Single mom with cash income needs tax refund help - qualifying for credits?

You definitely have options for tax credits as a single parent! First, you should file as Head of Household which gives you better tax rates than filing as Single. Since you're supporting your child and your ex isn't paying support, you can claim your child as a dependent. For your income situation, you're considered self-employed even though it's just you doing odd jobs. You'll need to report this income on Schedule C. You don't necessarily need formal receipts, but keeping track of your earnings is important. Client letters can help document your income if needed. The big credits you should look into are: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which is specifically designed for lower-income workers with children, and the Child Tax Credit which is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child. You might also qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit if you pay for childcare while you work.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year! After trying to figure out all the self-employment stuff myself and getting nowhere, I found this AI tool called taxr.ai that was a lifesaver for my tax situation. I uploaded some photos of my handwritten income notes and client info, and it helped organize everything into a proper Schedule C. The best part was I could ask it specific questions about what deductions apply to house cleaning work, and it explained exactly what I could claim vs what I couldn't. Check out https://taxr.ai - it walks you through the whole process of documenting cash income properly. I was worried about not having enough records but it gave me templates for tracking everything retroactively too.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that someone recommended here. It was actually really helpful for my cash income situation. I was skeptical at first because I thought it would be complicated, but it walked me through creating a simple income and expense tracking system that the IRS would accept. The best part was discovering I qualified for way more credits than I realized! It showed me that my part-time childcare expenses were partially deductible through the Child and Dependent Care Credit, which I had no idea about. I ended up getting about $4200 back when I thought I'd be lucky to get anything. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar boat with cash income and single parenting.

I feel your pain about trying to get your tax situation sorted as a single parent! If you need to talk to the IRS about your specific credits or filing situation (which I recommend), don't waste days trying to call them directly. I spent literally WEEKS trying to get through on the regular IRS line with no luck. I finally used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual IRS person in under 15 minutes. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree for you and call you when they've got an agent on the line. I used it through their website https://claimyr.com and was shocked it actually worked after all my failed attempts. The IRS agent I spoke with gave me specific guidance about documenting my cash income and which forms I needed, which saved me from potentially serious problems down the road.

OK I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my EITC eligibility as a single parent with mixed custody, so I tried it anyway. Within 17 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who walked me through the whole "qualifying child" test for the EITC when parents have split custody. Turns out I WAS eligible even though my ex claimed our daughter on his taxes this year (because she lived with me for more than 6 months). The IRS agent even emailed me the specific form I needed to dispute his claim. Would have never figured this out on my own after weeks of failed calls!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - make sure you're keeping track of your mileage when you drive between cleaning jobs! I'm a house cleaner too and mileage deduction is HUGE for me. Just get a little notebook and write down your odometer reading at the start and end of each workday, plus addresses you went to. The current mileage rate is like 65.5 cents per mile which adds up fast. I tracked 6,200 business miles last year which gave me a deduction of over $4,000! That really reduced my self-employment tax.

Just a heads up, if your kiddo is 13, you might qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit too which is refundable (meaning you can get money back even if you don't owe taxes). Make sure whoever does your taxes checks for this!!!

I'm really glad you found this community to ask for help! As someone who's also navigated single parenthood and tax issues, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help you get organized: Since you're dealing with cash income, start keeping a simple daily log RIGHT NOW - even if it's just a notebook where you write the date, client name, amount earned, and any expenses like gas or supplies. This will make next year's taxes so much easier. For this year's filing, try to gather whatever documentation you can - text messages confirming jobs, any Venmo/CashApp records if clients ever paid that way, even old calendar entries showing when you worked. The IRS understands that cash-based workers don't always have perfect records, but showing you made a good faith effort to document your income goes a long way. Also, don't forget about potential deductions beyond what others mentioned - work clothes that get ruined from cleaning chemicals, any equipment you bought (vacuum, cleaning caddy, etc.), and even a portion of your cell phone bill if you use it to coordinate with clients. Every legitimate deduction reduces your self-employment tax burden. You've got this! Single parents are incredibly resourceful, and getting your taxes sorted properly is going to make such a difference for your financial stability.