United States · Income Tax

Tier 2 US federal content skill for preparing Form 1040 — the standard individual income tax return for non-freelance taxpayers (W-2 employees, retirees, investors, families). Covers tax year 2025 under OBBBA including the $40k SALT cap, the $15,750/$31,500/$23,625 standard deduction, capital gains brackets (0/15/20%), the §1411 3.8% NIIT, AMT post-TCJA, Schedule 1/2/3 walkthrough, dependents and filing status, kiddie tax §1(g), and itemized deduction Schedule A. Distinct from us-federal-return-assembly which orchestrates Schedule C freelance returns. Federal only.

Tier 2 content skill for determining which contractor payments made by a US sole proprietor or single-member LLC require issuing Form 1099-NEC and producing the information returns for tax year 2025. Covers the §6041A $600 reporting threshold (rising to $600 for electronic payments after repeated deferrals of the §6050W $600 threshold), the corporate exception under Treas. Reg. §1.6041-3(p), the attorney exception under §6045(f), the medical/health care exception under §6041A(a)(2), the Form W-9 collection requirement, backup withholding at 24% under §3406, the January 31 filing deadline under §6071(c), e-filing requirements under §6011(e) and the 2025 threshold of 10 forms, penalties for failure to file under §6721 and failure to furnish under §6722, TIN matching and B-notice procedures, and state filing requirements. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1+. Federal only.

Layer-2 content skill for computing the §199A Qualified Business Income deduction for US sole proprietors and single-member LLCs disregarded for federal tax purposes. Covers tax year 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21, July 4 2025), which made the §199A deduction permanent at 20% — the 23% rate in the House-passed bill was NOT enacted. For tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, OBBBA widens the phase-in ranges to $75,000/$150,000 and adds a $400 minimum deduction for taxpayers with at least $1,000 of QBI from active trades or businesses. Handles the QBI calculation from Schedule C net profit, the deductible SE tax and SE health insurance adjustments, the taxable income thresholds ($197,300 single / $394,600 MFJ for 2025), phase-in ranges for SSTB and W-2/UBIA limitations, the specified service trade or business (SSTB) classification, W-2 wage and UBIA of qualified property limitations, the interaction with retirement contributions, and Forms 8995 (simplified) and 8995-A (detailed). Consumes net profit from us-schedule-c-and-se-computation and SE health insurance / retirement from companion skills. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1 or later. Federal only. No state tax.

Tier 2 content skill for evaluating whether a US sole proprietor or single-member LLC should elect S-corporation status under IRC §1362 via Form 2553. Covers the SE tax savings analysis (salary subject to FICA, distributions not), the reasonable salary requirement under IRC §3121 and IRS audit scrutiny, the break-even analysis where SE tax savings exceed incremental costs, the QBI deduction interaction under §199A (W-2 wages increase QBI limitation room), state-specific disadvantages (California $800 franchise tax + 1.5% S-corp tax, New York City UBT elimination, etc.), the Form 2553 election deadline (March 15 or within 75 days of formation), late election relief under Rev. Proc. 2013-30, payroll processing and Form 1120-S filing costs, and the decision framework for when NOT to elect. Tax year 2025. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1+. Federal only; state issues flagged but not computed.

Tier 2 content skill for computing Schedule C bottom line, Form 8829 home office (actual method), and Schedule SE self-employment tax for US sole proprietors and single-member LLCs disregarded for federal tax. Covers tax year 2025 with the 2025 Social Security wage base of $176,100, the 92.35% net SE earnings adjustment under IRC 1402(a)(12), the 12.4% OASDI rate, the 2.9% Medicare rate, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax thresholds. Handles Schedule C Lines 1-32, the 280A home office gross income limitation and carryover, Form 8829 indirect expense allocation, the 1402 net SE earnings computation, the optional methods under 1402(a)(15) and 1402(l), the deductible half of SE tax under 164(f), and the at-risk indicators on Line 32. Consumes classified transactions from us-sole-prop-bookkeeping. Defers QBI, retirement, SE health insurance, and quarterly estimated tax to companion skills. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1+. Federal only. ALWAYS read this skill before computing Schedule C, SE tax, or home office deductions.

Tier 2 content skill for computing the self-employed health insurance deduction under IRC §162(l) for US sole proprietors and single-member LLCs disregarded for federal tax purposes. Covers tax year 2025 rules including the 100% deduction for medical, dental, vision, and qualified long-term care premiums, the age-based long-term care premium limits, the net SE earnings limitation, the employer-sponsored plan eligibility bar, the Medicare premium eligibility rules (Parts A voluntary, B, D, Medigap), COBRA continuation premiums, ACA Marketplace interaction with the Premium Tax Credit, the month-by-month coverage calculation, and the Schedule 1 Line 17 reporting position. Consumes Schedule C net profit and SE tax from us-schedule-c-and-se-computation. Feeds QBI computation in us-qbi-deduction. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1 or later. Federal only. No state tax.

