Selling Tradelines / Piggybacking Part II: $1000+/hr, 20-40k/yr. Side Gig

[arebelspy]

I don't do automated payments to Amazon, because we don't sell lines on every card every month (with a dozen enrolled between the wife and I).

Similarly, some cards may have all lines sold for two months, and I only do the payment the first month (when the adds are done).

When I get a TL order, I go add the AU, then go to this bookmark I have (one click):
https://smile.amazon.com/asv/reload/order?manualReload.amount=2.50

Login autofills, then I hit "login" (two clicks), select the CC I sold the TL on (three clicks), select reload (four clicks).  Four clicks, and about 20 seconds (just waiting for two pages to load--the login page, then reload page), all done from the comfort of home.

[rachael talcott]

Does anyone have experience with a card aging into the next category?  I can't find the exact post, but someone said that they were not upgraded as a card aged, even after asking for it, and I have a card that is a few months from being upgraded to the next category.

[arebelspy]

Does anyone have experience with a card aging into the next category?  I can't find the exact post, but someone said that they were not upgraded as a card aged, even after asking for it, and I have a card that is a few months from being upgraded to the next category.

The person just said their card aged, but not to the next level. Post was here:

The reply I got was, thanks, but since it hasn't reached the next threshold for payouts, it doesn't matter.

You will be moved to the next payment level when it ages, if you email customer support when it happens.  :)

[rachael talcott]

Does anyone have experience with a card aging into the next category?  I can't find the exact post, but someone said that they were not upgraded as a card aged, even after asking for it, and I have a card that is a few months from being upgraded to the next category.

The person just said their card aged, but not to the next level.

You will be moved to the next payment level when it ages, if you email customer support when it happens.

Oh, great.  Thank you!

[rachael talcott]

One more question:  I have a store card (Home Depot) issued by Citibank, N.A.  Does that count as a Citi card? 

[arebelspy]

One more question:  I have a store card (Home Depot) issued by Citibank, N.A.  Does that count as a Citi card?

You'll want to ask the tradeline company, because it's specific.  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  It all depends on how it reports to the credit reporting agencies.

Like the Costco branded ones don't work, because they require the AU to be a Costco member with a Costco membership number.  I'd lean towards more likely that the HD one works, but it can't hurt to ask.

Let us know what they say!  :)

[rachael talcott]

One more question:  I have a store card (Home Depot) issued by Citibank, N.A.  Does that count as a Citi card?

You'll want to ask the tradeline company, because it's specific.  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  It all depends on how it reports to the credit reporting agencies.

Like the Costco branded ones don't work, because they require the AU to be a Costco member with a Costco membership number.  I'd lean towards more likely that the HD one works, but it can't hurt to ask.

Let us know what they say!  :)

Email sent.  Will do. 

[secondcor521]

Does anyone have experience with a card aging into the next category?  I can't find the exact post, but someone said that they were not upgraded as a card aged, even after asking for it, and I have a card that is a few months from being upgraded to the next category.

The person just said their card aged, but not to the next level. Post was here:

The reply I got was, thanks, but since it hasn't reached the next threshold for payouts, it doesn't matter.

You will be moved to the next payment level when it ages, if you email customer support when it happens.  :)

ARS's conditional here is important.  You must notify the new company when any cards you have enrolled either have aged into a new commission level or have a CL increase to a new commission level.  The company does not track this themselves.  See old post here.

[TomTX]

...but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask.  I'm pretty sure though that, once you make the request, it is 6 months before they'll consider a second request.

Varies. Discover seems to be 2 months.

[arebelspy]

I have a calendar alert to remind me to do it every 3 mo. for all my cards.

[rachael talcott]

One more question:  I have a store card (Home Depot) issued by Citibank, N.A.  Does that count as a Citi card?

You'll want to ask the tradeline company, because it's specific.  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  It all depends on how it reports to the credit reporting agencies.

Like the Costco branded ones don't work, because they require the AU to be a Costco member with a Costco membership number.  I'd lean towards more likely that the HD one works, but it can't hurt to ask.

Let us know what they say!  :)

No on the Home Depot card issued by Citibank. 

[hoodedfalcon]

How many days before the closing date do folks normally get an email regarding AU adds? My closing date on the one card is coming up on the 1st. It's a 12+ year old card with a 20K+ limit, so I would think it would be highly sought after? I know there are still a few days left of the month, but it's getting close. I am eager to get started!

