Tax Law is Complex.
Your Experience Shouldn't Be.

Your privacy, identity, and financial data security are our absolute highest priorities. We operate with strict, firm-grade data protocols. You will never be asked to email us your Social Security Number or unencrypted tax documents.

All documents are transmitted directly into our AES-256 bit encrypted client portal. This infrastructure meets and exceeds all Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compliance regulations (IRS Pub 4557) for electronic tax preparation and document storage. Your data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.

While every tax situation is unique, a standard checklist includes:

• Identification: Driver's License or State ID for you and your spouse.
• Income Forms: W-2s from employers, 1099-NEC/1099-K for independent work, 1099-B from brokerages, and 1099-INT/DIV from banks.
• Deductions: Form 1098 for mortgage interest, 1098-T for college tuition, and a summary spreadsheet of any self-employment business expenses.

Don't worry if you are missing something—our CPAs will review your initial upload and request exactly what is needed to maximize your refund.

Absolutely not. Yellow Business Services is a 100% "Done-For-You" accounting firm. We do not sell frustrating, automated software where you do the work. We sell professional, stress-free accounting services.

Your only job is to upload clear photographs or PDF files of your tax documents. Our licensed professionals will parse the documents, run the complex tax math, uncover your maximum legal deductions, build the return, and present it to you for a simple electronic signature.

This is the most fundamental distinction in US tax law regarding employment.

A W-2 is issued to statutory employees. Your employer automatically withholds federal income tax, state tax, Social Security, and Medicare from your paycheck and sends it to the government. You generally do not owe massive tax bills at year-end because the tax was prepaid.

A 1099-NEC (Nonemployee Compensation) or 1099-K is issued to independent contractors, freelancers, creators, and gig workers (e.g., DoorDash, Upwork). No taxes are withheld. The IRS views you as a self-employed business owner. This means you must pay ordinary income tax PLUS a 15.3% Self-Employment Tax. However, you are uniquely allowed to write off business expenses to lower your taxable net profit.

The IRS states that self-employed individuals can deduct any expense that is "ordinary and necessary" to run their trade or business. These deductions are taken on Schedule C. Common deductions include:

• Vehicle Mileage: The IRS standard mileage rate covers gas, depreciation, and repairs for miles driven strictly for business (like Uber driving or traveling to client sites).
• Supplies & Tech: Laptops, software subscriptions (Adobe, Microsoft), tools, and industry-specific gear.
• Home Office Deduction: If you use a dedicated, exclusive portion of your home regularly and exclusively for business, you can deduct a percentage of your rent/mortgage and utilities.
• Professional Fees: The fee you pay our firm to prepare your taxes is entirely deductible as a business expense.

Introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the QBI deduction (Section 199A) is a massive tax break for self-employed individuals and small business owners (LLCs, S-Corps, Sole Proprietors).

It allows eligible business owners to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income right off the top of their tax return, before income taxes are calculated. There are complex phase-outs and limitations based on your total income and your profession (e.g., consultants and lawyers face stricter limits than retail businesses). Our tax engine automatically calculates and applies the maximum QBI deduction you are legally entitled to.

The IRS classifies cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana) as property, not currency. Therefore, the tax rules that apply to real estate and stock trading apply to crypto.

Simply buying crypto with fiat money and holding it in a wallet is not a taxable event. However, you trigger a taxable "Capital Gain" or "Capital Loss" when you:

• Sell crypto for cash (USD).
• Trade one crypto for another crypto (e.g., swapping BTC for ETH is a taxable event).
• Use crypto to purchase a good or service.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term: If you held the crypto for less than 365 days, your profits are taxed at your standard ordinary income tax rate (up to 37%). If you held it for over a year, you are rewarded with the much lower Long-Term Capital Gains rate (0%, 15%, or 20%).

Tax-loss harvesting is a legal strategy used by investors to lower their tax bill. If you sold stocks or crypto at a loss, you can use those losses to completely offset your capital gains for the year.

If your losses exceed your gains, the IRS allows you to use up to $3,000 of those net capital losses to offset your ordinary income (like your W-2 wages), effectively lowering your overall tax bracket. Any losses beyond $3,000 are carried forward to future tax years. When we import your 1099-B brokerage forms, we automatically calculate these offsets for you.

