Just realized I forgot to add my self-employment income when filing taxes - how screwed am I and what can I do?

I'm in a complete panic mode right now. I filed my taxes on the actual deadline day (April 15) this year because I've been dealing with some personal stuff and kept putting it off. Basically I was scrambling last minute just to get everything submitted. Well, I just realized I completely messed up - I FORGOT to include my gig work income when I filed! I was doing food delivery for about 5 months last year, and it totally slipped my mind when I was rushing to complete everything. So I reported my regular job (got a W-2 from them), but completely left off all my delivery earnings. The worst part? Looking back at my 1099 from the delivery platform, I actually made almost triple what my W-2 job paid me! I had no idea it was that much until I just found the form. I'm freaking out because this isn't some small amount that the IRS might overlook. It's a significant chunk of money and I'm sure they're going to notice the discrepancy since the delivery company definitely reported it. What should I do now? Do I need to file an amended return? Am I going to face huge penalties? Will I get audited? I'm so stressed about this and really need some guidance.

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18 comments

Dylan Mitchell

•8M

Don't panic! This happens more often than you think. What you need to do is file an amended tax return (Form 1040-X) as soon as possible to report that additional income. Since you had self-employment income from the delivery work, you'll need to include Schedule C to report your business income and expenses, and Schedule SE to calculate self-employment tax. The good news is that you can deduct business expenses like mileage, a portion of your phone bill, etc., which will help reduce your taxable income. The IRS typically charges penalties and interest on unpaid taxes, but they tend to be more lenient when taxpayers voluntarily correct their mistakes before being contacted by the IRS. The failure-to-pay penalty is usually 0.5% of the unpaid taxes per month, plus interest.

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Dylan Mitchell

•8M

You should file the amended return as soon as possible to minimize penalties and interest. The 1040-X form can be e-filed now, which speeds up processing time compared to mailing it. Yes, you should pay as much as you can when you file the amendment, but you can absolutely set up a payment plan with the IRS if you can't pay the full amount. The IRS offers various payment options including short-term plans (120 days or less) with no setup fee or longer-term monthly payment plans. You can apply online through the IRS website using their Online Payment Agreement tool.

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Sofia Gutierrez

•8M

This happened to me last year with my DoorDash income. I was super stressed but ended up using https://taxr.ai to help me sort everything out. Their system analyzed my 1099 forms and actually found a bunch of deductions I would have missed on my own. They walked me through exactly what forms I needed to file and how to track my expenses properly. The best part was that they explained exactly how to calculate my mileage deduction which saved me a TON of money. I had no idea I could deduct so much of my delivery driving costs. It made the amended return process way less painful than I expected.

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Sofia Gutierrez

•8M

The service is really straightforward - you upload your tax documents and their AI scans them for key information. Everything is encrypted and secure, and they explain their privacy policy really clearly. I was hesitant at first too but their security credentials checked out. They don't file the amended return for you, but they provide a detailed report explaining exactly what you need to report and where. In my case, after accounting for all my legitimate business expenses and mileage deductions, I ended up owing about 60% less than I initially feared. The mileage deduction alone was huge since I put almost 8,000 miles on my car doing deliveries.

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StarSurfer

•8M

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the other commenter recommended. Holy crap it actually helped a lot! I had no idea I could deduct so many things as a delivery driver. They found over $4,200 in deductions I would have completely missed - mileage, portion of phone bill, insulated bags I bought, even part of my car insurance. The report they gave me made filling out the Schedule C super easy, and I'm now in the process of filing my amended return. I'm still going to owe some money, but WAY less than I was freaking out about initially. If you're in a similar situation with gig work income, definitely worth checking them out.

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Ava Martinez

•8M

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're worried about dealing with the IRS directly on this, Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) can get you connected with an actual IRS agent without the usual hours-long hold times. I was in a similar situation last year and needed to talk to someone at the IRS about my options. Used their service and got connected in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for 3+ hours like I did the first time I tried calling. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was actually super helpful and walked me through my amended return questions step by step. Made the whole process way less stressful.

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Ava Martinez

•8M

It's completely legitimate - they use a system that continually redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until they get through to an agent, then they call you to connect. It's not skipping the line exactly, it's just automating the painful waiting process. The service is absolutely worth it if you value your time. When I needed to talk to the IRS about my amended return, getting that direct guidance from an agent made a huge difference. They answered all my questions about payment plans and helped me understand exactly what I needed to do to minimize penalties.

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Zainab Abdulrahman

•8M

Just wanted to follow up after being skeptical about Claimyr. I broke down and tried it yesterday after my 6th failed attempt to reach the IRS myself. No joke, I got a call back in 28 minutes and was talking to an actual IRS representative! The agent helped me understand exactly what I needed to include on my amended return and what documentation to keep handy. They also explained my payment plan options in detail. Saved me hours of frustration and probably a lot of money in the long run by making sure I'm doing everything correctly. Sometimes it's worth paying for convenience.

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Connor Byrne

•8M

Don't forget to look at state taxes too! If your state has income tax, you'll also need to file an amended state return. Each state has different forms and procedures. Also, make sure you keep REALLY good records of all your expenses related to the delivery job. The IRS might want proof of things like mileage, cell phone costs, etc., especially since it's a significant amount of income. Did you track your mileage while doing deliveries? That's usually the biggest deduction for gig drivers.

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Connor Byrne

•8M

You can reconstruct a mileage log after the fact, but you'll need some documentation to support it. Look through your delivery app history - most platforms keep records of deliveries you completed. You can use this to create a log showing dates, destinations, and estimated mileage. The IRS prefers contemporaneous records (tracked in real-time), but they do accept reconstructed logs if they're reasonable and backed by other evidence. You might not be able to claim every mile, but even a conservative estimate could save you significant money. Just be prepared to justify your calculations if asked.

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