[boarder42]

How many days before the closing date do folks normally get an email regarding AU adds? My closing date on the one card is coming up on the 1st. It's a 12+ year old card with a 20K+ limit, so I would think it would be highly sought after? I know there are still a few days left of the month, but it's getting close. I am eager to get started!

on the site i use i got my adds for my card that closes on the 4th 3 days ago.  but i havent seen any for my cards on the 6th.  not that helpful i know but data points.

[arebelspy]

How many days before the closing date do folks normally get an email regarding AU adds? My closing date on the one card is coming up on the 1st. It's a 12+ year old card with a 20K+ limit, so I would think it would be highly sought after? I know there are still a few days left of the month, but it's getting close. I am eager to get started!

Typically 3-4 days ahead of time, with occasional "last minute" adds just a day or two ahead (usually last minute adds will be onto a card that had previous orders, in my experience, though not always).

[ducky19]

Another data point - I just got an add for a Capital One card with payment due date of Feb 1.

[hoodedfalcon]

Thanks for the input boarder42, arebelspy and ducky19. I am eager to get going and this will be my first time! Fingers crossed for some adds...

[johnsmithindustries]

For those of you that have to call to add an AU, and then call to remove an AU... what do you actually SAY to the rep on the phone?

i.e. what do you say when asked:

How do you know the person?
Details of the person you don't actually know (single, etc.)?
Why do you want to add them as an AU?
Why do you want to remove them as an AU?
Why do you have so many AUs on one card?
Why do you so frequently add/remove AUs?

etc.

[arebelspy]

For those of you that have to call to add an AU, and then call to remove an AU... what do you actually SAY to the rep on the phone?

i.e. what do you say when asked:

How do you know the person?
Details of the person you don't actually know (single, etc.)?
Why do you want to add them as an AU?
Why do you want to remove them as an AU?
Why do you have so many AUs on one card?
Why do you so frequently add/remove AUs?

etc.

I call and say "I'd like to remove all of the authorized users."  And they say "okay." Then I wait, and they say "done" and I tell them thanks.

I do practice saying their names out loud before I call, in case I have to say it, I don't care if the pronunciation is wrong, as long as it's smooth.  Sometimes it'll be a "remove ABC, leave XYZ" if I have an AU that needs to stay on.

I have never been asked any of those things you mention.

I have heard you might with USAA (but when you add them), since they're a more exclusive club or whatever to get a card.

Most of mine are online, anyways (Barclay, Discover, Capital One, Bank of America are all add online, and only B of A is remove over the phone, the rest are remove online, IIRC, so it's mostly just B of A I'm calling, so I'm sure others will chime in with their experiences).

[FrugalZony]

I could add the AUs online with Barclays, but there was no spot for the SSN.
So I had to call in to add the SSN.

I just told them I wanted to add a SSN for security reasons.

[secondcor521]

For those of you that have to call to add an AU, and then call to remove an AU... what do you actually SAY to the rep on the phone?

i.e. what do you say when asked:

How do you know the person? They're a friend of mine.
Details of the person you don't actually know (single, etc.)?  Old company provided answers to all the questions they've ever asked about this.  Assume new company will also.  If a detail is not provided, I usually say I don't know because they're a new friend.
Why do you want to add them as an AU?  We're working on a project together.
Why do you want to remove them as an AU?  The project we were working on is done.
Why do you have so many AUs on one card?  I want to.  Is there anything wrong with this?
Why do you so frequently add/remove AUs?  I want to.  Is there anything wrong with this?

etc.

The above is how I would answer or have answered.

[N]

We are supposed to get tax statements from these companies, yes?
Has anyone gotten theirs from the company that ARS recommended first? Like from last year?

Thanks

[arebelspy]

We are supposed to get tax statements from these companies, yes?

Yes.

Has anyone gotten theirs from the company that ARS recommended first? Like from last year?

Should be available in a few days, electronically (where you view your paystubs) and in the mail.  :)

[ducky19]

January is my first month selling tradelines, and I'm happy to report three sales for a cool $500! I still have a couple of days left in the month, but I'm not holding my breath for any more for January. Here's hoping February is at least as profitable!

[arebelspy]

January is my first month selling tradelines, and I'm happy to report three sales for a cool $500! I still have a couple of days left in the month, but I'm not holding my breath for any more for January. Here's hoping February is at least as profitable!

Nice!

Hard to picture what other side gigs you could make $500 at your first month starting out while working from home.

