Tax Stuff and IRS Notes
Notes, explanations, and damage control — in plain English
Taxes have a funny way of feeling both simple (“it’s just numbers”) and mysterious (“why does this line exist and why am I scared of it?”) at the same time. This section of DebitisLeft is where I collect my working notes on how the U.S. tax system actually shows up in real life — not the sanitized brochure version, and not the TikTok “one weird trick” version either.
You’ll find breakdowns of common IRS forms, deductions, credits, penalties, and gray-area questions that come up again and again: Schedule C expenses, rental property taxes, home office deductions, vehicle mileage, retirement accounts, health savings accounts, late filings, and all the ways the IRS quietly already knows more than you think.
The goal here is simple: reduce confusion, lower the chance of expensive mistakes, and help you understand what’s actually happening on your return — whether you’re filing yourself, cleaning up old years, or just trying to stop guessing. Think of this hub as a map of the tax topics most people stumble into, written by someone who’s stepped on most of the rakes already.
Start Here: What Even Is a “Tax”?
Before you optimize anything, you need a map of the territory. These three posts are the foundation — what taxes actually exist, how your 1040 works, and the boring-on-purpose filing system that keeps April from turning into a panic attack.
The Taxes That Hit an Individual Taxpayer
Every tax I could think of that hits a regular person, in one place — so you stop being surprised by them.
This Is Your Income, This Is Your Tax, This Is Your Refund: A Simple 1040 Guide
The 1040 in plain English: what counts as income, what shrinks it, and where your refund actually comes from.
Make Taxes Easy and Boring: The Hunter-Gatherer Method
How to make tax season boring on purpose — find your docs, file them, stop white-knuckling April.
Stop Leaving Money on the Table
The tax code is a giant list of things the government will give back if you know to ask. Most people don’t ask. These posts cover the ones worth knowing — the legitimate deductions and credits that actually move the needle, not the sketchy ones that earn you a love letter from the IRS.
List of Tax Deductions on an Individual Return 1040
Every deduction that can show up on a 1040, roughly in order of who it applies to and how much it actually matters.
Federal Tax Credits for Individual Taxpayer
Credits beat deductions dollar-for-dollar — here’s which ones you might actually qualify for.
Premium Tax Credit 101: Credit vs Repayment
How the ACA subsidy math works, and why some people get blindsided with a repayment bill at tax time.
Play the Long Game: Retirement & Tax-Advantaged Accounts
The biggest tax savings usually aren’t on this year’s return — they’re in the accounts you quietly fund for decades. IRAs, HSAs, Roth conversions: boring moves that compound into real money. Also included: how the IRS catches you when you play these accounts wrong.
The IRAs Anyone Can Open — and How They Show Up on Your Return
Traditional vs Roth, contribution rules, and how these actually hit your return (spoiler: usually quietly).
Notes About Rollovers, Withdrawals & Roth Conversions
Moving money between retirement accounts without accidentally triggering a tax bill or a penalty.
Just Some Stuff About Health Savings Accounts
The triple-tax-advantaged account most people treat like a glorified flex account. Here’s why that’s a mistake.
How the IRS Knows You Owe Retirement Penalties
Early withdrawals, excess contributions, missed RMDs — how the IRS finds out and what it actually costs you.
If You’re Self-Employed, Welcome to Hard Mode
You’re now the payroll department, the tax planner, and the bookkeeper — and nobody’s withholding anything for you. These posts cover the big stuff: Schedule C, the self-employment tax nobody warned you about, and how to deduct what you can legitimately deduct without crossing the line into creative writing.
What Is Self-Employment Tax? (And Why It’s So High)
Why you pay 15.3% on top of income tax the moment a W-2 disappears, and how half of it gets deducted back.
Normal Schedule C Expense Categories
A plain-English walkthrough of the Schedule C lines and what actually belongs in each one.
The Home Office Deduction
How to deduct your office without accidentally deducting your couch (or your whole house).
Vehicle Expenses & Mileage Deductions
Standard mileage vs actual expenses, how to track it, and why most people pick the wrong method.
Guide to Reconstructing Schedule C Expenses From Personal Transactions
You didn’t keep receipts. The year is over. Here’s how to rebuild your expenses from personal transactions without making stuff up.
How to Start a Veteran-Owned Business in Texas
The actual steps, the actual paperwork, and the Texas-specific benefits worth knowing about.
If You Own Property
Property comes with its own tax rulebook — a federal one (Schedule E for rentals) and a local one (your county assessor, who is probably wrong about your house’s value). Both are worth learning if you own anything bigger than a condo.
Rental Property Taxes (Schedule E) — The Overview
How rental income and expenses flow through your return, and the depreciation rules nobody warned you about.
Property Tax Protest Experience
What it’s actually like to protest your property tax assessment, with real numbers from my own protest.
When You’ve Screwed Up (or the IRS Thinks You Have)
This section will grow over time. For now it’s one post — because “I didn’t file” is one of the most common tax problems and one of the most fixable, if you move before the IRS does.
I Filed Late (or Didn’t File at All). Now What?
Penalties, how they stack, what the IRS will actually do to you, and the realistic path back to compliant.