Will my husband with a 1099 job get a refund as we have 2 children? SAHM tax situation
Title: Will my husband with a 1099 job get a refund as we have 2 children? SAHM tax situation 1 My fiancé works in construction as a concrete finisher and gets paid on 1099. We've got twin 18-month-olds, and I'm staying home full-time with them. We're planning to tie the knot before the end of the year, so I'm trying to figure out our tax situation for the 2025 filing season. Since he doesn't have any taxes taken out of his checks, I'm nervous we might end up owing a big amount instead of getting anything back. We've been keeping all his work receipts (gas, tools, work clothes), but I don't know if that's enough. Will having me and two babies as dependents help offset what he might owe? Would we qualify for any credits with our situation? I have no income this year, and he'll probably make around $58,000. Any suggestions on what we can do to maximize our chances of a refund instead of owing? Thanks for any help!
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Andre Dubois
15 Since your fiancé is being paid via 1099, he's considered self-employed, which means he's responsible for both the employee and employer portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes (15.3% total) plus income tax. This is why many 1099 workers end up owing at tax time. Here's some good news though: Yes, after you're married, he can claim you and your children as dependents, which will reduce your taxable income through the standard deduction. Plus, you'll likely qualify for child tax credits for your twins, which could be worth up to $2,000 per child. The key to getting a refund (or at least not owing) is making quarterly estimated tax payments. Even though it's partway through the year, he can start now to reduce what you might owe next April.
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Andre Dubois
•4 Thanks for the info! We haven't been making any quarterly payments. Is it too late to start? And what about deductions - can he write off his truck payment since he drives to different job sites? Also, will we still get the child tax credits if we don't have income tax withheld?
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Andre Dubois
•15 It's never too late to start making quarterly estimated tax payments - the sooner you begin, the less you might owe at filing time. The next due date is coming up, so I'd recommend calculating what's owed and submitting a payment. Regarding the truck, you can deduct actual expenses (gas, maintenance, insurance) or use the standard mileage rate, but only for business use - not for personal use or commuting to a regular work location. Keep a detailed mileage log to support these deductions. Yes, you can still receive the child tax credits even without withholding. These credits can reduce your tax liability to zero and the additional child tax credit portion can be refundable, meaning you could get money back even if you don't owe any tax.
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Andre Dubois
8 I was in almost the exact same situation last year with my husband's concrete business, and let me tell you - quarterly payments are the way to go. But I also found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved us thousands by identifying deductions we were missing. It analyzed all our expenses and found legitimate business write-offs we had no idea about! We went from owing $4,300 to getting a small refund just by properly tracking everything. Might be worth checking out before tax season since you've got a similar situation.
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Andre Dubois
•12 How exactly does that work? Do you just upload receipts and it tells you what's deductible? My partner does drywall on 1099 and we're always confused about what counts as a business expense.
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Andre Dubois
•6 Sounds too good to be true honestly. Isn't this just what a regular tax preparer would do? What makes this AI thing special? I'm skeptical about using some online tool with our financial info.
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Andre Dubois
•8 You basically connect your bank accounts or upload statements, and the system categorizes everything automatically. It's way smarter than I expected - it caught that we could deduct a portion of our phone bill, work clothes, and even some meals when my husband was working far from home. A regular tax preparer would charge us hourly to sort through hundreds of transactions, which gets expensive fast. The AI does it in minutes and explains why each deduction is legitimate. Nothing sketchy - it follows actual tax rules but just finds everything you're entitled to claim.
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Andre Dubois
12 I just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here. Holy crap guys, it found over $7,500 in deductions we completely missed for my partner's drywall business! It caught all his tool purchases, a portion of our internet (since he does invoicing from home), and even identified some vehicle maintenance we didn't realize was deductible. The reports it generates make it super easy to hand everything to our tax preparer too. Definitely worth checking out if you're filing with 1099 income!
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Andre Dubois
17 If you do end up owing taxes and need to talk to the IRS, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I tried for WEEKS to get through to the IRS about a payment plan for my husband's 1099 taxes and kept hitting endless hold times. Claimyr got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I was experiencing before. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically wait on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. Saved me so much stress during an already stressful situation. Worth every penny when trying to sort out a payment plan or asking questions about estimated tax payments.
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Andre Dubois
•22 Wait, how does this actually work? They just call the IRS for you? I don't get how they can get through faster than I would if I called myself.
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Andre Dubois
•6 This sounds like a scam. Why would anyone pay for something you can do yourself for free? The IRS hold times aren't that bad if you call early in the morning. Plus, isn't it risky giving your tax info to some random service?
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Andre Dubois
•17 They use an automated system that keeps dialing and navigating the IRS phone tree until it reaches a human. When someone answers, you get a call so you can talk directly to the IRS agent. They don't talk to the IRS for you or access any of your tax info. The IRS hold times are absolutely that bad, especially during tax season. I spent over 3 hours on hold multiple times before giving up. Even calling at 7:01am didn't help. This just saves you from having to sit by your phone for hours listening to the hold music.
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Andre Dubois
6 I'm eating my words about Claimyr being a scam. I tried calling the IRS myself for THREE DAYS last week about my husband's 1099 situation and never got through. Finally tried the service and had an IRS agent on the line within 45 minutes while I was grocery shopping! They just notified me when someone picked up. Totally worth it for the time saved. The agent helped us set up a payment plan that's actually manageable for us. Sometimes paying for convenience is actually worth it.
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Andre Dubois
2 Don't forget about the Home Office deduction if your husband does any business work at home! My partner is also 1099 (plumber) and we deduct a portion of our rent, utilities, and internet based on the dedicated office space he uses for invoicing, scheduling and ordering supplies. Just make sure the space is used EXCLUSIVELY for business - can't be your dining room table that you also eat on.
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Andre Dubois
•10 How do you calculate how much to deduct? Is it like a percentage of your rent based on square footage? Or can you just estimate?
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Andre Dubois
•2 You measure the square footage of the dedicated office space and divide by the total square footage of your home. That percentage is what you can apply to expenses like rent, utilities, etc. For example, if your office is 100 sq ft in a 1,000 sq ft home, you can deduct 10% of qualifying expenses. You definitely can't just estimate - if you get audited, you need to show you calculated it properly. The space has to be used regularly and exclusively for business, meaning no personal use of that area. There's also a simplified option where you can take $5 per square foot up to 300 sq ft.
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Andre Dubois
9 Has anyone mentioned quarterly estimated taxes yet? If your husband is making $58k on 1099, you ABSOLUTELY need to be making quarterly payments! I learned this the hard way and ended up owing $12k + penalties my first year on 1099. The IRS wants you to pay as you earn throughout the year. You can use Form 1040-ES to calculate and pay.
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Andre Dubois
•20 Agreed! But what's the bare minimum percentage you should set aside from each check to cover taxes? I've heard everything from 20% to 40% and I'm confused.
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Andre Dubois
18 Don't forget to look into the Earned Income Tax Credit! With two kids and if your income is under certain thresholds, you could qualify for a significant refundable credit. This means you could get money back even if you don't owe any taxes. The income limits change each year, but it's definitely worth checking if you qualify!
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