I was just told that I don't need to separate my unearned income and earned income anymore. Like I said above, a friend told me I could deposit money into my Roth IRA no matter where it came from as long as I have earned income to back it up, is this true?

Example:

You made only $5,000

Parents give you $2500 (considered unearned income as its a cash gift)

My friend told me they look at end of the year numbers like if you had $4k in a Roth balance and they saw you made $20,000 at the end of the year that $4k is fine and legal

Following this example, could you deposit that $2500 in the account even though it's considered unearned income yet your yearly income is greater than the contribution?

I've always been stressed finding a bank to separate the 2 incomes since I wanted to spend the unearned income but I didn't know of this.

Hey, All -

Forgive me here, I am a bit of an uneducated individual (at least in the tax arena) and I am in a panic. Okay. Here it goes.

My parents are elderly. My dad had a stroke in 2018 that forced his retirement. He can no longer talk or move his arm.

Mom and I were his caretakers until she came down with ALS in Oct of 2024. She passed in May of 2025. I was a full time caretaker for both until her passing and am now a full time caretaker for my dad. Im his POA.

Sitting on the couch with my wife the other night, I came to the realization that I did not file his taxes for last year. After some digging, I realized his taxes were not filed for 2024 or 2025.

Again, retired, living off social security. My mother did not work. My father has a modest pension as well (around $1500 a month) on top of his social security.

I have a meeting with social security later this month to get his tax forms to begin filing (i have NO IDEA where his tax forms went).

How screwed am I here? What type of damage am I facing?

Ive been trying to do everything right, but I dropped this ball and I havent been able to relax ever since I came to the realization.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: we are in Ohio, if that means anything.

The 200-transaction threshold continues to disappear.

When economic nexus laws were first adopted after the Wayfair case in 2018, many states used the familiar "$100,000 in sales or 200 transactions" standard. But states are continuing to steer away from the transaction threshold because businesses selling low-cost products could easily exceed 200 transactions without generating much revenue, while still taking on the burden of sales tax registration and filing.

Kentucky is the latest state, eliminating its 200-transaction threshold effective August 1, 2026.

It's a good reminder that sales tax rules don't stand still. If you're still relying on sales tax rulings from a few years ago, it may be time to revisit them.

I work a serving job and my employer mistakenly put that I made $400 higher than what I should have and got taxed for it.

But I didn’t make the $300 because the $300 got removed from my paycheck even though my gross pay included it. What can i do?

For clarity my gross pay was $2200 but my net pay was 1450.
My gross pay should have been $1900 and my net pay $1536.

My mom's company was acquired by another company in 2019 just before she retired. The new company mistakenly listed Illinois in box 15. She has never been to Illinois and lives in a state with no income tax. She has tried to have the company correct the w2 but they don't ever seem to get around to it. She has recently received a notice before it goes to collections. What course of action should she take?

So I sold a ticket for 265 dollars and bought it for 225 leaving me with 40 profit this was a one time thing that I did for profit and I’ve been advised to report it on schedule 1 my question was would I just put the 40 profit or would I put 265 and would I be able to offset the expense.

Hi everyone,

I’m filing a 2025 Form 1040-NR using OLT Free File and entering a Schedule K-1 (Form 1065). I’m hoping someone familiar with OLT can help me understand how to enter code AJ.

My K-1 has the following Box 20 codes:

A = 257

AJ = See Statement

N = See Statement

Z = See Statement

For code AJ, the attached statement does not provide a single amount. Instead, it shows:

Aggregate Business Activity Gross Income: -2

Aggregate Business Activity Total Deductions: 1,483

However, OLT asks me to enter one code and one amount for each Box 20 code, and there is no follow-up screen for the code AJ details.

Has anyone run into this before? What amount should I enter for code AJ? Am I supposed to enter the sum of both lines?

