Stupid question maybe, but where do I even find my 1098-T form? My school didn't mail me anything and I can't find it in my student portal.

I just went through this exact situation last year and want to clarify something that might help! Based on your numbers, you're in great shape tax-wise. Your 1098-T shows $33,218 in qualified expenses (Box 1) and $26,453 in scholarships/grants (Box 5). Since your qualified educational expenses exceed your scholarships by $6,765, none of your scholarship money is taxable. You essentially paid that $6,765 out of pocket for education costs. One thing to double-check: make sure the amounts on your 1098-T actually reflect what you paid and received. Sometimes schools report things differently (like payments made vs. charges billed), so compare it to your actual tuition bills and financial aid statements to be sure. The key rule is that scholarships/grants are only taxable when they exceed qualified educational expenses OR when they're specifically designated for non-qualified expenses like room and board. In your case, you're well under that threshold, so you should be all set!

When this happened to me, I just resubmitted the payment and included a brief letter explaining what happened. I did get hit with a small penalty (like $25 or something) but it wasn't worth fighting over. The important thing is just to get that payment in ASAP and move on with your life! The IRS is usually reasonable as long as you're making an honest effort to fix the problem.

I had a similar situation happen to me about two years ago with a quarterly payment that got flagged by my bank's fraud system. The stress is totally understandable, but you're going to be fine! Here's what worked for me: I immediately resubmitted the payment through EFTPS and included a simple cover letter explaining that the original payment was declined due to a bank error. I also attached the email notification from the IRS about the bounced payment and a brief statement from my bank acknowledging their mistake. The key is acting quickly - I got my resubmission in within 3 days of discovering the issue. The IRS ended up waiving the penalty completely under their "reasonable cause" provisions since I could demonstrate it wasn't due to negligence on my part. Don't overthink it - just get that payment resubmitted today if possible, keep all your documentation, and you should be good to go. The IRS deals with bank errors all the time and they're generally fair about it when you can show it wasn't your fault.

I really appreciate everyone's detailed responses here! As someone new to dealing with these types of income sources, this has been incredibly helpful. It sounds like the consensus is pretty clear - my CPA's advice was wrong and potentially risky. I'm definitely going to report everything properly. Better to be safe than sorry, especially since we're not talking about huge amounts anyway. The distinction between what companies have to report versus what I have to report makes total sense now. One quick follow-up question though - for those referral bonuses from Chase and other credit cards, do I need to keep any special documentation beyond just recording the amounts? Like screenshots of the bonus notifications or anything like that?

Thanks for bringing up this important question! As a newcomer here, I've been lurking and learning a lot from these discussions. Your situation really resonates with me because I've been collecting various small income streams too - mostly from cashback apps, credit card bonuses, and some freelance work. Reading through all these responses has been eye-opening. I had no idea that the "no 1099 = don't report" advice was actually incorrect. I've been following similar logic with my own small earnings, thinking that since Rakuten and other companies weren't sending me tax forms, I was in the clear. It's concerning that a CPA would give advice that could potentially get clients in trouble. Makes me wonder if I should get a second opinion on some tax advice I received last year. The distinction everyone's explaining between company reporting requirements and individual tax obligations makes perfect sense when you think about it logically. I'm definitely going to start keeping better records of all these small income sources going forward. Better to over-document than under-document, especially as these amounts add up over time.

Something else to consider - if you'll be making decent money with Instacart, you might want to look into forming an LLC and electing S-Corp status. My wife has a regular job and I do gig work, and this setup saved us thousands. With an S-Corp, you pay yourself a reasonable salary (which is subject to self-employment tax) but can take the rest as distributions that aren't subject to SE tax. You have to file more paperwork and run payroll, but the tax savings can be substantial if you're earning enough.

As someone who's been doing gig work while my spouse has a regular W-2 job, I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped us navigate this exact situation: First, don't stress too much about the tax complexity - it's really not as scary as it seems at first! Your husband's income stays taxed normally, and only your Instacart earnings get hit with self-employment tax. Here's what I wish I'd known starting out: 1. Open that separate savings account IMMEDIATELY and automate transfers. I set up my bank to automatically move 30% of any Instacart deposit to my "tax account." This prevented me from accidentally spending tax money. 2. Download a mileage tracking app on day one. I use MileIQ but there are free options too. Starting and stopping it becomes second nature, and those deductions really add up. 3. Keep ALL your receipts - insulated bags, phone chargers, hand sanitizer, even car washes if you're keeping your car clean for customers. These business expenses reduce your taxable income. 4. Consider making your first quarterly payment even if you think you might not owe much. It's easier to get a refund than deal with penalties. The good news is that doing this temporarily for debt payoff (like your situation) keeps things much simpler than if you were planning to make this a full-time business. You've got this!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now! Filed about a month ago and just saw that "Action Required" message pop up yesterday. It's so confusing because like you said, there's literally no action listed for me to take. From what I'm reading in these comments, it sounds like this is pretty normal when they're doing some kind of review, but man the wording is terrible. Why say "Action Required" when they really mean "we're reviewing your stuff, just wait"? I'm also filing Head of Household with dependents so maybe that's what triggered it for both of us. Really hoping we don't have to wait months like some people are mentioning here. The financial stress of not knowing when (or if) that money is coming is real. Thanks for posting about this - at least now I know I'm not alone in this limbo!

This is such a frustrating experience and you're definitely not alone! I went through something similar last year where I got that exact same "Action Required" message with no actual action to take. It's like they designed the worst possible user experience. In my case, it turned out to be a routine review of my Child Tax Credit since I was a new claimant that year. The whole thing took about 8 weeks to resolve and I never received any letter in the mail - it just suddenly updated one day saying my refund was approved and it showed up a week later. The key thing I learned is that TurboTax's status messages are pretty generic and not always accurate. The IRS transcript is way more informative if you can manage to get access to it. Look for codes like 570 (additional account action pending) or 971 (notice issued) which will give you a better idea of what's actually happening. I know it's hard when you're counting on that money, but try not to stress too much. Head of Household with dependents does get more scrutiny, but the vast majority of these reviews are just routine verification that gets resolved without any issues. Hang in there!