arethinn: animated Space Ghost shaking his head (frustrated (space ghost))
Arethinn ([personal profile] arethinn) wrote2019-01-31 12:45 pm

whee. taxes.

Besides half upending my mental picture of what forms I need to file [personal profile] enotsola's and my taxes (spoilers: if you have self-employment income it isn't really any simpler, and some schedules are still called the same thing while some aren't), this year's tax quandary is whether we can take the "Qualified Business Income" deduction. We seem to meet the requirements as to our total income and the nature of the business, but the forms all expect you to fill in an EIN (Employer Identification Number) for the business. It doesn't have one; it's a sole proprietorship with no employees and no legal entity of its own (LLC, S corporation). Trying to take this deduction if we're not actually eligible would not be a small error (something on the order of $1600-1700 difference in taxable income). Does anyone know anything about this one? I fear I may wind up having to actually call the IRS, which I would dread in any case but even more so this year due to the recent unpleasantness.

eta: I may have created a problem where there wasn't one. I am at work without my draft filled forms and am quickly glancing at fresh blanks, so I need to review this more carefully again when I get home. See my reply to [personal profile] elf.
elf: First page of legal document with OCR in process (Doc conversion)

[personal profile] elf 2019-01-31 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
As far as I know, a SSN can be substituted for the EIN if there are no employees.

If not, getting an EIN is free and a low-hassle process; you are not required to have or intend to have employees to get one.
teaotter: (Default)

[personal profile] teaotter 2019-02-01 12:18 am (UTC)(link)
Regardless of what the forms say, a sole proprietorship can qualify for the deduction, with or without an EIN.

(I say this as a CPA; although I'm not a paid tax preparer, I am up-to-date on this section of the new tax law because it pertains to me.)

This year's forms weren't ready before the shutdown and were rushed out for the start of tax season. They're terrible.