Has anyone considered the self-employment tax implications here? If you put the equipment rental on Schedule C, you'll pay an additional 15.3% SE tax on the net income, which you wouldn't pay if it's on Schedule E. This made a HUGE difference in my situation - I had about $20k in equipment rental income, and putting it on Schedule C vs E was about a $3k difference just in SE tax! Something to consider if you're right on the edge between active and passive involvement.

Great discussion here! As someone who went through a similar situation with inherited equipment, I wanted to add a few practical considerations that might help with your decision. One thing I learned the hard way is that if you're planning to rent this equipment regularly (3-4 times monthly as you mentioned), you'll definitely want to look into commercial liability insurance. Your personal or existing business insurance likely won't cover equipment rental activities, and construction equipment carries significant liability risk. Also, since you mentioned the equipment is unrelated to your IT consulting, consider whether mixing it into your existing LLC is the best approach. While you CAN have multiple business activities under one LLC, there are liability and operational reasons why you might want to keep them separate. If someone gets injured using your construction equipment, you don't want that to potentially impact your IT consulting business. From a tax perspective, given your level of planned involvement (website, maintenance, delivery), Schedule C definitely seems appropriate. Just make sure you're prepared for the self-employment tax implications that Aurora mentioned - it's a real cost to factor into your pricing. One last tip: start tracking your time spent on equipment rental activities from day one. The IRS loves documentation about your level of involvement if they ever question your Schedule C classification.

Do yall know if there's a required minimum resolution for the photos? Some of my receipts are kinda faded and I'm worried my phone camera isn't capturing everything.

Great question! I've been doing the digital receipt thing for about three years now and can confirm the IRS absolutely accepts photos of receipts. The key is making sure they're readable and contain all the essential info - date, vendor, amount, and description of what was purchased. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet is to be consistent with your photo quality. I always take photos immediately after purchases while the receipt is still crisp, use good lighting, and make sure the entire receipt fits in the frame. I've seen people try to piece together receipts from multiple photos during audits and that gets messy fast. Also, don't forget about receipts for cash purchases under $75 - technically you don't need a receipt for business expenses under that amount, but having photo documentation makes your life so much easier if questions come up later. Better safe than sorry!

I'm in the same exact situation! Filed through TurboTax in early April, got my federal refund last week, but Indiana is still showing "processing" on their website. It's really frustrating not knowing when to expect it, especially when you're counting on that money. Based on what everyone is saying here, it sounds like 3-4 weeks after federal is pretty normal for Indiana this year due to their new fraud prevention measures. I'm trying to be patient but it's hard when the status updates are so vague. Hopefully we'll both see movement soon!

I'm experiencing the exact same thing! Filed my taxes through TurboTax in early April, received my federal refund about a week ago, but my Indiana state refund is still showing "processing" on their website. It's reassuring to read through all these comments and see that so many others are dealing with similar delays - at least we know we're not alone in this situation. From what everyone is sharing here, it sounds like Indiana has implemented additional fraud prevention measures this year that are causing these 3-4 week delays after receiving federal refunds. The waiting is definitely frustrating, especially when you're counting on that money, but it seems like most people are eventually getting their refunds processed. I'm going to try to be more patient and maybe check the status less frequently since it doesn't seem to update very often anyway. Thanks for posting this question - it's really helpful to hear everyone's experiences and timelines!

I went through something similar when helping my nephew with college expenses. One thing that really helped was creating a simple spreadsheet tracking all payments and ensuring we had clear documentation showing the funds came from different sources (my checking account vs. my spouse's savings account). Also worth noting - if your sister is going through a divorce, make sure the loan doesn't complicate her divorce proceedings. Sometimes large financial transactions during divorce can be scrutinized by the court or the ex-spouse's attorney. You might want to coordinate with her divorce lawyer to make sure the timing and structure won't cause issues. From a practical standpoint, I'd recommend having both loan agreements reference different purposes if possible (like one for living expenses, one for legal fees) to further distinguish them as separate transactions. And definitely keep records of how she uses the money - if she immediately deposits both loans into one account and uses them interchangeably, it could undermine the "separate loan" argument.

I'm new here but have been dealing with a similar family loan situation recently. One thing I learned from my tax advisor is that the IRS also looks at the repayment terms and whether they're being followed. Even with proper documentation, if your sister never makes any payments or the repayment schedule is unrealistic given her financial situation, the IRS might question whether it's a legitimate loan versus a disguised gift. For the divorce timing issue that was mentioned - I'd actually suggest coordinating with her divorce attorney before proceeding. In some states, taking on debt during divorce proceedings can affect property division or spousal support calculations. The last thing you want is for your generous help to accidentally reduce her settlement or create complications in court. One more practical tip: consider requiring some form of collateral or personal guarantee even if it's nominal (like a lien on her car or future tax refunds). It helps establish that this is a real business transaction rather than family assistance. Obviously you'd never actually enforce it against your sister, but having it documented shows the IRS you structured this as a legitimate loan with consequences for non-payment.

Is this her first teaching job? I'm a school district payroll manager, and we see this issue CONSTANTLY with new teachers who don't understand their retirement system. In many states, teachers have mandatory retirement contributions that are taken INSTEAD OF Social Security (not in addition to it). So the $0 for Social Security might be correct if she's in a state with a separate teacher retirement system. But the federal withholding is definitely wrong. $41 per paycheck for someone making $62k would only make sense if she claimed she was exempt or claimed a huge number of dependents. My guess: she filled out her W-4 incorrectly when starting the new position. You should: 1. Check her W-4 on file 2. Compare her last paystub YTD amounts to the W2 3. Ask about her state's teacher retirement system rules

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! My husband is also a teacher and we just discovered his W2 shows almost no federal withholding despite making $58k. After reading through these responses, I'm starting to think it's definitely a W-4 issue. What really helped us was getting a copy of his W-4 from HR - turns out he accidentally marked "exempt" on his first day because he was rushing through paperwork and didn't understand what it meant. The payroll person said this happens with new teachers ALL THE TIME. We're now working with the district to correct his withholding going forward and setting up quarterly payments to avoid another surprise next year. Definitely check what's on file for her W-4 - that's probably where the problem started. Also, if you're in one of those states where teachers don't pay Social Security (like we are in Ohio), that part might actually be correct. But the federal withholding being so low is almost certainly a W-4 error.