I went through the exact same thing with my consulting business! Filed Schedule C with zero income and about $8,000 in legitimate business expenses - office setup, professional development, networking events, etc. The loss offset my W-2 income and saved us about $2,400 in taxes. The key thing that helped me was keeping meticulous records showing business intent. I documented my business plan, saved emails with potential clients, kept meeting notes, and made sure my home office was used exclusively for business. When you have a clear paper trail showing you're running a legitimate business (not a hobby), the IRS loss rules work in your favor. One thing to watch out for - some expenses like business meals are only 50% deductible, and there are limits on certain deductions. But overall, yes, you absolutely can and should claim those expenses even with no revenue yet!

This is a really common situation with new businesses! You're absolutely right to claim those expenses even without revenue yet. I had a similar setup with my web design business - worked my day job while building the business on the side, had legitimate expenses but no income the first year. The key is that you're running a legitimate business with profit motive (which your wife clearly has with the contract in place). File Schedule C showing $0 income but listing all the legitimate business expenses. The resulting loss will reduce your overall tax liability on your joint return. Just make sure you can justify each expense as necessary for the business and keep detailed records. The home office deduction is great if that space is used exclusively for business. And don't worry about the timing of revenue vs expenses - that's totally normal for startups. The IRS understands businesses often lose money initially while investing in growth.

One thing to keep in mind is that the timing of your internship (April-June) actually works in your favor for estimated tax payments. Since your stipend will be earned in the second quarter of 2025, you'd only need to make estimated payments for Q2 (due June 15), Q3 (due September 15), and Q4 (due January 15, 2026) if you end up owing more than $1,000. You can calculate your quarterly payment by taking your expected total tax liability for the year and dividing it by the number of remaining quarters when you start receiving income. So if you determine you'll owe $1,200 in taxes on the $4,000 stipend, you'd pay $400 each quarter for the three remaining quarters. Also, since this is a relatively short-term situation, you might consider opening a separate savings account just for your tax money. As soon as you receive each stipend payment, immediately transfer your estimated tax portion (25-30%) into that account. This way you won't accidentally spend your tax money and you'll earn a little interest while waiting to make the payments.

I just went through this exact situation last year with my summer research internship! Here's what I learned that might help: First, definitely ask your internship coordinator about the tax forms they'll provide - this is crucial. My program sent a 1099-MISC with the stipend reported in Box 3 (Other Income), which meant I only had to pay regular income tax, not self-employment tax. For your $4,000 stipend, I'd recommend immediately setting aside 25-30% when you receive each payment. I made the mistake of spending mine first and then scrambling to find tax money later! One thing that really helped me was using IRS Form 1040-ES to calculate my estimated payments. Since you're starting in Q2, you'll only need to make 3 quarterly payments instead of 4, which actually makes it more manageable. The due dates would be June 15 (for Q2), September 15 (Q3), and January 15, 2026 (Q4). Also, since you have a part-time W-2 job, make sure to factor in any tax withholding from that when calculating your estimated payments. You might find that between your existing withholding and the relatively small stipend amount, you don't even hit the $1,000 threshold that requires estimated payments. The key is getting clarity on how your specific program classifies the stipend - that determines everything else!

I think everyone is overthinking this! Just enter the info from the W2 and you're fine. The IRS only cares about who paid you and if the correct taxes were withheld. I've worked for like 5 different staffing agencies over the years and never had an issue. That checkbox in H&R Block is probably asking if you're self-employed. Since you got a W2, you're not self-employed, so don't check it. Simple as that!

I went through this exact same situation last year when I worked for a client through Kelly Services! You're absolutely right to treat Robert Half as your employer for all tax purposes since they issued your W2. The key thing to remember is that from the IRS perspective, you were an employee of Robert Half who happened to be assigned to work at their client's location. This is a completely normal and well-understood employment arrangement. For that checkbox you're seeing in H&R Block - if it's asking about self-employment status, definitely don't check it since you received a W2 (not a 1099). If it's asking something else and you're still unsure, you can always skip it for now and come back to it, or look for a help button that explains what that specific question is asking. Don't stress too much about it - staffing agency employment is super common and the tax software is designed to handle it properly!

Warning from personal experience: be super careful about mixing personal and business use with that Tesla rental! I did something similar last year and got audited because I couldn't properly document my business percentage. Make sure you're taking photos of your odometer at the beginning and end of EVERY shift, and maybe even use a backup tracking app too. The IRS is really cracking down on gig workers claiming 100% business use when they're actually using vehicles for personal stuff too. My tax bill ended up being crazy high because they disallowed a bunch of my deductions. Don't make the same mistake!

Great question about the Tesla rental deduction! I've been doing rideshare taxes for several years and can confirm that you're on the right track. When you rent a vehicle specifically for business use, you can indeed deduct the rental costs as a business expense rather than using the standard mileage rate. For your situation with switching mid-year, you'll need to keep separate records for each period: - Personal vehicle period: Use standard mileage deduction based on business miles driven - Rental period: Deduct actual rental costs (business percentage only) A few important tips from my experience: 1. Keep detailed records of when you switch vehicles - exact dates matter 2. Track your business vs personal usage percentage for the rental meticulously 3. Save all rental agreements and payment receipts 4. Consider using a mileage tracking app to document business use The fact that it's an official Uber partner rental program actually helps support the legitimacy of the business expense. Just make sure you're honest about the business percentage - the IRS can cross-reference your claimed usage with your actual trip data from Uber if they audit you. Good luck with the Tesla rental! Many drivers find the electric vehicle savings make it quite profitable once you factor in the tax benefits.

That's a really smart strategy! I hadn't thought about bunching donations like that. For someone like the original poster with $94k income, if they normally donate $4k per year but could bunch two years together for $8k, plus their other deductions, they might actually cross that $29,200 threshold. One thing to add though - make sure the charity can handle receiving a large donation all at once, especially for clothing. Some smaller organizations might not have the capacity to process huge amounts of items. You might need to coordinate with them or spread it across multiple qualifying charities in the same tax year. Also, if you're doing this with cash donations, just remember the AGI limits still apply each year - you can't exceed 60% of your AGI in a single year, though you can carry forward unused deductions to future years.

No, bunching donations won't trigger an audit or cause any issues with the IRS! It's actually a completely legitimate and commonly recommended tax strategy. The IRS expects taxpayers to alternate between itemizing and taking the standard deduction based on what's most beneficial each year. Many people use bunching strategies for various reasons - some bunch medical expenses, others bunch charitable donations, and some even time when they pay property taxes or make large purchases to optimize their deductions. Tax professionals recommend this all the time. The key is just to make sure all your donations are legitimate, properly documented, and made to qualified charitable organizations. As long as you have receipts and follow all the documentation requirements we've discussed (Form 8283 for non-cash donations over $500, appraisals for individual items over $500, etc.), you're golden. Your tax return might look different year to year, but that's totally normal and expected. The IRS systems are designed to handle this kind of variation in taxpayer situations.