Tier 2 content skill for computing the self-employed retirement contribution deduction for US sole proprietors and single-member LLCs disregarded for federal tax purposes. Covers tax year 2025 SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, and traditional/Roth IRA options with SECURE 2.0 super catch-up provisions. Handles the net SE earnings calculation, the 92.35% adjustment, the employer contribution formula (20% effective rate for sole props), employee deferral limits ($23,500), catch-up and super catch-up contributions, the SEP-IRA 25% limit ($70,000 cap), SIMPLE IRA rules, traditional and Roth IRA income limits and deductibility phase-outs, and establishment/contribution deadlines. Consumes Schedule C net profit and SE tax from us-schedule-c-and-se-computation. Feeds QBI computation in us-qbi-deduction. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1 or later. Federal only. No state tax.

US federal capital gains for resident individuals, tax year 2026 with 2025 return notes: short- vs long-term holding periods, 0%/15%/20% thresholds by filing status, 28% collectibles and 25% unrecaptured section 1250 groups, 3.8% net investment income tax, the capital loss limit and carryforward, wash sales, the home-sale exclusion, like-kind exchanges, installment sales, and Form 8949 / Schedule D reporting. For nonresidents see us-nonresident-cgt; for QSBS see us-section-1202-qsbs.

US exit tax for citizens who renounce and long-term green-card holders who give up status, tax year 2026 with 2025 notes: the three covered-expatriate tests (income tax over $211,000 for 2026 / $206,000 for 2025, net worth $2 million or more, 5-year certification), the dual-citizen and under-18½ exceptions, the long-term resident 8-of-15-years test, the mark-to-market deemed sale and $910,000 / $890,000 exclusion, deferred compensation, IRAs and other tax-deferred accounts, nongrantor trusts, the deferral election, Form 8854, and the section 2801 tax on US recipients of gifts and bequests.

State-by-state table of 2026 individual estimated income tax rules: the threshold that triggers payments (more than vs at least), current-year and prior-year safe harbors including 110% and California's $1,000,000 bar, installment shares and dates such as California's 30/40/0/30, farmer and fisher rules, and each state's underpayment penalty or interest.

Public Law 86-272 (15 U.S.C. 381) and state income tax nexus, tax year 2026 with 2025 notes: what the federal protection covers (net income taxes on solicitation of orders for tangible goods approved and shipped from outside the state) and what it does not (services, intangibles, gross receipts taxes); the Wrigley ancillary and de minimis tests; internet-activity positions of California (Pub. 1050, with the ACMA judgment flagged), New York (20 NYCRR 1-2.10) and New Jersey (TB-108); economic nexus thresholds in CA, NY and NJ; the Ohio CAT contrast; throwback, throwout and combined-group effects.

US federal Guide to Form 1099-K for tax year 2026 (with 2025 notes): the restored payment-app threshold of more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions (retroactive to 2022), card payments with no threshold, backup withholding, reconciling Box 1a to Schedule C, personal items sold at a loss or gain, hobby income, Form 1099-DA and CP2000 replies.

Order and tie-out checks for assembling a US federal Form 1040 for a freelancer filing Schedule C (sole proprietor or single-member LLC): Schedule SE, retirement, self-employed health insurance (Form 7206), Schedule 1-A deductions, QBI (Form 8995/8995-A), Schedules 2 and 3, estimated tax and Form 2210, deadlines and extensions. Tax year 2026 figures with a dated section for 2025 returns. Federal only.

Use this skill whenever asked about US federal quarterly estimated income tax payments for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs. Trigger on phrases like "1040-ES", "estimated tax", "quarterly tax", "safe harbor", "underpayment penalty", "Form 2210", "annualized income", or any question about federal estimated tax requirements. Covers the $1,000 threshold, 100%/110% prior-year safe harbor, 90% current-year method, quarterly due dates, annualized income instalment method, Form 2210 penalty computation, and withholding strategies. MUST be loaded alongside us-tax-workflow-base v0.1+. Federal only.

US federal workflow for a Form 1040 with self-employment income (sole proprietor, single-member LLC or qualified joint venture), tax year 2026 with 2025 return notes: intake questions, filing status, entity and hobby tests, gross receipts, expense limits (2026 split mileage rate, home office, meals, gifts, de minimis, section 179), records, Form 1099-NEC at $2,000 from 2026, the $400 SE tax trigger, estimated tax safe harbors, and when to refer.