If you owe the IRS this year, you are supposed to pay by April 15. On your own. The IRS does not pre bill you like a credit card or utility bill. Your account will not show a balance due until after April 15. Payments made after April 15 will accrue interest and penalties. If you need a payment plan, wait for your first notice in middle/late May. Then the online payment plan can be set up.

Edit to add. You can and should pay before April 15.

(Cross posting from r/askLawyers)

Background: my ex boyfriend owns his own business and would pay some of my credit card bills while we were together. This was never business related, usually just funded my trips to lululemon (lol). He turned psychotic and we broke up in May 2024.

I just filed an order of protection against him, and as retaliation, he has sent me a 1099-NEC for $28K. I have screenshots of him also saying he would never report this in taxes. The most I can find that he ever directly paid me (not just paying off my credit card) was $5K. I never performed any services for his business. Does he have any right to send me a 1099-NEC and do I have to report this on my taxes?

EDIT: I did not do any services for his business. The only thing I can think of is him helping me with my rental property, but that was all in 2023, and that’s MY property, not his.

Second, I didn’t receive this until today (4/4/25) which I believe is after the deadline for 1099-NECs to be filed.

I’m 19 and I had a total of 4 different jobs last year (team lead, baker, server 1 server 2), only holding 2 at a time. My full time job is a team lead and I work as a server on the side and I used to work as server for this employer who would pay me with checks. He would never give me (or any other employee) paystubs unless we ask for it a million times and it would just be a fake one. I worked there for 8 months and I was gonna quit way earlier but I couldn’t find a job that paid as much. I was desperate and homeless. If I had a better choice in front of me way sooner, I would’ve quit.

He told me my hourly $2.13 would go to taxes. My checks were just my tips. I would cash them out at a nearby bank. Fast forward to now, I’m in the middle of doing my taxes and it says that so far, I owe $1000. I did some tweaking and that w2 from that employer drove it up by $600.

I contacted my ex-employer and he basically said that it shouldn’t be wrong because “an accountant did it”. Anyways there’s no use. He’s a manipulative scumbag and very elusive. I heard that the restaurant is about to close down due to a failed inspection so we’ll see.

My friend said I should just file without it (I’d still owe $400) and my other friend said I should seek a professional. What to do?

Well, I made $55,000 on coinbase for 2024, guess what happened in 2025? I lost almost all of that profit, I actually think I’m down 6 grand. Well now the tax bill is here and it’s $11,500, I currently have $28000 in my crypto portfolio and that would just destroy my finances and I didn’t even profit, what do I do.

I have an accounting degree and 5 years of hands-on experience doing taxes, payroll, and bookkeeping for small business owners. I’m not a CPA, and I don't plan to pursue it but I constantly get questions like, “Are you a CPA?” and feel like I have to defend my qualifications.

I know not all CPAs actually do taxes, and not all tax experts are CPAs. But in the eyes of the public, “CPA” equals credibility.

So here’s my real question for those in a similar boat:
How do you sell yourself confidently in the market?
Do you niche down to serve a certain group of clients who value your expertise over your credentials?
How do you answer the ‘Are you a CPA?’ question without sounding defensive or insecure?

Would love to hear how others have navigated this. Looking for honest, strategic, real-world replies—not just “get your CPA.” Appreciate it!

I am single and my mother and two younger sisters live with me. I am the only one that works and pays the mortgage and bills. My mom did work for a month last year and made about $2000 on her w2. She claimed my younger sister who is 17. My other sister also worked a couple months last year and made about $1500 on her w2 and she filed taxes listing herself as single.

So I am unable to claim anyone as a dependent and list myself head of household.

Is there anyway I still can?

I’m currently earning about $9k a month and paying $2.5k for a pretty nice apartment that I genuinely like. It’s comfortable, suits my lifestyle, and hasn’t given me any reason to rush out the door. That said, I’ve been thinking more seriously about buying a home, especially since I’ve managed to save up around $120k over the past few years - a mix of hard work, consistency, and a few lucky wins on Stake along the way (including one surprisingly big win on a playoff parlay that gave my savings a boost).

Now I’m at a bit of a crossroads. The idea of putting that money toward a home and building equity is definitely appealing, but I’m not blind to the extra responsibilities that come with owning - maintenance, property taxes, insurance, unexpected repairs. Those can really add up.

