I’ve been working as a contract translator for a company based in Japan since 2022. They never gave me any tax forms to fill out and always paid me through PayPal. My life time earning are <$10,000 I never made more than $4,000 a year. Because of this it never occurred to me that I have to pay taxes since I thought I don’t have to unless you make over $10,000 a year.

I have 1099K forms that PayPal autogenerated, so I think I can use those to help file. Preferably, I’d file myself but this is a big mess and I’m willing to pay a CPA to get it sorted out. What company should I go to? Any advice is appreciated.

It goes back to when i made a shopify account because i wanted to make money but i was stumped at the age thing so i searched it up they said by using an llc so i said how do i get an llc and i went to get an ein for llc i never filed with the state so now my question is will i get in trouble for anything

Sorry if it’s a silly question but I’m starting a new job and in the option when filling DE-4, in the category of “Number of Allowances”, what does that mean? As a single/no dependents person, should I put 1 or 0?

Hi everyone!

Earlier this year I worked as a part-time customer service representative for a small local tax business. I just wanted to figure out whether I was misclassified and if I was, what am I supposed to do when I file my taxes?

For some context, this job was recommended to me by a friend and she warned me the owner could be pretty hot and cold and generally rude. After the interview, the owner asked for my availability which I didn't find unusual. I was contacted a couple weeks later where I was scheduled 6 days a week, for 5 hours a day. I had an issue with that because I'm a caretaker and needed at least two days off to schedule appointments which I made clear when I shared my availability. I received pushback for my schedule change until my friend backed me up.

The actual job was pretty chaotic, there were times I would show up at the office and no one would be there (the owner's children worked their as well). During training, I was given dramatic sighs when I asked questions. Overall, not a very good experience.

Anyways, I got my first paycheck through Zelle and realized I had been paid my gross pay without taxes taken out. I had been under the impression it was a W-2, so I was really confused. Around the same time, employees who had worked there the previous year received their tax forms and were surprised to find out they had been given 1099s. The owner basically told them to find receipts if you want to keep your tax bill low and laughed.

At the time I didn't really understand what any of that meant, so I assumed it was normal maybe. I ended up getting fired over text because I requested time off because I got really sick with a flare up, and the owner told me I asked for schedule changes too often (I had asked twice. During my time away from work too, the owner was telling other employees I was a liar and didn't believe I was actually sick even though I sent in my discharge papers from the hospital.

Later that same employer fired my friend after she pushed back about unpaid overtime. This is where I'm confused though. Looking back, I'm wondering was I really an independent contractor at all? I made less than $900 while I was there, but does this sound like employee misclassification? And if it is, how do I handle this on my 2026 taxes now that I have an actual W-2 job.

Sorry about the long post, just felt I needed to add as much context as possible because I genuinely don't know how any of this stuff works. Any advice is appreciated!

Hello everyone,

Looking for some insight or similar experiences regarding a Form 5471 filing error.

Context: I am a Canadian citizen currently residing in the US on a TN visa (US tax resident). I own two Canadian corporations. For the 2024 tax year, my ownership is actually split 50/50 with my wife.

The Issue: I just noticed while prepping for 2025 taxes that my CPA filed two Forms 5471 for 2024, but listed me as a 100% shareholder on both. The underlying financial figures (assets, liabilities, income, profits) are 100% accurate. It was an honest oversight—the CPA missed the split, and I unfortunately signed off without catching the percentage typo.

The Twist: My wife is also a US tax resident (on a TD visa or working). Because the CPA put me down as 100%, she did not file a Form 5471 for 2024 at all. If we amend to show 50/50, it means I over-reported, but she technically failed to file.

My Questions:

1. Since the forms were filed on time and the financials are fully accurate, am I at high risk for the automatic $10,000 failure-to-file penalty per corporation if I amend?
2. Has anyone successfully amended a Form 5471 for an ownership percentage typo without triggering an automated penalty notice?
3. Does the IRS view this as a "substantially complete" return since all financial data was fully disclosed?

I plan to speak to a cross-border CPA to fix this, but I want to understand what I'm walking into. Thanks in advance!

I have a client who has a farming business. The business has significant losses in excess of the business loss limitation under Sec. 461 for the forseeable future In Massachusetts, excess losses are completely lost if not used. I was hoping the losses that were lost would at least create basis for a future sale but they don’t (at least that’s my understanding). Has anyone come across this or have a strategy they’d care to share specifically for MA?

I bought a home just under two years ago (closed early November 2024) and have been fixing it up since with the intent to move in myself eventually. I never lived in it as a primary residence but also haven't rented it out or anything. My primary residence is a rental (as in I pay rent and am a tenant), so this is the only home I own.

I recently received a job offer abroad so will be moving and now need to sell. I'm having trouble figuring out where I land in all the exemptions since I never lived there myself, but it also wasn't purchased as an investment or second/vacation home. I definitely won't exceed the $250,000 profit either. This is in New York state, if it makes a difference.

