I've been dealing with this exact same issue! What worked for me was calling the IRS early in the morning (around 7:30 AM) and when the line went silent, I actually waited it out for about 8 minutes before someone finally came on. I know it sounds crazy, but their system is just really slow to connect you sometimes. Also, I had better luck using my home phone instead of my cell - seemed to have fewer connection drops. Another tip: have your SSN, filing status, and expected refund amount written down before you call so you're ready when someone does pick up. I ended up getting through on my 6th attempt and found out there was just a minor verification issue holding up my refund. Keep trying - I know it's super frustrating but persistence really does pay off! 💪

I went through this same nightmare recently! The silent call issue is so maddening. What finally worked for me was calling at exactly 7 AM when they open and staying on the line even when it went completely silent for what felt like forever - turned out to be about 6 minutes before an agent actually picked up. I almost hung up multiple times but I'm so glad I didn't! Also, try using a landline if you have one - I noticed way better call quality compared to my cell phone. Make sure you have your SSN, expected refund amount, and filing status ready to go because once you get through, the agents can help pretty quickly if you have all your info. It took me 4 attempts over 3 days but I finally got my refund issue resolved. The system is definitely broken but don't give up! Your refund is out there waiting for you. 🙏

Am I the only one who thinks the 1099-K threshold being lowered is the absolute worst? Now I have to deal with all these discrepancies when before I just reported my income and paid my taxes without all this confusion. I have 3 different payment processors and each one seems to calculate the 1099-K differently. One includes refunds, one doesn't. One includes the fees, one doesn't. It's a nightmare to reconcile!

I completely understand your frustration with the 1099-K discrepancies - this is unfortunately very common with digital businesses using multiple payment processors. Here's what you need to know: You should report your GROSS sales revenue on Schedule C, not the 1099-K amount or the net amount. So in your case, that would be the $59,106.25 from your Square revenue report. Then deduct the $2,127.93 in processing fees as a business expense under "Commissions and fees" on Schedule C. The discrepancy between your gross revenue ($59,106.25) and the 1099-K amount ($58,215.75) could be due to several factors: timing differences (transactions processed in different calendar periods), refunds that were included differently, or chargebacks. I'd recommend calling Square directly to get clarification on this specific difference. For Teachable reporting net amounts - this varies by platform. Some report gross payment amounts, others report what they actually paid out to you. The key is consistency in how YOU report it: always use gross sales as income, then deduct all fees and platform costs as business expenses. Keep detailed records showing your calculation methodology. If there's ever a question from the IRS, you'll be able to demonstrate exactly how you arrived at your reported income figures and why they might differ slightly from your 1099-K amounts.

I actually made this exact switch last year and can share my experience! I had been paying for Premier for three years because of my 1099-B forms from Vanguard, but decided to test out Deluxe to save money. The good news is that Deluxe handled my investment income just fine. I had about 15 stock transactions and was able to import directly from Vanguard without any issues. The forms (Schedule D and 8949) were identical to what I used with Premier. The main difference I noticed was less hand-holding during the process. Premier had more explanatory text and investment-specific interview questions, while Deluxe was more straightforward. If you're comfortable with basic tax concepts and your transactions are standard buy/sell scenarios, you'll probably be fine with Deluxe. One tip: Before you commit, you can actually start your return in Deluxe for free and see how far you get. If you hit any roadblocks or feel like you need more guidance, you can always upgrade to Premier later without losing your work. This way you're not gambling with the $20 - you'll know for sure whether Deluxe meets your needs.

I've been following this discussion and wanted to share my own experience from this past tax season. Like many of you, I was torn between Deluxe and Premier specifically because of 1099-B stock sales from my Schwab account. I ended up going with Deluxe and it worked perfectly for my situation - about 25 stock transactions throughout the year. The import from Schwab pulled everything in smoothly, including all the cost basis information. The actual tax forms (Schedule D and 8949) were identical to what I would have gotten with Premier. The key difference I noticed was in the interview process. Premier asks more detailed questions about your investment activities and provides more explanatory text about things like wash sales, short-term vs long-term gains, etc. Deluxe is more direct - it assumes you understand the basics and just need to report the numbers. For anyone still deciding: if your stock transactions are straightforward buy/sell activities from major brokerages and you're comfortable with basic investment tax concepts, Deluxe should handle everything you need. The $20 savings is real and you're not sacrificing any actual functionality for standard investment income reporting.