That's not even counting the hours put in... even if you allow 10 hours/week for the other theoretical one or whatever and only 1 hour total for this one, I think it'd be hard to match just that the total dollar amount--once you factor in the time element, it's ridiculous.

:)

Thanks for sharing!

[katsiki]

January is my first month selling tradelines, and I'm happy to report three sales for a cool $500! I still have a couple of days left in the month, but I'm not holding my breath for any more for January. Here's hoping February is at least as profitable!

Awesome!  Do you know when you completed your setup paperwork?

[tj]

January is my first month selling tradelines, and I'm happy to report three sales for a cool $500! I still have a couple of days left in the month, but I'm not holding my breath for any more for January. Here's hoping February is at least as profitable!

Awesome!  Do you know when you completed your setup paperwork?

I'm not sure that matters? I got the impression from the tradeline guy that if you don't have cards >$20k and older than 2 years, you probably won't see much sales. I had one sale, i think I sent my stuff in on January 3rd.

[arebelspy]

I'm not sure that matters? I got the impression from the tradeline guy that if you don't have cards >$20k and older than 2 years, you probably won't see much sales. I had one sale, i think I sent my stuff in on January 3rd.

Approximately half of the referral sales I've seen in Jan from New Company have been < 20k cards, and half over.

Many more < 20k cards are enrolled though, I believe, so percentage-wise, if you have a 20k+ card, it's much more likely to sell.

The date you put the paperwork in shouldn't matter, at this point, so much as your closing statement date.  Either way, there's not much you can do (other than call the CC companies to bump your limits up) except wait.  :)

Sales will come.  Lots of people are seeing them already, and February should have even more, now that people are enrolled the full month and they've been working on putting out all the new cards to their affiliate network to boost the AUs coming in.

[katsiki]

Thanks guys.  I was just curious since the tradeline co guy ended his last email with a caveat about their being flooded with hundreds of MMM members.  Time will tell!

[monarda]

I just got my first two orders, about 3 weeks after signing up a single 15K US Bank card.
Very easy process!

So now there won't be any more for two months (or whenever I remove these), since this card has a limit of 4 AUs.
The two of us (using the cards) and the two new ones.
Is that 4AU limit pretty common for other cards?

[arebelspy]

I just got my first two orders, about 3 weeks after signing up a single 15K US Bank card.
Very easy process!

So now there won't be any more for two months (or whenever I remove these), since this card has a limit of 4 AUs.
The two of us (using the cards) and the two new ones.
Is that 4AU limit pretty common for other cards?

The primary on the account isn't an "authorized user" and doesn't count as such.

As for the SO, why not switch them to a different card?  Heck, sign up for a new card, which wouldn't be eligible for TL sales being too new, for your every day spend, so you can have an extra TL sale?  $150-175 every other month = $900-$1,050 per year more, I'd think moving what card you use as your daily driver would be worth that.  Maybe not to you, perhaps?  I just personally wouldn't have my SO as an AU when I could sell that slot and have her use a different card.  :)

[VladTheImpaler]

Ugh, everyone else is getting orders.
I'm hoping to get a 'seat at the table' too.
I have 2 citi cards with the new company, payments due Feb 6 and Feb 16th.
Maybe I get "The Guy" some vodka?!

[arebelspy]

Ugh, everyone else is getting orders.
I'm hoping to get a 'seat at the table' too.
I have 2 citi cards with the new company, payments due Feb 6 and Feb 16th.
Maybe I get "The Guy" some vodka?!

Relax.  :)

You're too far out to even be getting orders right now. I don't know what you're expecting, them to ignore the cards closing in the next 3 days for your cards closing further out?  :)

Read this again:

The date you put the paperwork in shouldn't matter, at this point, so much as your closing statement date.  Either way, there's not much you can do (other than call the CC companies to bump your limits up) except wait.  :)

Sales will come.  Lots of people are seeing them already, and February should have even more, now that people are enrolled the full month and they've been working on putting out all the new cards to their affiliate network to boost the AUs coming in.

Put it out of your mind.  When you get the email to add AUs, it'll be a pleasant surprise then.  :)

[monarda]

I just got my first two orders, about 3 weeks after signing up a single 15K US Bank card.
Very easy process!

So now there won't be any more for two months (or whenever I remove these), since this card has a limit of 4 AUs.
The two of us (using the cards) and the two new ones.
Is that 4AU limit pretty common for other cards?

The primary on the account isn't an "authorized user" and doesn't count as such.