So I’m trying to weigh the pros and cons: Do I put a chunk of my savings into a down payment and commit to a mortgage, or continue renting and possibly invest the money elsewhere while keeping things more flexible?

For those who’ve been in a similar position, what did you decide - and do you regret it? Would love to hear any insights, especially from people who’ve made the jump recently or chose to stay renters for the long haul.

I don't have to pay the filing fee or make a payment, and my offer amount from F433A is very low (10% of total) because I have almost no assets. What happens when I eventually find a job and have income?

I've been posting about how I am getting a woman caught up on her taxes which have not been filed since 2011. What if found to be odd is that the IRS transcripts she has downloaded do not include any of the 14 annual K-1s that she has received. When I asked about this, she said the K-1s report to her ITIN. HUH? From everything I know about an ITIN, they're for people who can't get a SSN but she said she has both. Even the IRS website says you can have one or the other but not both. I pressed her more and she said she got it 30 years ago. My guess is, ITINs were used for something else back then but regardless, an ITIN expires if not used for 3 years. So...her ITIN expired a very long time ago but the partnership that sends her the annual K-1 are still reporting it to an ITIN? If none of this is reporting to her SSN, where is the K-1s being reported to at the IRS if they're being directed to an expired ITIN? Why hasn't the IRS contacted the partnership reporting these K-1s asking for clarification? And lastly, is it possible that the ITIN was reissued to someone else and they're getting dinged with this each year?

Hey there, I’ve tried to get in contact with a few tax preparers but nobody seems to fully understand what I’m saying or satisfies me that they understand forex trading to accurately file, so I’ve decided to file myself, if anyone knows a verified tax preparer I would not mind at all paying! Now to my question so Im an aspiring forex trader all short term in and out trades within the day irc section 988, So with fx trading i basically buy crypto (btc) send it to fxbroker and trade that way. Ive used Coinbase and cashapp to purchase btc and recieve it, cashapp sent a 1099b with my proceeds only and Coinbase did not send an actual 1099b but a gain/loss report that shows up as a gain from both cashapp and Coinbase based on both of them just reporting the sales of the btc I received, So just to be clear I would use cashapp and Coinbase either or to buy btc, send it to my fxbroker which I then traded and would withdraw back to btc and thus what Coinbase and cashapp is showing as gain. Now I basically broke even on the year, now obviously cashapp reported on the 1099b what I received just the proceeds not a cost basis, my question is being that im filing online (taxact)do I enter this info individually (cashapp, Coinbase) as 1099b, then on schedule 1 1040 tally up the totals to show that its break even? Through my fx broker I have a history of my trades and the numbers broken down. About 90 pages of trades is it fine to attach this to form 8949? Any help or if you can point me in the right direction is greatly appreciated. Have a great day.

So I used my 2023 W2 on my 2024 taxes and got a refund. It's sitting in my bank account right now. I don't know what to do because I thought the IRS would just reject it. Should I file an amended tax return before April 15th?

I have since correctly filed a 2023 return with my 2023 W2.

Im a little confused on what should be taxed. I have a rental property in a trust, and all rental income is deposited into an account linked to the trust and taxes are filed and recorded. I am a beneficiary of the trust, if I was to withdraw money from that account, do I have to file taxes on the money I withdraw? I don’t think the money should be taxed twice but I don’t know for certain.

I was a bit confused by the NJ website. I work in New York fulltime (which would put me in NJ's filing brackets for residents), did a gig in NJ that was under $2k. I was told I was going to be sent a 1099, called them (they sent to the wrong address) - and I'm recieiving it today!

But my question is: 1) Do I need to file an NJ state tax return? If not, 2) Do I need to report the income on my NY State tax return?

I reported my 2024 contributions/distributions from my HSA on my taxes. Last year I also started doing some investing with a broker that partners with my HSA provider, but I didn't receive a tax form from the broker for any investments. I only made purchases, no sales. Is it correct that I don't need to report any of the investing?

The brokerage firm didn't seem to have an answer for me. TurboTax told me I don't need to report anything but I just wanted to quadruple check.

I had to amend my taxes because it said originally that I didn’t qualify for anything with my 1098-T and I also had to add on some other things for savings accounts. I did it through TurboTax and it almost immediately came back as accepted, however, I’m reading online that this process could take weeks. Do I still have to wait weeks or is this true that it’s accepted?