As someone who just went through this exact confusion during my first year doing my own taxes, I can confirm that the bracket method you described is 100% correct! The key insight that finally clicked for me was realizing that when people say someone is "in the 24% tax bracket," they're NOT saying that person pays 24% on their entire income. They're just describing the rate that applies to their highest dollars earned. Your $135K example is spot-on with the progressive calculation. What really helped me was actually doing the math both ways - manually calculating each bracket portion versus using the Tax Table for a lower income amount - and seeing that they give identical results. One thing that might help solidify your understanding: try calculating your effective tax rate (total tax ÷ total income) using your bracket method. You'll see it's significantly lower than your marginal rate, which proves you're not being taxed at one flat percentage on everything. The Tax Table is honestly a godsend for avoiding calculation errors. I made several mistakes my first time doing the bracket math manually, so now I just use whichever method is appropriate for my income level and don't overthink it!

The progressive tax system can definitely be confusing at first, but you've got the right idea! Your bracket-by-bracket calculation method is exactly how taxes are actually computed. To put it simply: you're never taxed at just one rate on your entire income. Instead, different portions of your income get taxed at different rates as you move up through the brackets. So in your $135K example, only that last slice from $120,751 to $135,000 gets the 24% rate - everything below that gets taxed at the lower bracket rates. The Tax Table is just a convenience tool that does this exact same progressive calculation for you. It's not a different method - it's the same math, just pre-calculated by the IRS to save you time and reduce errors. Your $98K example would indeed result in $15,990 using either approach. Think of it this way: the Tax Table is like having a calculator that's already done the bracket math for thousands of different income levels. Both methods will always give you identical results because they're using the same underlying progressive tax system. Use whichever is more convenient for your situation!

I've been following this thread with interest since I had a nearly identical situation last year. My wife received a 1099-NEC from a Toronto-based marketing firm for about $3,100 in consulting fees. After reading all the advice here, I want to emphasize what several people mentioned - the simplest and safest approach is to report this on Schedule C as self-employment income without trying to force the 1099-NEC form into tax software that can't handle the Canadian address. One additional tip that helped us: We included a brief note with our return stating "1099-NEC income from Canadian company reported on Schedule C due to software limitations with foreign addresses." Our tax preparer suggested this would help if the IRS ever had questions about the reporting method. The income is definitely subject to self-employment tax regardless of the source being Canadian. We learned this the hard way when we initially tried to report it as "Other Income" and got a notice from the IRS later requiring us to pay the additional SE tax. Also, keep good records of any business expenses related to this work - things like phone calls, internet costs, or materials used for the Canadian client. These can be deducted on Schedule C to reduce your taxable income from this source.

I just went through this exact situation a few months ago and wanted to share what worked for me. I received a 1099-NEC from a Montreal-based company for freelance writing work totaling $2,200. After struggling with TurboTax's address validation issues, I ended up taking the Schedule C approach that several others have mentioned here. The key insight my tax preparer shared was that the IRS matching system is primarily looking for the income amount, not the specific form entry method. Here's what I did step by step: 1. Reported the $2,200 as gross receipts on Schedule C 2. Included a statement explaining "1099-NEC from Canadian company - income reported on Schedule C due to foreign address limitations" 3. Made sure to calculate and pay self-employment tax on the full amount 4. Kept the original 1099-NEC with my tax records The process went smoothly and I haven't received any IRS notices. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - if you're doing ongoing work with Canadian clients, it's worth upgrading to tax software that handles international situations better from the start. The headache just isn't worth saving a few dollars on software costs. Also, don't forget that this income counts toward your quarterly estimated tax payments if you're making substantial amounts from consulting work!