Tax answers
Real questions, plain answers
The questions clients ask most often, answered the way I would explain them on a call. General information — your situation may differ.
Rental Property Taxes
Service pageIndividual & Business Tax
Service pageTax Planning & Strategy
Service page1099 & Self-Employed Taxes
Service page- How do I file taxes with 1099 income in Florida?1099 income is self-employment income, so you report it on a Schedule C attached to your Form 1040, deduct your eligible business expenses, and pay self-employment tax of 15.3% on the profit in addition to income tax. Florida has no state income tax, so most filers only have a federal return. Because nothing is withheld, you generally make quarterly estimated payments during the year.
- How do quarterly estimated taxes work?Quarterly estimated taxes are prepayments of income tax and self-employment tax on income that has no withholding, such as 1099 or business income. You generally must pay them if you expect to owe about $1,000 or more after withholding and credits. Payments are due roughly mid-April, mid-June, mid-September, and mid-January. You avoid an underpayment penalty if your total payments cover at least 90 percent of this year's tax or 100 percent of last year's tax (110 percent if your prior-year income was high). In Florida there is no state estimated payment because there is no state income tax.
Independent Entertainer Taxes
Service pageUber & Rideshare Driver Taxes
Service pageSet-Aside Calculator
Service pageTruck Driver Taxes
Service pageUnfiled & Prior-Year Returns
Service page- What happens if the IRS files a substitute return for me?If you do not file a return, the IRS can prepare one for you called a Substitute for Return. It uses only the income reported to the IRS, gives you no deductions or credits, and applies the least favorable filing status and a standard deduction only, then bills you for the resulting tax plus penalties and interest. You will receive notices, ending with a Notice of Deficiency that gives you 90 days to respond. The fix is to file your own accurate return for that year, which almost always lowers the amount owed. You can file your own return even after the IRS has assessed the substitute.
- What should I do about unfiled tax returns from past years?Start by identifying exactly which years are missing and pulling your IRS account and wage-and-income transcripts, which show most of the income reported under your Social Security number. Prepare the missing returns in order, oldest first, because figures carry from one year to the next. File them even if you cannot pay in full — filing stops the failure-to-file penalty from growing and replaces any substitute return the IRS may have created. The IRS generally looks for the last six years to consider someone caught up.
- What's the difference between an amended return and an original return?An original return is the first return you file for a tax year. An amended return, filed on Form 1040-X, changes a return you have already filed — to fix your filing status, add or correct income, claim a missed deduction or credit, or change dependents. If you never filed for a year, you need an original return for that year, not an amendment. You generally have three years from the original due date to amend and still claim a refund. Simple math errors usually do not need an amendment because the IRS corrects those automatically.