Has anyone tried GoDaddy Bookkeeping? It's around $10/month and seems to have good reviews for self-employed folks with simple business models like us.

As someone who's been through the 1099 contractor journey myself (freelance marketing consultant), I'd suggest starting with Wave Accounting since it's free and see how it works for your needs. You can always upgrade later if you find you need more features. The most important thing is developing good habits around expense tracking and keeping business/personal finances separate. I learned this the hard way during my first tax season! Make sure whatever system you choose can easily generate Schedule C reports and tracks mileage automatically or with minimal manual input. For insurance brokers specifically, pay close attention to deductions for professional development, licensing fees, E&O insurance premiums, and client entertainment expenses. These can add up to significant tax savings if tracked properly throughout the year.

I went through this exact same nightmare two years ago as a single mom with three kids. The W-4 transition has been absolutely brutal for single parents because most employers are still using outdated systems or forms while applying the new withholding calculations. What saved me was being really aggressive about getting the correct form from HR and making sure they understood I needed the current W-4, not the old one with allowances. I had to escalate to the payroll manager because the first HR person kept giving me the old form and insisting "it's the same thing." Some practical tips that helped me: - Print out the current W-4 from the IRS website and bring it to HR if they don't have it - Emphasize that you're Head of Household, not Single - this is huge for withholding calculations - Don't be afraid to add extra withholding in Step 4(c). I add $125 per paycheck and it's been perfect - Keep your pay stubs and check that the withholding actually changes after you submit the new form For your current $1,300 debt, the IRS installment agreement is definitely the way to go if you can't pay it all at once. I set up a 6-month payment plan and it was really manageable. The frustrating part is that with four kids and $87k income, you should absolutely be getting a substantial refund. Once you get this sorted out properly, next year should be completely different. Hang in there - this transition has been terrible but it's fixable!

I'm a tax preparer and I see this exact situation constantly - you're absolutely not alone in this mess! The W-4 overhaul in 2020 created a perfect storm for single parents because the old "claim zero" strategy completely backfired under the new system. Here's what's happening: When you claimed "0 allowances" on the old form, you were actually telling the system to withhold taxes as if you're single with NO dependents, which is the highest withholding rate. But with four kids, you should qualify for significant tax credits that drastically reduce your actual tax liability. The withholding system just isn't accounting for those credits properly. Your actual tax situation is probably fine - it's purely a withholding calculation problem. With four dependents and $87k income, you should indeed be getting money back, not owing $1,300. Immediate action items: 1. Get the current W-4 form (2020 or later) - no "allowances" section at all 2. File as Head of Household (not Single) - this alone will help significantly 3. Complete Step 3 for all four dependents - this is crucial for proper withholding 4. Add extra withholding in Step 4(c) - I'd suggest $150-200 per paycheck as a buffer The silver lining is that once you fix this, next year should be completely different. With four qualifying children, you're looking at substantial Child Tax Credits that should result in a nice refund instead of owing money. This transition period has been brutal, but it's absolutely fixable!

5 I messed up my backdoor Roth reporting last year and had to file an amended return. Make sure you keep track of your "basis" in the Traditional IRA across multiple years if you do this annually. Also, TurboTax really struggled with this - had to manually override some calculations.

Great question about backdoor Roth reporting! I went through this exact same confusion last year. You're absolutely right that you need Form 8606 - that's the key form you'll fill out yourself to report the non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution. Fidelity won't send you a separate form for that initial contribution, which is why you only got the 1099-R. Here's what I learned: Form 8606 Part I is where you'll report your $6,500 non-deductible contribution, and Part II handles the conversion to Roth. Since you converted right away with no earnings, the taxable portion should be zero. Just make sure to keep good records of your basis for future years if you plan to do this annually. One tip - double-check that you don't have any other Traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA balances anywhere else, as those would affect the pro-rata calculation and make part of your conversion taxable. The IRS looks at all your IRA accounts combined when calculating the taxable portion.

As someone who's been implementing tax strategies for my consulting business over the past year, I'd recommend starting with the fundamentals before diving into any paid programs. The biggest wins often come from proper bookkeeping and understanding which expenses you can legitimately deduct. That said, if you're serious about tax optimization, consider getting a comprehensive analysis of your current situation first. I used an AI tax analysis tool that showed me I was missing about $8k in deductions annually just from poor categorization of business expenses. Sometimes the low-hanging fruit saves you more than complex strategies. For a 30% growth year like yours, focus on quarterly estimated taxes and cash flow planning too - that growth might put you in a higher bracket and create estimated payment penalties if you're not careful. The strategies are only valuable if you have the foundation right first.

I've been working with various tax strategy approaches for my small manufacturing business over the past few years, and I think the key insight here is that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Wealthability's strategies are solid, but they work best when you have the right business structure and cash flow to support them. What I'd suggest is starting with a comprehensive review of your current tax situation before committing to any paid program. Get a clear picture of what you're actually missing - whether it's basic deduction optimization, entity structure issues, or more advanced strategies. I made the mistake of jumping into complex tax strategies before fixing fundamental issues with my bookkeeping and expense categorization. For a business experiencing 30% growth, you're also going to want to focus heavily on cash flow management and quarterly estimated payments. That growth spike can create some nasty surprises at tax time if you're not planning ahead. Sometimes the biggest "strategy" is just staying current with your obligations and avoiding penalties. Once you have those fundamentals locked down, then you can evaluate whether Wealthability's approach makes sense for your specific situation and business model.

One thing that's helped me tremendously is understanding that MAGI calculations are purpose-specific. The MAGI for IRA deductions is different from MAGI for premium tax credits or other benefits, which can be really confusing when you're trying to research online. For IRA deduction eligibility specifically, I always remind myself of the key principle: if you don't have student loan interest, foreign income exclusions, or the other specific add-backs mentioned in this thread, then your MAGI equals your AGI from line 11 of Form 1040. It's that simple for most people. What really helped me catch errors in my tax software was printing out the actual IRS worksheet from Publication 590-A and working through it line by line. I discovered my software was making an error with how it handled my student loan interest deduction in the MAGI calculation. Sometimes the manual approach, even though it takes longer, gives you the confidence that everything is correct. Also, don't forget that if you're married, there are different MAGI limits depending on whether your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work. The rules get more complex in that situation, so it's worth double-checking if you're in a mixed-coverage marriage.

I just went through this exact same struggle last month! What really helped me was breaking it down step by step. First, make sure you understand that for most people, MAGI for IRA purposes is just your AGI (line 11 of Form 1040) plus any student loan interest you deducted. Here's what I discovered was causing my confusion: I was overthinking it because I kept reading about different MAGI calculations for other tax benefits. For IRA deduction eligibility, it's actually pretty straightforward unless you have foreign income or some of the other less common adjustments. The key insight that saved me was realizing that your 401(k) contributions are already excluded from your W-2 wages, so they're not part of your AGI to begin with - no need to subtract them again. Your tax software should handle this correctly, but double-check that you've properly indicated you're covered by a workplace retirement plan. If your income is close to the phase-out range ($77K-$87K for single, $123K-$143K for married filing jointly), I'd recommend manually working through the IRS worksheet in Publication 590-A just to verify your software's calculation. It only takes about 10 minutes and gives you confidence that everything is right.