As someone who's been getting Robinhood 1099s for years now, my advice: look at page 1 or 2 for the summary section. It should have totals for short-term gains/losses, long-term gains/losses, dividends, and interest. Those are the big numbers that affect your taxes. Don't get lost in the transaction details unless you need to verify something specific.

One thing I learned the hard way with my first Robinhood 1099 - make sure to check if you have any state tax implications too! Some states don't tax capital gains at all, while others tax them as regular income. Also, if you made estimated tax payments during the year, don't forget to account for those when calculating what you might still owe. The federal tax estimate is just part of the picture. I ended up owing way less than I thought because I had forgotten about the quarterly payments I made through my business. Good luck with your first investment tax filing - it gets easier once you understand the format!

Can I just double check - the person who is 19 can still file their own return even if they're claimed as a dependent by their parents, right? They would just check the "can be claimed as a dependent" box?

Just want to add another perspective here - I work as a tax preparer and see this situation all the time. Your brother definitely sounds like he qualifies as a qualifying relative dependent based on what you've described. One thing I always tell clients is to keep good records of the support you're providing. Since your parents are paying for housing, food, phone bill, etc., I'd recommend they keep receipts or bank statements showing these expenses. If the IRS ever questions the dependency claim, you'll want documentation that proves they provided more than half of his support for the year. Also, even though he's not working now, if your brother does get a job later in the year, just make sure his total gross income stays under $4,450 to maintain his qualifying relative status. If he goes over that threshold, your parents won't be able to claim him as a dependent for 2025.

Just a warning about the "keep it under $600 per platform" strategy - the rules are changing! The 1099-K reporting threshold was supposed to drop to $600 across all platforms last year, then got delayed, but it's likely coming soon. Also, the IRS can look at patterns. If they see you're conveniently just under reporting thresholds on multiple platforms, that could trigger questions. Better to just report everything properly and take advantage of all legitimate deductions. Honestly with your situation of low income this year and higher next year, you might even WANT to recognize more income this year while you're in a lower tax bracket!

Great thread everyone! As someone who went through a similar situation last year, I wanted to add a few thoughts that might help. The advice about recognizing income this year while you're in a lower bracket is spot on - that's exactly what I wish I had done. I ended up deferring a lot of sales and got hit harder tax-wise the following year when my regular income kicked in. One thing I learned the hard way: even if you're selling personal items at a loss (which is common with clothes), you still need to be able to reasonably document your original cost basis. I started taking photos of similar items online to show typical retail prices for the brands/styles I was selling. It's not perfect, but it helps establish that you're not just making up numbers. Also, don't forget about state taxes! Some states have different thresholds and requirements than federal, so make sure you're considering both levels. The suggestion about using a dedicated credit card for selling expenses is golden - makes tracking so much easier at tax time. I use a simple spreadsheet too, but having that card statement as backup is really helpful. Good luck with your sales! Sounds like you're being smart about planning ahead.

Great question about the QBI deduction! The phase-out thresholds are pretty high - for 2024, the QBI deduction starts phasing out at $191,950 for single filers and $383,900 for married filing jointly. So with your $2,400 in business income, you're well below that threshold and should be able to claim the full 20% deduction. Just make sure your business qualifies - most sole proprietorships do, but there are some exclusions for certain service businesses at higher income levels (which again, you don't need to worry about at your income level). Form 8995 is pretty straightforward for simple cases like yours. This deduction alone could save you around $480 in taxable income, which is a nice chunk of change when you're just starting out!

One more thing to consider - make sure you're keeping detailed records of ALL your business expenses throughout the year, not just the obvious ones. This includes things like: - Business-related software subscriptions - Office supplies (even small items like pens, paper) - Professional development courses or books related to your business - Business insurance premiums - Bank fees for your business account - Professional memberships or licenses Even though your profit was only $2400, every legitimate business expense you can document will reduce that amount and lower your tax burden. I use a simple spreadsheet to track everything monthly, and take photos of receipts with my phone immediately after purchases. Also, since you mentioned this is your first year - consider opening a separate business checking account if you haven't already. It makes expense tracking SO much easier and looks more professional if you ever get audited. Many banks offer free business accounts for sole proprietors with low transaction volumes.

I'm glad to see people are steering you toward legitimate options! As someone who's dealt with IRS audits professionally, I want to emphasize how serious the "profit motive" test is. The IRS has specific factors they look at: whether you operate in a businesslike manner, maintain complete records, have expertise in the activity, expect to make a profit, and actually do make a profit in some years. Simply creating an LLC and paying yourself for driving your own kids fails almost all of these tests. You'd have no external customers, no market-rate pricing, and no realistic path to profit - it's essentially a paper transaction designed solely for tax benefits, which is exactly what triggers audits. The charitable mileage deduction mentioned earlier is a much safer approach if you're already volunteering. And if you want to explore the kid transportation business seriously, starting with an established platform like HopSkipDrive gives you legitimate income to build from. Just remember that even with real business income, you'll need to track everything meticulously - the IRS expects the same level of record-keeping whether you make $500 or $50,000.

As a mom who's been down this exact rabbit hole of thinking, I totally get the appeal! I was doing the same mental math - all those hours driving, all that gas money, surely there's a way to make it work for taxes, right? But after reading through all these responses (especially from the tax professionals), I realize I was basically trying to create a fake business around something I'd be doing anyway as a parent. The IRS isn't stupid - they can spot the difference between a real transportation service and a mom trying to deduct her regular parenting duties. What really opened my eyes was learning about the self-employment tax. Even if this scheme somehow worked, I'd be paying an extra 15.3% on any "business income," which completely defeats the purpose of trying to save on taxes in the first place! I think I'm going to focus on the legitimate options mentioned here - tracking volunteer mileage for my kids' school activities and maybe looking into those real kid rideshare services if I want to earn some actual income from driving. At least then I'd have genuine business activities instead of trying to turn my mom taxi duties into a questionable tax write-off. Thanks everyone for the reality check - sometimes you need to hear from people who actually know tax law to realize when an idea is too good to be true!