Help Please?!?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 7, 2020
1 reply
5 views

Hello,

I am a single 19 yr old full time student. Last year I made about $3,900 working 2 jobs.

One of my jobs is being a Color Guard Director for a High School Band. I got paid by both the band program and the school district. The school district sends me two checks, one at the end of each season, and the band itself pays me every couple of weeks. My other job is as a sales associate.

I'm not quite sure what deductions I apply for as an educator as I am responsible for some expenses such as equipment and transportation, gas ended up being about $300 as I lived very far away until I moved closer. Right now it's saying I owe almost $300. Does this seem right to anyone or maybe you have some advice for what else I should put as a deduction? I'm not sure why I am counted as self employed either? I work for the band, Hillsborough county, and a retail store.

xmasbaby0

Level 15

You are not eligible for any sort of deduction as an "educator." You may be confusing that with a deduction that teachers of grades K-12 can get.

Was some of your pay reported on a 1099Misc? If so, you are considered by the IRS to be "self-employed" and you have to pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/self-employed/help/what-is-the-self-employment-tax/00/25922

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2902389-why-am-i-paying-self-employment-tax

You cannot deduct anything for gas to drive to and from work--commuting to work is not deductible. But if you had any other expenses (like equipment you bought) related to your work with the band you may be able to enter them on a Schedule C.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901340-where-do-i-enter-schedule-c

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3398950-what-self-employed-expenses-can-i-deduct

I am going to suggest that you use the software version called Free File to prepare your tax return. It is a full-featured program that will not cost you anything to use, and it can be used to report your self-employment income and prepare a Schedule C. You do NOT want to end up using the expensive Self-Employed version of online TurboTax.

Try Free File:

You qualify if your income was $36,000 or less, or $69,000 or less if active duty military, or if you qualify for Earned Income Credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900583-what-is-turbotax-free-file-program

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2026912-how-do-i-switch-to-turbotax-free-file-program

If you switch to Free File you must create a new account and new user ID.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**