Just to add some math to this conversation: if you drive around 15,000 business miles per year, that's about $10,050 in deductions using the standard rate (at 67¢/mile). To beat that with actual expenses, you'd need some serious costs. I tried both methods side by side last year: my actual expenses including insurance, maintenance, gas, depreciation, etc. came to about $8,700. The standard mileage gave me $9,800. Plus it took me like 5 hours to gather and calculate all my actual expenses, versus 10 minutes to total up my mileage log. Unless you drive a luxury vehicle or have major repair costs, standard mileage usually wins. The only time I've seen actual expenses work better is for people driving expensive vehicles with high insurance and maintenance costs.

I learned this the hard way but wanted to share - if you switch from standard mileage to actual expenses at any point during the life of the vehicle, you CAN'T switch back to standard mileage later for that same vehicle. But if you start with actual expenses, you can switch to standard mileage in a later year (as long as you used straight-line depreciation). The IRS is weird like that. Cost me about $2000 in lost deductions one year when my accountant didn't know this rule!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that you might qualify for assistance from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). They're an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve issues when normal IRS channels aren't working. If you're facing potential eviction due to tax debt, that counts as a "significant hardship" which is one of their criteria for taking a case. They can help expedite hardship requests and sometimes intervene to stop collection actions while your case is being reviewed. You can find your local TAS office by going to taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov. They're seriously helpful and their services are free.

Thank you all so much for these suggestions! I had no idea the Currently Not Collectible status wouldn't mean losing my apartment first. That completely changes things for me. I've already looked into taxr.ai to help with the documentation part since I'm honestly terrible with forms. I'm less terrified now that I understand I have options that don't involve becoming homeless. I'm going to work on documenting my expenses and hardship situation this weekend. If I can't get through with the documentation approach, I might try Claimyr to actually speak with someone. Just knowing there are paths forward has reduced my anxiety significantly. I'll update once I've made some progress. Thanks again for all the helpful advice!

Another option you might want to consider is Free File Fillable Forms directly from the IRS website. It's completely free and you can file a superseding return this way. The downside is that you have to know what you're doing since it doesn't give you the same guidance as paid software. If you go this route, you'll need to complete Form 1040, Schedule C (for the self-employment income from your 1099-NEC), and Schedule SE (to calculate self-employment tax). Make sure you use the exact same personal info as your original return so the IRS can match them up properly.

Warning about superseding returns - make sure you include EVERYTHING from your original return plus the corrections! A friend only submitted the corrected schedules and ended up with a huge mess because the IRS processed it as an incomplete return rather than a superseding one.

Something else to consider - if you're self-employed and have quarterly estimated tax payments coming up, any payment you make to the IRS could be applied to your next estimated tax payment instead of your past debt if you don't specify clearly. Happened to my brother last year and it was a mess to sort out. He thought he was paying his old tax bill but the IRS applied it to the upcoming quarter instead.

I work in accounting (not a CPA though) and see this issue frequently. Beyond what others mentioned about interest on interest, there's also the statute of limitations to consider. Generally, the IRS has 10 years to collect tax debt from the assessment date. BUT - any time you request a payment plan or appeal, that clock stops ticking. And partial payments can sometimes restart the clock in certain situations. So "paying later" might actually extend how long they can come after you.

Just FYI, if you're just entering your 1099 income without any expenses, you're definitely doing it wrong. Most self-employed people have legitimate business expenses that significantly reduce their taxable income. Common deductions for a plumber: - Vehicle expenses (mileage or actual expenses) - Tools and equipment - Supplies - Business insurance - Portion of phone bill used for business - Work clothes/uniforms - Professional licenses - Any continuing education - Advertising costs - Software subscriptions - Home office if you have dedicated space Take the time to go through all your expenses for the year. You'd be surprised how much you can reduce your tax bill.

Make sure you look into quarterly estimated tax payments for next year. I learned this the hard way too as a self-employed person. If you wait until April to pay your full tax bill when you're self-employed, you might get hit with underpayment penalties. The IRS expects you to pay as you earn throughout the year, just like withholding from a regular paycheck. Has anyone here used any apps for tracking expenses? I'm terrible at keeping receipts and always scrambling at tax time.