Real estate is one of the most tax-advantaged asset classes in the United States. If you rent out a home, condo, or apartment, you report the income and expenses on Schedule E. Deductible expenses include:

• Mortgage interest (but not the principal payment).
• Property taxes and HOA fees.
• Homeowners insurance.
• Repairs, maintenance, and property management fees.
• Depreciation: This is a "phantom expense." The IRS allows you to deduct the cost of the physical building (excluding the land) over 27.5 years. This massive deduction often results in rental properties showing a "paper loss" for tax purposes, even if they are generating positive cash flow.

Yes, it absolutely will if done incorrectly. This is the most common, costly error we see with teenagers using "free" automated tax software.

If you are a high school or college student (under age 24) living at home or relying on your parents for more than 50% of your financial support, the IRS considers you a Dependent. This grants your parents access to valuable tax credits.

If you file your own return to get your summer job refund and you forget to explicitly check the box indicating "Someone can claim me as a dependent," the IRS computers will lock your SSN. When your parents attempt to file later, their return will be instantly rejected. We expertly review all student returns to ensure dependent status is coded flawlessly.

The IRS offers two primary credits to help offset the cost of higher education. You cannot claim both for the same student in the same year.

• The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC): For undergraduate students in their first four years of college pursuing a degree. It is worth up to $2,500 per student, and up to $1,000 of that is fully refundable (meaning you get it as a cash refund even if you owe zero tax).
• The Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC): For graduate students, professional degree courses, or those taking classes to improve job skills. It is a non-refundable credit worth up to $2,000 per tax return.

You must provide us with Form 1098-T (issued by the university) to claim these credits.

If a dependent student has more than a specific threshold (around $2,500) in unearned income—which includes capital gains from trading cryptocurrency, Robinhood stocks, or taxable scholarships—that income may be taxed at their parents' highest marginal tax rate, rather than the student's lower rate.

This rule prevents wealthy families from hiding investments in their children's names. We handle Form 8615 to ensure Kiddie Tax compliance is calculated perfectly.

Generally, no. Most commercial online tax software is built exclusively for US Citizens and Resident Aliens filing Form 1040.

International students (F-1/J-1) who have been in the US for less than 5 years are considered Non-Resident Aliens for tax purposes. You are legally required to file Form 1040-NR. Filing a standard 1040 by mistake can result in incorrectly claiming the Standard Deduction or the Earned Income Tax Credit, which constitutes tax fraud and can severely jeopardize future immigration or H-1B visa applications. We specialize in 1040-NR compliance.

An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is required for spouses, dependents, or foreign investors who do not qualify for a Social Security Number. The IRS rejects approximately 30% of W-7 applications due to incredibly strict formatting rules.

The most common failure is submitting improper identification. The IRS requires original documents or Certified Copies from the issuing agency (e.g., your embassy). A standard notarized photocopy of a passport will be rejected immediately. Our firm prepares the "perfect package," ensuring the correct exemption codes are checked so your application passes the specialized IRS Austin unit on the first try.

There are two distinct penalties: Failure to File and Failure to Pay. The IRS punishes you much more severely for ignoring them than for not having the money.

• Failure to File Penalty: If you don't file your return (or an extension) by Tax Day (April 15), the penalty is 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
• Failure to Pay Penalty: If you file on time but don't pay what you owe, the penalty is only 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month.

Crucial Note: If the IRS actually owes YOU a refund, there is generally no penalty for filing late. However, you forfeit your refund entirely if you wait more than 3 years to claim it.

File your tax return on time anyway! As mentioned above, the penalty for failing to file is 10x higher than the penalty for failing to pay.

If you cannot afford the bill, the IRS offers several relief options. We can help you set up an IRS Installment Agreement, which allows you to pay off your tax debt in manageable monthly payments over 72 months. Hiding from the IRS only results in aggressive wage garnishments and bank levies.

Take a deep breath. IRS notices (like CP2000s) are incredibly common and often auto-generated by computers to request simple identity verification, or to notify you that you forgot to include a 1099 form.

If you receive a letter, take a photo of it and upload it to your secure portal. If the letter is due to a math or calculation error on our part, we correct it immediately. If the IRS selects you for a formal correspondence or desk audit regarding business deductions, we offer comprehensive Audit Defense and Representation services as a separate, specialized engagement to protect your interests.