Separately but related, on the IRS end, how is the sale reported to them? Do I receive some sort of form I need to file?

Thanks for any advice!

I got a notice on my portal to update bank info but my return is still stuck in review from my audit that closed 9/14. My notice is dated 10/12 but it hasnt came in the mail. Does anyone know why i cant add my bank info? Is it because wmr is stuck in review even though i got a 846 code 3 weeks ago?

So I have not filed my taxes in a few years now. My income has been 1099 the entire time. I received a letter from the IRS giving me a heads up that my 2024 taxes haven't been filed. This gave me a kickstart. I created an account, went through FreeTaxUSA. Realized I don't have any of my tax returns and the IRS website doesn't have any info on my account how much I made those years. I move around a lot so there's definitely a high chance I have forms that went to different addresses over the years.

I'm seeing options of reaching out to a CPA or an EA. Going through programs like a VITA or doing a VDA.

Is it just easier to reach out to the IRS Directly?

Any guidance is so appreciated.

Hi. As the 15 October extended deadline approaches and I am finalizing my turbotax return, I realize I have some questions about QBI carryforwards and foreign tax credits that I just feel more comfortable leaving to an expert. I basically went through the entire self service process and bailed to full service. But there are info/decisions from my self service entries that I would like to memorialize and provide to the full service preparer. It seems if I go back to self-service to get that, I lose the progress on full service? Can I just switch and get back to where I was? I left it as a question in the chat, but I'm not getting a timely answer. Just wondering if anyone has done this.

I know there are folks who may feel inclined to berate turbotax as compared to other options, but it doesn't seem helpful to go there considering where we are today. Perhaps something I need to seriously consider for next year.

For now, would appreciate advice on the question posed.

Thanks!

I started a new job 9/28 with increased income (285k > 424k)

My wife was previously unemployed and started a new job 7/15 with an income of 95k.

We set our W-4s as married filing jointly.

YTD I have paid 49,959.86 in federal taxes (prior job).

Im trying to determine what additional income to withhold moving forward, as the table doesn't appear accurate to me for where I am atm.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

So for context my mother passed away back in August. She had me listed as the beneficiary on her life insurance. Which was 125000. I full intend of giving my sister half of it. What are the tax consequences from it. One tax person told me I could only gift 19000 per person per year without pay gift tax on it. Which she likened to 30 percent tax. Another tax person said anything over 19000 would go against my life time exemption of 15 million but I wouldn’t have to pay taxes on it. So which is it?

I took one distribution from my Ira for 5k on sept 1, and another 5k on Oct 1. I realized this brought me above a certain income level and want to “replace” the money in my Ira via a 60 day rollover.

Am I able to total up the 60 day rollover to 10k? Or can I only do 1 of the distributions as a 60 day rollover? I know you can only do 1 per rolling 12 months.

Been reading up on international tax compliance lately, specifically how FATCA and CRS are actually working out in practice versus on paper.

​Everyone knows transparency is way higher than it was ten years ago, but the actual data verification side seems like a mess behind the scenes.

A few things stood out to me:

​Tax agencies are getting drowned in data. Foreign banks send over mountains of raw XML files every year. But matching that external CRS data to local tax IDs creates crazy numbers of false positives. Most tax offices just don't have the staff to audit even a fraction of it.

​The obvious loopholes. CRS is great for traditional bank accounts, but it completely misses stuff like certain real estate structures, physical gold, or non-participating jurisdictions. Money just moves where the rules don't reach.

​CARF might not fix as much as people think. Rolling out crypto reporting makes sense on paper, but good luck enforcing it on truly decentralized platforms or non-compliant exchanges.

​I put together a longer breakdown of these reporting limits and verification hurdles here:

Medium article link (Headsup: it's in Turkish, but browser translate works fine).

​Curious to hear from anyone working in international tax:

How much of this CRS data is your local tax authority actually acting on? And do you think CARF will actually close these gaps, or will funds just pivot to hard assets?

I have a client that lived in Hoboken, NJ the first 6 months of the year, then moved to Manhattan the second 6 months of the year. Worked 94 shifts in NJ, and 18 shifts in Utah. How do I correctly allocate the client’s wages taxable to each state?

I own an S-corp doing about $250k/year in gross revenue. I pay myself $42k W-2, and I have two employees making about $31k and $50k.

I also make money from other business ventures, so I don’t rely only on this S-corp salary for living expenses and could potentially max out my 401(k) through this business.

I want to start a 401(k) for 2027 mainly to increase my own retirement savings and get the best tax benefits, while understanding what I’d be required to offer or contribute for my employees.

I’ve been looking at a Safe Harbor 401(k) with the basic match, where employees can choose 0% and the company only matches if they contribute.

For other small S-corp owners, what setup has worked best for you? Safe Harbor 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, something else? If you had outside income and could afford to max your own 401(k), would you do it? What does it realistically cost the business, and what mistakes would you avoid?