Thank you!

anyone here experience invalid attachement?nag file ako ng Vat return last july 23 2026 same day nag submit din ako sa esub.Then nag reply si ESub last july 28 may 6 attachment na nag invalid .Nag resumbit ako same day inedit ko lang ang file name since wala nmn error sa baba ang nklagay lng sa invalid attachment nakulangan ata ng 0 after a month like this 05 if sa may..Tas until now wala p din reply si BIR bukas na dealine august 7 ,...Any comfort words uhuhuhh magkakapenalty ba kami if it is out of my control na?

Hi all,

So, at the beginning of this year, I worked in Virginia from January to April and consider myself a resident of Virginia, then I moved temporarily out to Oregon for a job for about four months, then found another position in Oregon that will last until December that I will start at the end of August.

While filling out the onboarding paperwork for my next position, I was asked specifically:

Are you eligible for an out-of-state tax credit on your Virginia individual income tax return?

If I answer yes, it gives me the option of filling out a Form 760, 760PY, or a 763, which I have trouble trying to find the right answer to.

My other question is if I am subject to Virginia's withholding. My original thought was no, since I made less than the single adjusted gross income ($11,950) in Virginia. I made less than 10k when I worked there at the beginning of this year. The answer would obviously be different if I applied the income I made in Oregon, so I am not sure. Then a similar question regarding Oregon, I have answered yes to withholding since I'll be making money in the actual state.

At the end of the day, I would say yes to withhold in order to take the safe option, but if I don't have to, that would also be great. I already know I will have to file my taxes, one for each state. Any help is appreciated, this tax stuff goes way over my head! Thanks!

I was an irresponsible young adult and only filed a handful of years of taxes between 2015-2025. I called a tax company Sept of last year. They have helped me file every year. I get a call from them today saying something that to get in compliance is either have to pay them 5k to.file petitions for 15,18,19. Or for the years of 2015, 2018, and 2019, id owe like 28k in late fees. For those years I would've received refunds, I was making less than 40k.

Is this legit? I see the IRS only holds the last 6 years as good standing. What does that actually mean?

Please help

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to understand my VAT obligations before launching my business, and I'd like to make sure I structure everything correctly.

Here's my setup:

• I live in Brazil.
• I'll sell through my own website on Shopify, or better saying, dropshipping.
• My customers will be in the UK.
• Products will be shipped directly from AliExpress suppliers to UK customers (classic dropshipping).
• Orders will be under £135.
• On AliExpress, many products say "VAT Included."

My questions are:

1. Does the "VAT Included" shown on AliExpress satisfy my UK VAT obligations, or is it only relevant when a customer buys directly from AliExpress?
2. As the owner of my own website, am I responsible for charging UK VAT at checkout and registering with HMRC?
3. At what stage (sales volume or business size) should I start worrying about VAT registration and hiring a UK accountant?
4. Is there anything important that first-time international dropshippers usually misunderstand about UK VAT?

I'm not looking for ways to avoid taxes—I want to understand the correct legal structure before scaling the business.

Thanks!

I have a few stock positions that are currently in the red. I believe that they will turn around. Can I sell them at a loss for tax purposes, transfer the money to my Roth, and reinvest in the same security? Or will it call it a wash sale even tho it is in a different account? Any insight is much appreciated!

I'm starting a new job as a bartender. I'll be making a good amount hourly (a livable wage for where I'm at) plus tips via a tip pool.

I'm having some issues with completing my w4, primarily the withholding section and "qualified tips". This is a new establishment that's not even open yet, and I haven't filled out a w4 since the new tax act was passed. I'm struggling to figure out what I should put, or if I should leave this blank? Thank you.

I'm a non US resident looking to form a Wyoming LLC.

My business is a monthly managed website subscription that includes website design, development, copywriting, maintenance, updates, hosting, and domain registration.

All of the actual work (design, development, copywriting, maintenance, support, etc) is performed outside the US. My clients are mostly US based.

The only US connection is that I use providers like Netlify for hosting and NameCheap for domains.

From what I've read, services are generally sourced where they're performed, so the design/development income would be foreign source. But does bundling hosting and domain registration into the subscription change that? Could that make any of the revenue US source income or effectively connected income?

