Hey Benjamin! I can totally understand your stress - dealing with tax forms for the first time can be overwhelming. Everyone's given you great advice here, but I wanted to add one practical tip that helped me when I was in a similar situation. Since you mentioned this is your first substantial win, I'd recommend creating a simple spreadsheet or document right now to track all your gambling activities for the rest of the year. Include dates, locations, entry fees, winnings, and losses. This will make tax time so much easier and ensure you can take advantage of any deductible losses against your winnings. Also, don't stress too much about "messing up" - the fact that you're asking these questions now shows you're being responsible about it. The W-9 is really straightforward (just your basic info), and when you get the 1099-MISC next year, any decent tax software will walk you through exactly where to enter those winnings. You've got this! One last thing - if you plan to keep playing in tournaments, consider setting aside about 25-30% of your winnings in a separate account for taxes. That way you won't be scrambling to find tax money when filing season comes around.

Benjamin, you're absolutely on the right track by asking these questions early! The W-9 confusion is completely understandable - I went through the exact same panic when I won my first significant amount at a local tournament. Just to reinforce what others have said: the W-9 is essentially their way of collecting your information so they can send you (and the IRS) the proper tax forms later. Think of it like giving someone your address so they can mail you something - except in this case, they're "mailing" your tax information to the IRS. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should keep a copy of that completed W-9 for your own records. Sometimes there can be discrepancies between what you submitted and what appears on the 1099 they send you, and having your copy can help resolve any issues quickly. Also, since this is your first time dealing with gambling winnings, I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with IRS Publication 525 (Taxable and Nontaxable Income) - it has a whole section on gambling winnings that's actually pretty easy to understand. Better to read it now when you're not stressed about filing deadlines! You're being smart by getting ahead of this. Most people just ignore it and then panic in March when they realize they owe taxes on unreported income.

Think of an amended return like correcting a recipe after you've already started cooking. You don't throw everything out - you just adjust what's needed to fix the dish. I filed an amended return in March 2023 to add a missing 1099. Used TaxAct to e-file it, and the process was pretty straightforward. The software pulled in all my original info, I added the missing form, and it recalculated everything automatically. Got my additional refund direct deposited 14 weeks later.

Don't panic - this is actually a pretty common mistake! Since the missing W2 would increase your refund by $400, you're definitely doing the right thing by filing an amended return. The IRS has gotten much better at processing these electronically. A few tips from my experience: • Wait until your original return shows "processed" on the Where's My Refund tool before filing the amendment • Keep copies of everything, including the missing W2 • The 1040-X form will walk you through showing original vs. corrected amounts • Since you're owed more money, there's no penalty for filing the amendment The 3-week processing delay on your original return is unfortunately normal right now. Once that clears, the amendment should be straightforward. You've got this!

I've used H&R Block for the past 3 years. First year was $225, second year $350, and this year they charged me $525 for basically the identical situation each time. When I asked about the increase, they just said "rates have gone up" with no actual justification. I'm definitely looking elsewhere next year! Their convenience isn't worth the premium anymore.

Just walked out of H&R Block myself because they wanted $795 for my taxes!! I'm self employed too, but just a simple Etsy shop. Ended up using TaxAct online for $110 total for federal and state. Took me about 2.5 hours but TOTALLY worth saving almost $700!

Something nobody has mentioned yet - if your K-1 is from an MLP (Master Limited Partnership), there are special considerations for reporting on TurboTax. MLPs typically have special deductions like depletion allowances that can be tricky to enter. I find it's actually easier to use the desktop version of TurboTax rather than the online version for K-1s from MLPs since it handles the more complex K-1 entries better. If your K-1 has entries in boxes 16-20, you might want to consider this option.

This is a really helpful thread! I'm in a similar boat with my first year of K-1 investments. One thing I wanted to add that helped me understand the difference - think of it this way: the K-1 reports what happened "inside" the company while you owned it (their income, expenses, etc. that flow through to you as a partner), while the 1099-B reports what happened when you sold your ownership stake. So even if you sold at a loss on the 1099-B, you might still owe taxes on the K-1 income that was generated while you held the investment. They're completely separate tax events that both need to be reported. I'm still waiting on two of my K-1s myself, so looks like I'll be filing for that extension. Thanks everyone for the advice about the timing - I had no idea K-1s came so late compared to other tax forms!

My first step would be to check your transcripts, not the account balance page. The transcripts show the actual activity on your account. If you're having trouble understanding the transcript (most people do!), I highly recommend using taxr.ai - it breaks down exactly what's happening. Saved me so much confusion when my refund was delayed last year.

This exact thing happened to me about 6 months ago! My $2,100 balance just vanished overnight with no explanation. I was panicking thinking it was some kind of system error that would come back to bite me later. After a lot of digging, I found out the IRS had automatically applied some credits I was eligible for but never claimed - turns out there were some pandemic-related adjustments they were processing in batches. The whole thing took about a month to fully resolve and I got a letter explaining everything after the fact. My advice: definitely pull your account transcripts ASAP and document everything you're seeing now. Don't just assume it's gone forever, but also don't assume it's coming back. The IRS moves in mysterious ways and their online system is notoriously unreliable for showing real-time account status. I'd also recommend calling them directly if you can get through, or at least keep checking your mail for any notices over the next few weeks. In my case, everything worked out in my favor, but I spent weeks stressed about it because I had no idea what was happening.