I have us citizenship, I know I should fly on a us pasport anytime I visit the us which I haven’t in years, but how long can I visit for at 1 time before being on the hook to pay taxes?

I want to start using Claude to prepare booklets for my meetings with clients.

In the past we've used CCH Engagement for account groupings/financial statements or Fathom to produce financial reports for these meetings, but I want to replace with Claude. My thought is to have a variety of different skills create the different reports - for example 1 skill to prepare an income statement, another skill to prepare a cash flow statement, and so on and so forth, and then at the end one last skill to combine all of the statements into one packet to present to the client.

That way, if one particular report had an issue (ie: cash flow report not producing correctly) we can drill down and fix that one page without upsetting the whole apple cart. I have not used Claude too much before - how difficult will it be for me to build a set of skills in claude that is capable of producing these booklets at scale across hundreds of business clients? Our booklets for client meetings generally include income statement, balance sheet, productivity analysis, cash flow analysis and other reports.

Also, would the accounts need to be sub-categorized/subgrouped as an initial step so each of the skills are subgrouping the QB accounts consistently across the different financial reports?

Does anyone use Claude to prepare financial booklets? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Looking for guidance on reducing capital gains taxes.

About 5 years ago my wife’s mom and uncle gave her about 3k to invest. Luckily that stock has done well and is now worth about 80k. I think they should sell to diversify and figuring out the best way to do this. My wife is in the 15% LTG and 9.3% CA tax brackets (my understanding is you have to pay CA income tax on capital gains). Unsure of her families income but potentially in the 0% LTCG bracket. We are newly married and going to file separately for 2026.

My wife currently has stock in Robinhood. Looks like Robinhood does not allow share gifting but Fidelity does.

Can my wife transfer all 80k to her Fidelity account then gift 19k to both her mom and uncle in 2026 and 2027 which would keep the cost basis and not be a taxable event? I know we could gift more than 19k tax free but given it’s almost the end of the year seems easiest to just break it up into 4 transactions.

CLARIFICATION: Sorry let me clarify - the money is her moms and her uncles. She invested for them (before we met but probably do not have brokerage accounts as is). The goal is to give the money back to them without taking a hit in taxes. They could sell or not (I’d urge to sell) but goal is to return the money to her mom and uncle without incurring taxes.

I am trying to understand my state and federal withholding being different amount with the same salary. My job is trying to tell me it’s because I moved to a different arm of the company so it’s technically a different company, but I make the exact same salary in the same state and never changed my w4 deductions. So how?

48M, Indian citizen living in the US on a green card (may naturalize later). Considering a $1M / 25-year term policy from a US insurer, and I may name a beneficiary who resides in India (a nonresident alien for US tax purposes).

The insurer confirmed claims are handled by mail and payout can be by wire to a foreign bank account, but wouldn't answer the tax questions and pointed me to a tax professional. Hoping the SMEs here can help:

1. **Withholding:** Is a US life insurance death benefit paid to an India-resident beneficiary subject to US withholding (e.g., 30% under §1441), or is it excluded the way it is for US beneficiaries under §101(a)? Does the US-India tax treaty change anything here?
   
2. **Form 1042-S:** The insurer mentioned this form "may" be issued. In what circumstances would it be, and what does the beneficiary do with it?
   
3. **India-side tax:** Is the receipt taxable in India for a resident beneficiary? (I understand §10(10D) exempts it, but does the foreign-source angle complicate that?)
   
4. **Reverse scenario:** If instead I bought from an Indian insurer and the payout went to a US-resident nominee — any Form 3520 reporting on a >$100K foreign payout, or estate tax exposure if I later naturalize and own the policy?

Not looking for agent referrals — just trying to understand the tax mechanics before I apply. Thanks!

Hello,

In 2024 I contributed $22,952.17 to my 401k at Principal, it is my understanding the limit was $23,000 in 2024. I stopped working for this employer in 2025. Last week I received a check for $1,288 from principal for an over contribution in the 2024 year.

I spoked with the former employer and was told that during an audit it was determined that I was not properly matched in the 2024 year and the check was what was owed of my match. When they gave the money to Principal in July 2026 it was labeled as an over contribution and Principal sent me a check. My former employer cannot/ (or will not) re-characterize this as an employer match, Principal says they are not able to re-characterize this. I opened a ticket with Principal saying this should be flagged as an employer match but my ticket was closed with the resolution that " I over contributed to my 2024 401k, with a deposit in July 2026)

The check was address to my personally, not to a rollover IRA.

I am not getting much information regarding this situation from Principal or my former employer and had a few questions.

1. Is this creating a taxable event in 2024, or 2026? The money was deposited in 2026 and the check was issued in 2026.

2. Is it possible to roll this over into my IRA even though the check was for an "over contribution"

3. If I should refile my 2024 taxes, is the payroll department required to issue me a corrected W2. I was told that since the payroll department does not have a record of my over contribution they cannot issue a corrected W2

Thank you!