Anyone know if TurboTax is good enough for content creator taxes? I'm making about $40k from YouTube and sponsorships and wondering if I need to spring for an accountant instead.

As someone who went through this exact situation last year, I totally understand the confusion! You're absolutely right to be concerned about setting aside money for taxes - that $37,500 total income puts you in a position where you'll owe both regular income tax and self-employment tax. A few key points from my experience: - Yes, report ALL income even without 1099s. Keep your own records of every payment. - Your equipment purchases are great deductions! That $3,750 in equipment can likely be fully deducted in the year of purchase using Section 179. - For quarterly payments, calculate 25-30% of your net profit and pay that quarterly to avoid penalties. - Self-employment tax is roughly 15.3% on your net earnings, covering Social Security and Medicare. The most important thing is to start keeping meticulous records NOW. Create a spreadsheet tracking all income sources, business expenses, and set aside that tax money in a separate account. Don't make my mistake of scrambling to reconstruct everything at tax time! Consider getting a business checking account to keep your creator income separate from personal expenses - it makes everything so much cleaner for tax purposes.

I claimed my mom as a dependent last year and got flagged for audit because I didn't have good records of how much support I provided. Make sure you keep ALL receipts for anything you pay for her - groceries, utilities, medical expenses, everything. Also calculate the fair rental value of the space she uses in your home because that counts as support too!

@Elijah Jackson, I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you're doing an amazing thing supporting your mom during this difficult time. Based on what you've shared, your mom will very likely qualify as your dependent. Her Social Security income of $1,150/month ($13,800/year) is probably not taxable since it's her only income source, so she should easily meet the gross income test. Since you're covering most of her expenses and she's living with you, you're clearly providing more than half her support. For your W4, I'd recommend updating it to reflect both changes: claim her as a dependent in Step 3 AND change your filing status to Head of Household in Step 1(c). This combo will significantly reduce your withholding and put more money in your pocket each month rather than waiting for a big refund. Just make sure to keep detailed records of everything you pay for her - rent/mortgage portion for her space, food, utilities, medical expenses, etc. The IRS sometimes audits dependent claims, so good documentation is key. You can estimate her share of household expenses (like utilities) based on the percentage of your home she occupies. The tax savings between Single with no dependents vs Head of Household with one dependent could easily be $4,000+ annually on your income level!

Has anyone considered the FIREIGN act provisions that went into effect last year? Those rules significantly changed reporting for certain foreign trusts with US beneficiaries. This is even more complicated if your company has intellectual property that would be transferred to the trust.

This is exactly the kind of situation where you need to be extremely cautious. I've seen too many business owners get burned by these "too good to be true" offshore arrangements. The reality is that the IRS has decades of experience dealing with these structures and has built extensive anti-avoidance rules specifically to prevent what your advisor is suggesting. Even if you're no longer the legal owner, the IRS will look at the economic substance - you're still controlling the company, benefiting from its success, and your children are the ultimate beneficiaries. A few red flags I'm seeing: 1. Your advisor is downplaying the complexity and costs 2. The "significant tax benefits" claim without mentioning the substantial compliance burden 3. No discussion of the immediate tax consequences of the transfer Before you even consider this, you absolutely need: - A second opinion from a tax attorney (not a financial advisor) who specializes in international tax law - A detailed analysis of ALL the reporting requirements and penalties - A realistic estimate of annual compliance costs - Understanding of the exit strategy and costs if things go wrong I've seen these arrangements cost people hundreds of thousands in penalties and legal fees when they go sideways. The juice is rarely worth the squeeze, especially for a business of your size.

Just to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - don't forget about state tax implications! Even if you're handling federal taxes correctly, some states can be aggressive about claiming tax nexus based on your LLC registration. For example, I have a Florida LLC but I'm based in Brazil. Florida has no state income tax, which is great, but when I previously had my LLC registered in California, they tried to tax my worldwide income even though I performed no work there. Just having the LLC registered in CA was enough for them to claim nexus.

Don't forget about FDII (Foreign-Derived Intangible Income) deductions if your LLC is taxed as a corporation! As a non-US resident with a US corporation serving foreign clients, this provision could significantly reduce your effective tax rate.

I went through this exact same frustration last year! After trying everything suggested here (calling SSA, checking for name discrepancies, etc.), it turned out to be something completely unexpected - my spouse's SSN was flagged for "suspicious activity" in the IRS system due to a data breach at their former employer. The SSN itself was correct, the name was correct, but the IRS had temporarily flagged it pending verification. This isn't something you can fix by resubmitting - it requires direct contact with the IRS to clear the flag. What finally worked for me was calling the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service (1-877-777-4778). They're specifically designed to help with these kinds of systemic issues that regular IRS customer service can't handle. They were able to clear the flag within a few days and my return was processed normally. Just wanted to mention this possibility since it's not commonly known but does happen, especially if your spouse has had any employment changes or lived in areas affected by major data breaches in recent years.

I had a very similar issue two years ago and it was incredibly frustrating! After going through all the usual troubleshooting (checking SSA records, verifying name formatting, etc.), I discovered that my spouse's SSN was actually correct in all systems, but there was a timing issue with when we filed. It turns out that my spouse had received a small 1099 form late in the season that we didn't include in our original filing. Even though the SSN rejection message made it seem like a Social Security number problem, the real issue was that the IRS had already received the 1099 with my spouse's SSN from the employer, but our return didn't include that income. The system flagged this as an SSN mismatch because it expected to see that 1099 income reported under my spouse's SSN. Once we amended our return to include the missing 1099, everything went through smoothly. I'd recommend double-checking that you have all tax documents for your spouse - sometimes employers send corrected or additional forms after you've already filed. Check your spouse's online accounts with any employers, banks, or investment companies to make sure no additional tax documents were issued after your filing.