Happykid is a lighting designer. She has payroll income from some venues, 1099s from others, no-1099 checks, and the occasional all-cash gig. So far its all been in the DC-Baltimore region under an inter-state agreement and is just Maryland income. But, this year she had a part-year Maryland tax return due to the move to grad school (bless you Tennessee for not having a state income tax!), and a non-resident MD return to file for that two day payroll gig she picked up when home at winter break. This on top of sorting out the free-lance miles, tolls, meals, equipment, etc. has finally pushed me over the edge. I really, truly, don’t want to be doing this tax stuff on my own anymore. It is time for professional help.
So where do I start? Is there some kind of software out there that would help her keep track of everything and get the miles/meals/tolls into the right bucket? What about when she has paid work in states that don’t have formal tax agreements and she has to file multiple non-resident forms? Is there a help site for theater moms who finally accept that they are stuck managing their kid’s business for the foreseeable future?
Given that your kid is a college grad… why are you in that role (“stuck” or otherwise?).
It seems to me that your daughter should be keeping track of all this stuff on her own – and if she messes up, that’s her problem, not yours. It looks like the software recommended by @BunsenBurner would be a good start to nudge your daughter over to taking care of the task on her own.
(I don’t mean to be judgmental, but you said yourself that this is pushing you “over the edge” – and it seems to me the problem is that you have taken on a responsibility that is somewhat outside the bounds of what parents who are not themselves CPA’s or tax prep professionals typically do for their adult kids).
I officially retired from doing my kids’ taxes this year. I did the last one on April 4 (she graduated in Dec), helped the other by phone, and somehow picked up doing my mother’s, so I’m down from 3 to 2.
I’m also done with their medical claims. The one who just graduated went the ER without her medical card and now all the bills are coming (almost $20k for 3 hours in the ER!). She has to take the lead on this one.
But yes, I think Quickbooks is helpful for most people in small business. She just needs to keep good records, and most of it is just adding and subtracting.
DD is a singer with mixed tax status and uses an app called Self-Employed. She found it much simpler. It’s by Intuit and feeds right into her tax return.
Thanks @Singersmom ! That is the sort of thing I am looking for.
@BunsenBurner , I will look at that version of Quickbooks. She had a subscription to some kind of Quickbooks one year, but found that she never used it. It might be time to try again.
@calmom , Happykid is keeps every single receipt, and maintains a detailed calendar. She handles all of her own billing, and is not afraid to slap on a 15% penalty for overdue payment. All of the pieces are there. Each year she takes more responsibility for the work of tax prep. This year she also did all the photocopies and the certified mail with return receipt. At some point I expect that she will need a professional accountant and/or business manager to help her with the money things. Given her student budget, I don’t believe that she can afford one yet. This was the first year with a non-resident tax return, and spending two hours with her in the dead of night just to finish off one more form that resulted in exactly $1.98 back is what pushed the both of us off the edge. Our attitudes are better now that we’ve caught up on our sleep.
@twoinanddone , This year was the easiest tax year ever for DH and myself. That new big standard deduction made my life a lot easier. Happykid is handling all her own medical stuff. The transition to full adult is on its way.
Our attitudes are better now that we’ve caught up on our sleep.