That's actually really smart! If they're in the middle of the 22% bracket with W2 income of $150k, then using 401k contributions to drop down could push some of that SE income into the 12% bracket. Could save thousands.

That's interesting! I hadn't thought about doing more frequent payments. My SE income does tend to be somewhat consistent monthly, so this could help with budgeting. Is there any downside to making monthly payments instead of quarterly?

No real downside to making monthly payments. The IRS will credit you for whatever you've paid by each quarterly due date. The only minor inconvenience is having to make more payment transactions, but that's easy with EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System). The biggest advantage is psychological - setting aside smaller amounts more frequently is easier than coming up with a big payment every three months. Just make sure you keep good records of all payments. I use a simple spreadsheet to track payment dates, confirmation numbers, and running totals for the year.

Thank you for mentioning the Head of Household status! We hadn't considered that. Do you know if my partner would need any specific documentation to prove he's been supporting my oldest? We don't have formal custody arrangements since the biological father isn't in the picture at all.

You don't need formal custody arrangements in this case since there's no other person claiming the child. The key is being able to show that your partner maintained the household and supported the child if ever questioned. It's good practice to keep records showing your partner paid household expenses (rent/mortgage receipts, utility bills in their name) and child-specific expenses (school records, medical bills, childcare receipts). Also helpful are any documents showing the child's address matches yours (school records, medical records). The IRS doesn't require you to submit these with your return, but they're good to have if you're ever audited or questioned.

The EITC is huge! But be really careful with the rules there. When I claimed my niece who lived with me, I messed up some paperwork and got audited. Took forever to resolve. Make sure every detail is perfect on that one.

Thanks for sharing your experience! Neither of us has any tax debts or child support, so it sounds like joint is probably the way to go for us. Did you use any particular tax software that was helpful for comparing the two options?

We used H&R Block's online software which made it pretty easy to compare. We entered all our info for a joint return first, noted the refund amount, then created a new return and selected married filing separately to see the difference. TaxAct also has a good comparison feature that's a bit more straightforward - it can show you both scenarios side by side after you enter all your information once.

That's actually a common misconception. The married filing separately brackets aren't the same as single brackets - they're exactly half of the married filing jointly brackets. So there's usually no tax bracket advantage to filing separately if both spouses have similar incomes. The only exception is if one spouse has significant itemized deductions that would be limited by the other spouse's income. But with the higher standard deduction now, that's rare for most people.

That's a really smart idea I hadn't thought of! I just checked our business account online and can see the check was deposited at First National Bank, but I'm not seeing any account details. Is there something specific I should ask our bank for to get more information?

You'd want to contact your bank and ask for the "deposit information" from the cleared check. Sometimes they can provide the routing and account number where it was deposited. Not all banks will share this, but many business accounts give you access to this information. Once you have that, you still won't have their TIN, but you'll have more documentation to show the IRS that this was indeed a real vendor who received payment. The bank info combined with their name, email and phone gives you a stronger paper trail.

This is good advice. Also mention that if they refuse to provide a W-9, you're required to do backup withholding at 24% of any FUTURE payments and report them to the IRS. Even though you can't do that for past payments, just knowing you're aware of the requirements might make them reconsider.

Wait really? I didn't know the IRS pays interest! Do they just add it automatically or do you have to request it somehow? I'm still waiting on my 2021 refund too.

They add it automatically! You don't have to do anything to request it. The interest starts accumulating from the original filing deadline for that tax year (so for 2021 returns, interest started accumulating from April 18, 2022). They'll keep adding interest until the day they issue your refund. Just be aware that the interest payment IS taxable income, but you'll report it on next year's return. They'll send you a Form 1099-INT in January 2026 for any interest paid during 2025. The current interest rate is pretty decent too - around 7% annually.

Thanks for this! I just created an account on the IRS website to check my transcript, but it says I need to wait for a verification code in the mail. Is that normal?

Actually it's the opposite. "Being processed" is the normal status, while "still being processed" often indicates some sort of review or delay. The transcript is definitely the way to go for more info though!