What happens if the amount on the W2 doesn't match what's on my 1095-A? My employer says they paid $4800 for my insurance but my 1095-A shows different numbers for the monthly premiums.

The W-2 and 1095-A show different information and won't necessarily match. Your W-2 shows what your employer paid toward your health insurance premiums, while Form 1095-A shows information about your Marketplace coverage, including total premiums and any advance premium tax credits. These forms serve different purposes in your tax return. The employer contribution on your W-2 represents their share of your health insurance cost, while the 1095-A helps you claim or reconcile premium tax credits. TurboTax will ask for both forms and guide you through entering the information correctly for each purpose.

This is really helpful thx! One question - do you happen to know if there's any income limit for this exemption? Like if you make over a certain amount does it become taxable?

Wait seriously? You can actually write off pedicures as a business expense for feet pics? That seems too good to be true lol

Absolutely! If the pedicures are specifically for your photoshoots and business purposes, they're a legitimate business expense. Think of it like this - if a hand model gets manicures for photo shoots, that's a business expense. Same principle applies to foot modeling/pics. Just make sure you're being honest about the business purpose and keep good records. I keep a separate calendar where I note when I got pedicures specifically for photo sessions versus personal ones. Same with any special foot care products or accessories I buy exclusively for shoots. The key is that these expenses must be "ordinary and necessary" for your specific business - which in the case of foot content, professional foot care definitely qualifies!

Are the costs for copyright registration and protection software tax deductible? Seems like they would be but just checking.

I don't think I received any special credits last year - I don't have kids and didn't qualify for most of those pandemic-related things. My income did go up slightly (about $1,500 more than last year), but I didn't think that would make such a big difference. One thing I'm wondering about - I did start contributing to my company's 401k this past September. Would that affect my refund in any way? I'm putting in about 4% of my paycheck.

Your 401k contributions actually should have helped your tax situation, not hurt it. Those contributions reduce your taxable income, which typically means less tax overall. Since you started in September, you might not see the full annual benefit, but it definitely wouldn't cause your refund to decrease. Given all the information you've shared, it really does sound like the withholding change is the primary factor. The good news is that you didn't actually lose money - you just received it gradually throughout the year instead of in one lump sum. For next year, definitely submit a new W-4 requesting additional withholding if you prefer the larger refund approach to saving.

This is exactly right. A tax refund is just the government giving back money they took too much of during the year. Ideally, your refund should be close to zero - that means you paid exactly what you owed, no more no less.

That makes a lot of sense actually! The platform does take a percentage of earnings, so maybe the digital version showed net income while the paper shows gross? That would explain the difference. Should I still amend my return even if that's the case?

Yes, that's likely what happened. Regardless of the reason for the discrepancy, you should technically report what's on the official paper 1099 since that's what the IRS receives. Even if the digital showed post-fee income, the IRS expects you to report the gross amount and then deduct eligible fees as business expenses on your Schedule C. An amendment would be the proper course of action, though as others mentioned, the tax difference will be minimal. Just make sure if you're deducting business expenses that you include those platform fees as part of your deductions.

I wouldn't recommend ignoring it. Friend of mine ignored a $150 discrepancy and got a CP2000 notice about 18 months later. Ended up paying the extra tax plus interest. Not a huge deal but definitely more annoying than just fixing it upfront.

Thank you so much for sharing this! That's really reassuring to hear that it didn't affect your green card application. Did you use a tax professional to help with the amended return? I'm worried about making another mistake if I try to fix it myself.

I actually used my university's international student office resources to help with the amended return. Most schools have free tax assistance specifically for international students dealing with exactly these issues. They helped me complete the 1040-X and 1040-NR forms correctly. If your school doesn't offer this service, consider asking an advisor who specializes in international student taxes. The key is making sure you're filing as a nonresident alien if you've been here less than 5 years and are on a student visa, since different rules and possibly beneficial tax treaties apply to your situation.

None of the mainstream tax software (TurboTax, TaxSlayer, H&R Block) properly handles nonresident alien tax situations. I learned this the hard way. They're designed for US citizens and residents. As an international student, you need something that specifically handles Form 1040-NR and tax treaties, like Sprintax or GlacierTax.