I started mystery shopping as a second source of income in the fall and currently do $150-200 a week. I started with Jobslinger and signed up for multiple Sassie boards. I check them daily and also get emails. Is Jobslinger Plus worth it? What other ways can I increase my shop opportunities?
Also, anticipating doing more in 2025 means more income to tax. I see people talking about tracking mileage, I assume part time shopping won't generate enough work to qualify for itemized deductions-am I wrong?

I'm way more part time than you are. I don't track my km because I only shop at places I'm already at.
I'm sure your level is worth tracking expenses.

@XterraTom wrote:

I started mystery shopping as a second source of income in the fall and currently do $150-200 a week. I started with Jobslinger and signed up for multiple Sassie boards. I check them daily and also get emails. Is Jobslinger Plus worth it? What other ways can I increase my shop opportunities?
Also, anticipating doing more in 2025 means more income to tax. I see people talking about tracking mileage, I assume part time shopping won't generate enough work to qualify for itemized deductions-am I wrong?

I track my mileage at the IRS deduction rate. So, if I have $4000 in shop fees, but I drove 1000 miles (I think that's 670.50 or something like that), my taxable income is only 3229.50 or something like that (I just enter it into the computer and it does it for me).

Presto, Mobi Audit and ISecretShop are all apps that offer jobs from multiple MSCs.

If you're relatively new to mystery shopping, you may, if you haven't already, want to check out this thread on our forum for new mystery shoppers. There's LOTS of good info here. I've been MSing since 2005, and every so often I STILL refer to some of the posts there! Check it out....[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

XT:

Whether or not you itemize deductions has nothing to do with the importance and relevance of tracking expenses/mileage.

Whether you itemize deductions or not, you will use IRS Form SCHEDULE C to report self employment sales, expenses and earnings/losses.

XterraTom: Itemizing deductions on Schedule A is for certain personal and employee related expenditures. Your mystery shopping is neither of those. Your mystery shopping is considered self-employment income and the proper tax form for it is Schedule C. Schedule C is where you list your income and expenses, and come up with a net taxable income that is used to calculate your self-employment tax and is added to the rest of your income to calculate your income tax.
You should absolutely keep track of every last dime of income earned, and every last dime of expenses that you incur. Mile driven is an expense, keep track of the miles you drive for your business. You can still build an accurate accounting for your miles driven for 2024 using Google Maps and a record of the shops that you did. In 2025 you can start from the beginning and keep a log of your miles driven. You should also be keeping track of your other expenses that you incur from the operation of your business.
Do a search on this site and read the threads on taxes. It will be worth your time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2024 09:49PM by teacherguy.

@XterraTom wrote:

I started mystery shopping as a second source of income in the fall and currently do $150-200 a week. I started with Jobslinger and signed up for multiple Sassie boards. I check them daily and also get emails. Is Jobslinger Plus worth it? What other ways can I increase my shop opportunities?
Also, anticipating doing more in 2025 means more income to tax. I see people talking about tracking mileage, I assume part time shopping won't generate enough work to qualify for itemized deductions-am I wrong?

I would say the "plus" is not worth it. Its hard to imagine how much they could offer you that you can't get for free. I see where they say they will text you jobs....I already have that happening. I am actually pretty annoyed when I get phone calls and messages from MSCs since I've already checked the 15 or so I shop for regularly and am aware of the price-checks and oil changes that have been on the board since I was in High School (I'm in my 50's now--LOL). That deserves another LOL.

As for opportunities...here is one thing that helps me. I know the names of the people who do the scheduling for the evaluations and projects I perform. I'll give you an example from 12/19--10 days ago. I was headed to San Antonio but wanted to do some shops to offset the costs. There were some jobs that were due on 12/19 on the route. But there were some that were due in 12/17 and 12/18 as well. An e-mail from one scheduler said, "name your price." So I did--I named a price and said I could only do it on the 19th. They assigned it to me. Likewise on 2 other shops. I ended up doing 7 shops that day--4 of which I did because the scheduler extended the due date for me. Now, it was likely going to be extended anyway but my point is that I knew who to contact, and the job had been on the board for a while. So I would say that getting to know Jane Doe at the MSC and knowing that she does the burger joints and the car washes is worth the time and effort

@ServiceAward wrote:

First, take tax advice here with a grain of salt - whether from me or someone else.

...

As far as itemizing, this pertains to your INCOME taxes. I think the others have already addressed that well. The standard deduction for single filers is going up to $14,600 for 2024 (and $15,000 for 2025). For married filing jointly, the standard deduction is $29,200 for 2024. You will likely not have enough businesses expenses to itemize your income taxes, but if you have other qualifying deductions; like mortgagee interest, donations, state and local taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and so on. The list is quite extensive, BUT you need to have records. For many people with lower incomes, the standard deduction will almost always be better, especially if you do not have records to back-up your deductions.

Business expenses from self-employment do not count for itemizing deductions (Schedule A). They go on Schedule C. I agree - take tax advice here with a grain of salt

Talk to a CPA or get a free consultation from one and ask them questions regarding taxes that you might will encounter. Ask them what you can deduct. Ask them what you can do differently to pay less taxes.

If you can afford it, use the CPA. They can be pricey but worth it. Their fees are also a tax deduction. I highly recommend a CPA. I use the same one every year. It cost me about $1,000 to file my taxes with them but I get unlimited Q&A's and have their personal cell phone number. Plus, we do a yearly review to make sure I'm on the right track and talk about next years goals every year.