As for the SO, why not switch them to a different card?  Heck, sign up for a new card, which wouldn't be eligible for TL sales being too new, for your every day spend, so you can have an extra TL sale?  $150-175 every other month = $900-$1,050 per year more, I'd think moving what card you use as your daily driver would be worth that.  Maybe not to you, perhaps?  I just personally wouldn't have my SO as an AU when I could sell that slot and have her use a different card.  :)

Ok, now I'm thinking that maybe we have more than 4 AUs because this is a joint account. That would mean SO isn't an AU? Huh. I won't worry about it and just ask customer service when the time comes next month.

I looked all around the account information and couldn't find an indication. For your other cards, when you get your monthly statements after having added AUs, do you see their names somewhere- either on the statement or on the online acct? I just added mine on Weds. There's no sign of them yet online.

[VladTheImpaler]

Ugh, everyone else is getting orders.
I'm hoping to get a 'seat at the table' too.
I have 2 citi cards with the new company, payments due Feb 6 and Feb 16th.
Maybe I get "The Guy" some vodka?!

Relax.  :)

Ok I relaxed now. took shot of said vodka. :)

[secondcor521]

I just got my first two orders, about 3 weeks after signing up a single 15K US Bank card.
Very easy process!

So now there won't be any more for two months (or whenever I remove these), since this card has a limit of 4 AUs.
The two of us (using the cards) and the two new ones.
Is that 4AU limit pretty common for other cards?

The primary on the account isn't an "authorized user" and doesn't count as such.

As for the SO, why not switch them to a different card?  Heck, sign up for a new card, which wouldn't be eligible for TL sales being too new, for your every day spend, so you can have an extra TL sale?  $150-175 every other month = $900-$1,050 per year more, I'd think moving what card you use as your daily driver would be worth that.  Maybe not to you, perhaps?  I just personally wouldn't have my SO as an AU when I could sell that slot and have her use a different card.  :)

Ok, now I'm thinking that maybe we have more than 4 AUs because this is a joint account. That would mean SO isn't an AU? Huh. I won't worry about it and just ask customer service when the time comes next month.

I looked all around the account information and couldn't find an indication. For your other cards, when you get your monthly statements after having added AUs, do you see their names somewhere- either on the statement or on the online acct? I just added mine on Weds. There's no sign of them yet online.

Even if it is a joint account, they would only use the number of slots that they indicate for that credit card company.  If it's 4, then it's 4, not 8.  If you want to double up because of your SO, then what you should probably be doing is getting cards in your name alone and cards in her name alone.  Then add 4 AU's to your card, and she can add 4 AU's to her card.

I can't remember which CC company it was - USAA I think - but my AU's show up on my monthly statement so I can see their (non-existent) activity.  And of course, you should get a card in the mail with their name on it in a few days.

[secondcor521]

I'm not sure that matters? I got the impression from the tradeline guy that if you don't have cards >$20k and older than 2 years, you probably won't see much sales. I had one sale, i think I sent my stuff in on January 3rd.

Approximately half of the referral sales I've seen in Jan from New Company have been < 20k cards, and half over.

Many more < 20k cards are enrolled though, I believe, so percentage-wise, if you have a 20k+ card, it's much more likely to sell.

A few questions:

1.  Do you think cards with even higher limits (say $30K, $40K, $50K) would garner more sales?

I've got a lot of credit limit and distinct cards, and I'm trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to consolidate lines or shift credit limit in order to juice my returns with the new company.

As a simple example, I have two Barclays cards.  One is new as of November 2016 with a $10K limit; the other is just over two years old with a $27.5K limit.  The latter card is worth $200 per AU slot now, but if I shifted, say $5K of the limit it would go into the next higher commission bucket.

As a more complicated example, I have four USBank cards, with $25K, $15K, $25K, and $58K.  I'm trying to figure out what to do with them.

In general, I would guess that customers of the new company are willing to pay for the size and age of line that they need, but not more.  With the old company, I think I saw many more sales on my $30K+11year USAA line than on my $55K+19year Chase line.  Are there a lot of customers of the new company that need to rent $55K lines compared to the number of lines available from people like us?

2.  On a similar note, if one has a small line, say $5K or $10K, is it better to leave that as a standalone line and pick up a few $50 commissions, or to move it to a monster card?  There is an annual fee in there to consider.

