone use anything besides TurboTax for mixed W-2 and 1099 income? Their self-employment section gets expensive real quick...
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Ryan Andre
•I switched to FreeTaxUSA and it handles both W-2 and 1099 income really well. Federal filing is free and state is like $15. Way cheaper than what TurboTax charged me for self-employment.
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