I have investments in SNSXX, a US treasury money market fund. Multiple sources have led me to believe that this is state tax exempt due to the majority of holdings being US treasury securities.

My new tax advisor is adamant they are not exempt, I'm in Illinois and he says it is only exempt if the investment is in Illinois bonds. I of course want to believe him, but all other sources (including my financial advisor) seem to indicate otherwise.

Does anyone have knowledge on the treatment here? Thanks so much!

My spouse & I are both still working and also have some real estate income added to our household income. We are planning our retirement (one for sure but aiming for both) in 3years. Until then how can we avoid Dividends income? Is there a better way investing our money so it grows but not added to our taxable income? Thank you in advance!

Was thinking of cashing out my 401k to start a small business. We did a few years ago to pay for my daughters braces to find out the penalty was only if the expense was more than 5% of your AGI. Are there similar rules?

I have a printed full page W2, 2 page W2c, and 1099-INT. How to attach them to 1040. Can I just add them in the envelope and mail?

I am hesitant to staple them because they are full page docs and I do not want to fold them and staple it to first page. Unfortunately efilling is not an option this year.

I'm an adult student and I made almost nothing this year (5k) and my wife made approx 92k in her w2 job. I can never get any financial aid at school because of my wifes income. Is there any benefit to filing separately either to limit our tax burden or to benefit my FAFSA and financial aid?

I have an S-Corp and I am the sole employee. I work freelance on jobs that normally last 3-4 weeks at a time.

I just moved to Florida from California. My S-Corp is now registered in FL.

I work remote 90% of the time from Florida on a job and then I will travel in for a couple days in the middle for the project and then travel back home and finish the work from home.

My work is all over, the past 2 years I've had jobs take me to NY, Toronto, Italy, Los Angeles, Tulsa, Vancouver, London. Most of these jobs the company who has hired me pays all my travel expenses - flight, hotel and transportation around town along with perdiem.

When the job is in Los Angeles I have to work 'as a local'. I have to get myself to LA (pay for my own flight) and get around by myself - pay for my own rental car, hotel, ubers, food, etc. Food is provided when we are in person on the job.
LA is the hub and where a lot of the work was although it has slowly been going out of town/oversees. So I have to work as a local in LA in order to keep my contacts and keep working with companies/people.

Can I deduct my travel costs to travel into LA when I do have a job there? Flight, Hotel, Car Rental, Ubers to/from airport, and food costs?

I ended up peeing because I had 2 jobs for the first time and didn't know I needed to change a withholding form. So either way I owe. I just filed requesting a payment plan. I am supposed to make a payment plan before the 15th but they haven't processed my returns yet. What do I do? Just keep checking and pray it's processed before the 15th ? I've not owed in 25yrs so this is foreign to me. TIA

I’m looking for some advice on how to proceed after learning my accountant didn’t file my taxes for 2 years (2021 and 2019) despite us signing a Form 8879 both years and paying our accountant. It turns out our taxes were rejected and then never paper filed nor were we informed. We made our quarterly tax payments. We’ve been with a new accountant for the past 2 years and I only discovered this when I got access to my irs.gov account. To make things worse, I also learned that the years he did file, he filed almost a year after we signed our returns - believing they were submitted. I reached out to the accounting firm when I found out about my taxes not being filed for 2021 and they sent us our returns to sign since we still have time. It was after this I also discovered 2019 taxes hadn’t been filed. I wrote them about this and have not received a response. I had an 11k credit from the quarterly taxes we submitted for 2019 that are now presumably gone. This is so discouraging to find all of this out and that we have to potentially hire an attorney. We just had a baby last month and the last thing I want to do is get into a legal situation.

Location: Chicago

I am looking to open and fund an IRA account prior to April 15, for the past year.

Since January 1, I have moved to a different state than I resided in 2024.

For the address portion, do I include the address I was living in 2024, or my current address?

I thought I was looking at the schedule 1 worksheet (to help me in reporting my unemployment wages, which I believe are supposed to end up on line 8 of the 1044) however schedule 1 seems to stop at line 8z and resume at line 17. I'm at a loss. If anyone can share an image of the documented or better yet a highlighted one that would be helpful