3.  Is it better to be towards the upper end of the commission CL range or the lower?  In other words, as a general strategy, would you rather have a CL with a $20,001 limit, or a $29,998 limit?

---

Overall, it's fun playing the game; now I feel the need to try to optimize it.  Thanks!

[tj]

2.  On a similar note, if one has a small line, say $5K or $10K, is it better to leave that as a standalone line and pick up a few $50 commissions, or to move it to a monster card?  There is an annual fee in there to consider.

There is zero reason to ever pay an annual fee unless you are received benefits that are worth it. Nearly every issuer will let you product change to a card that does not have a fee. For example, Citibank has the "AAdvantage Citi Bronze" which is not publiciized, but it has no fee and gives you 1 point per 2 dollars spent. Product changes do not change your card open date.

[katsiki]

ARS, good tip on requesting CLI's every 3 months.  I was doing Discover every 6 months.  I tried after 3 months based on your comment and it was raised.

[TomTX]

ARS, good tip on requesting CLI's every 3 months.  I was doing Discover every 6 months.  I tried after 3 months based on your comment and it was raised.

As I said before, i have verified that you can do a CLI on Discover every 2 months.

[arebelspy]

There is zero reason to ever pay an annual fee unless you are received benefits that are worth it. Nearly every issuer will let you product change to a card that does not have a fee. For example, Citibank has the "AAdvantage Citi Bronze" which is not publiciized, but it has no fee and gives you 1 point per 2 dollars spent. Product changes do not change your card open date.

The benefits are selling tradelines.  ;)

Barclays, for example, doesn't have an equivalent for their airline branded cards.  We shut down Lufthansa Miles and More cards a few months before learning about TL sales because they refused to waive the fee, and had no cards we could switch it to (despite multiple calls to verify that).  Would have cancelled other ones, too (AA card and Arrival+) if they didn't downgrade, but for finding about tradeline sales.

Now I'm happily paying $89/yr (written off as an expense against the income) to make hundreds from that card.

It is worth seeing if they have a card you can downgrade it to, without an annual fee.  But if not, it may be worth keeping open to do TL sales, even with paying a fee.

[arebelspy]

A few questions:

1.  Do you think cards with even higher limits (say $30K, $40K, $50K) would garner more sales?

I've got a lot of credit limit and distinct cards, and I'm trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to consolidate lines or shift credit limit in order to juice my returns with the new company.

As a simple example, I have two Barclays cards.  One is new as of November 2016 with a $10K limit; the other is just over two years old with a $27.5K limit.  The latter card is worth $200 per AU slot now, but if I shifted, say $5K of the limit it would go into the next higher commission bucket.

As a more complicated example, I have four USBank cards, with $25K, $15K, $25K, and $58K.  I'm trying to figure out what to do with them.

In general, I would guess that customers of the new company are willing to pay for the size and age of line that they need, but not more.  With the old company, I think I saw many more sales on my $30K+11year USAA line than on my $55K+19year Chase line.  Are there a lot of customers of the new company that need to rent $55K lines compared to the number of lines available from people like us?

2.  On a similar note, if one has a small line, say $5K or $10K, is it better to leave that as a standalone line and pick up a few $50 commissions, or to move it to a monster card?  There is an annual fee in there to consider.

3.  Is it better to be towards the upper end of the commission CL range or the lower?  In other words, as a general strategy, would you rather have a CL with a $20,001 limit, or a $29,998 limit?

---

Overall, it's fun playing the game; now I feel the need to try to optimize it.  Thanks!

Good questions.  I don't have enough information to have answers, but I can speculate based on my gut and what it seems like.

1. Yes.  Higher limits should sell more.

However, as far as having two $15k cards into one $30k card, I'd probably leave two 15k ones, to get more overall sales.  At Old Company I'd probably have combined them.  At the very least, right now I'd enroll them all and see how it goes (and negotiate on the 58k one), if they're selling out or not.

The exception is Chase. I'd only have one Chase enrolled, if you do Chase, so I'd combine them all to one mega limit in that case.

2. <10k cards I'd move, or move some from the monster cards to get it to 15k or so. 

I'd rather have 3 20k cards than one 60k card.  But I'd rather have 1 20k card than 3 7k cards.

Basically cards below 10k don't really sell much, but cards in the 20k range sell pretty decent, so I'd rather have more of those, even if the 60k card will definitely sell out, it'll be less lines overall.

3. With Old Company, I was thinking it might be beneficial to be at the top of the range.  I haven't seen that same thing with New Company, so I'm working on just pushing everything up as much as possible.