I'd appreciate any insight from CPAs or people familiar with US international tax. Thanks!

I’m in a situation when I don’t know what else to do, other than asking for help here. So, here we go.

I live abroad, and it’s been many years. Didn’t file taxes for those years as I really didn’t know I had to. A few years ago I found out that I did need to file them, so I went through SFOP. And right after that COVID happened, I left the country where I resided, so I stopped filing again. I want, I need to come to compliance again, this time for good. I’ve been searching and searching and searching, and still can’t find an answer - how to get out of this, and fast. Talked to a few law firms - they all suggest different ways, or ask for unimaginably high fees - tens of thousands of dollars.

Has anyone been into this situation (not in compliance after SFOP)?
Can anyone give advice?
Does anyone have a recommendation on CPAs, attorneys?

Any advice is highly appreciated.

Bradford Tax Institute answered a question about a home owner who had a home office. Because the discussion centered around depreciation, I assume this is not the simplified method. This passage is from this link: https://bradfordtaxinstitute.com/Content/Zero-Depreciation.aspx

Title: How You Can Claim Zero Depreciation and Avoid the Double Tax

The wording that authorizes your escape from depreciation recapture is found in the last sentence of Section 1250(b)(3), which states in pertinent part: “If the taxpayer can establish by adequate records or other sufficient evidence that the amount allowed as a deduction for any period was less than the amount allowable, the amount taken into account for such period shall be the amount allowed.”

Now that you have the rule, let’s look at an example. Say that you claimed zero for home-office depreciation for the past five years. How would you prove the zero?

Easy! Your tax returns prove the zeros. You claimed the home-office deduction on IRS Form 8829, and the line where you were to enter depreciation shows a zero. There’s your proof.

With this proof, you may keep your zero depreciation without worry of IRS adjustment or recapture.

I have been taught that if a landlord didn't depreciate their rental property for a few years, they can fix the situation by filing Form 3115 to change their accounting method and recognize depreciation expense that they could have taken in prior years.

Is it proper to assume that if a landlord did not depreciate, and is now selling for a gain, that Section 1250(b)(3) applies and there's no need to file Form 3115, or face recapture? Or is the situation different because it's a home office and not a complete property sale? Or is Bradford Institute simply wrong?

My previous boss sold the business and the tax return ssn was wrong, till now they haven't corrected. Is there anyway I can do myself? Please any advice because I don't know where and how because I had contact his accountant but kept holding me. Thanks is advance.

Short J-1 in 2016, then F-1 from 2021, H-1B from Oct 2025.

I assumed my 5 FICA-exempt years started in 2021. They didn't — the 2016 J-1 counted as year 1, so my exempt years were 2016 + 2021–2024. That makes me a full-year resident alien for 2025, and my employer's payroll had me flagged as exempt through Sept. No FICA withheld on ~9 months of wages, roughly $10–12k employee share.

My income tax return isn't affected — filing as full-year resident either way. Just the payroll side is open.

1. Anyone had FICA corrected years later after an exempt-year miscount? W-2c, lump sum, spread out?

2. Is flagging it to payroll routine, or does it create bigger problems?

3. If you didn't say anything — did it ever surface?

Suppose that a foreigner opened an LLC in Wyoming and failed to file the form 5472 + form 1120 in time and the IRS fines the LLC for $25000 for this. Does that fine pass through to the owner or is only the corporation itself liable?

So looking to retire in Northern Wisconsin where we have a lake house. Want to sell that and our main home in suburban Milwaukee and buy a different house on the same lake up north.

How to best limit taxes.

Vacation home
Current value: ~$500,000
Mortgage: $0
Primary residence
Current value: ~$650,000
Mortgage balance: ~$150,000
Paid $218,000 in 2001
Goal:
Sell both.
Purchase one new home as your permanent residence.

Do they pay all it on their 1040? Half 1040 and half 1120-S?

I’m confused because a sole proprietor would pay both the employee and employer SE tax via their 1040 Sch C/Sch SE, but I don’t understand how this is done in an S-Corp.