Again, this is all speculation, and it may be worth emailing the TL company for their thoughts, but that's what I'm thinking at the moment.  :)

[tj]

There is zero reason to ever pay an annual fee unless you are received benefits that are worth it. Nearly every issuer will let you product change to a card that does not have a fee. For example, Citibank has the "AAdvantage Citi Bronze" which is not publiciized, but it has no fee and gives you 1 point per 2 dollars spent. Product changes do not change your card open date.

The benefits are selling tradelines.  ;)

Barclays, for example, doesn't have an equivalent for their airline branded cards.  We shut down Lufthansa Miles and More cards a few months before learning about TL sales because they refused to waive the fee, and had no cards we could switch it to (despite multiple calls to verify that).  Would have cancelled other ones, too (AA card and Arrival+) if they didn't downgrade, but for finding about tradeline sales.

Now I'm happily paying $89/yr (written off as an expense against the income) to make hundreds from that card.

It is worth seeing if they have a card you can downgrade it to, without an annual fee.  But if not, it may be worth keeping open to do TL sales, even with paying a fee.

The Arrival + can downgrade to Arrival. At least that's what I did years ago. Odd that they wouldn't let you product change the Lufthansa to something else.

[katsiki]

ARS, good tip on requesting CLI's every 3 months.  I was doing Discover every 6 months.  I tried after 3 months based on your comment and it was raised.

As I said before, i have verified that you can do a CLI on Discover every 2 months.

Thanks Tom!  I must have missed that.  Great info.

[boarder42]

just got a 500 dollar bump on my discover

and a 5k!! bump on my barclays. this moved up a level.  equates to 900 dollars more per year at my conservative estimate.  much more once it turns 2. 

[boarder42]

so ARS should we start a new thread to discuss what people are doing with this income on their taxes this year?  or is this a good place for it.

I plan to just file as misc income and not file as a business subject to FICA taxes.

[tj]

so ARS should we start a new thread to discuss what people are doing with this income on their taxes this year?  or is this a good place for it.

I plan to just file as misc income and not file as a business subject to FICA taxes.

I don't know if that's a choice, but if you do recognize it as self employment income (which i believe it probably is) You could always open a SEP, SIMPLE IRA or Individual 401(k) and funnel it all (less the SE taxes) into retirement accounts.


i'd also argue that if it was a choice, you probably should recognize it as SE income until you are above the Second Bend Point:

https://thefinancebuff.com/early-retirement-social-security-benefits.html

[boarder42]

so ARS should we start a new thread to discuss what people are doing with this income on their taxes this year?  or is this a good place for it.

I plan to just file as misc income and not file as a business subject to FICA taxes.

I don't know if that's a choice, but if you do recognize it as self employment income (which i believe it probably is) You could always open a SEP, SIMPLE IRA or Individual 401(k) and funnel it all (less the SE taxes) into retirement accounts.


i'd also argue that if it was a choice, you probably should recognize it as SE income until you are above the Second Bend Point:

https://thefinancebuff.com/early-retirement-social-security-benefits.html

i'm easily above the second bend.  in 2016 i only made a couple grand.  i already have a SEP setup from past daily fantasy wins i filed a schedule C for. for 2017 i will have to do the math b/c my base pay is close to the "you dont have to pay int SSA number" which then with just medicare there is a breakeven point where since your SEP contributions avoid fed and state taxes at 31% for me it makes sense to just file as a business.

[arebelspy]

so ARS should we start a new thread to discuss what people are doing with this income on their taxes this year?  or is this a good place for it.

I plan to just file as misc income and not file as a business subject to FICA taxes.

Feel free to discuss here.  :)

I plan to exclude it all under FEIE, being an expat, but I'm interested in the discussion both for when I eventually go back to the states, and as an intellectual curiosity.

[boarder42]

looks like they raised that number to 127200 for when your IRS payments stop.  I feel like this is the perfect scenario for an S corp.  Its easy to argue that the level of effort involved is so small that it would justify you paying your self 300 an hour ... and the real value is in the assets(credit lines) you company holds.  so figure out the balance of taxes with that.  i havent researched it a ton.  but just avoiding fica would save quite a bit of money. 

[TomTX]

It would be beneficial if the tradeline income was income for my wife instead of myself, as I have a lot more social security wages.

She already handles a lot of the work, and it would be straightforward to have her handle all the tradeline stuff. No business set up though.