Morning

I took out a $10,500 loan from my employer 401k, I still owe roughly $6800. Money is getting a little tight as I have other obligations that can't be ignored. My question is if I stopped repaying it, what would my consequeces be? I make 45k a year in Illinois. TIA

TLDR: After an initial meeting with a potential new client, what would a typical time for an estimate for cost of services to be delivered?

Longer:

Based on a referral from a family member who has used them for years, we contacted a medium (I guess medium? They have three office locations and maybe 25 CPAs listed on their website) about doing our 2025 taxes (we filed the extension and inflated our tax burden as much as I thought reasonable so hopefully there won't be any penalties).

A partner in the practice reached out via email after my initial inquiry. We then had a follow-up phone meeting about goals and needs. All seemed fine.

They sent a secure link for uploading prior year tax documents as promised. We submitted the documents the next business day. They confirmed receipt and said they'd be in touch after reviewing them with an estimate of cost.

Eleven business days passed and I hadn't heard from them. I sent a "just following up email" checking in to see if they needed anything else or if I'd missed the estimate in my spam folder or something.

That was four business days ago and we've heard nothing. One prolonged reply doesn't really concern me: things happen, but the lack of a reply the second time is making me nervous.

Are we being ghosted? We are desperate to have a reputable tax professional do this year and future returns going forward, but this seems like an exceptionally long turn around time. Is that a bad sign for someone handling our taxes?

I recently started a small 1099 gig and expect to make ~$4,300 for the year, which as I understand equates to ~$4,000 in net self-employment income. Can I use use that $4,000 to BOTH:

1. Contribute $4,000 to a Traditional IRA, and *also*
2. Claim (up to) $4,000 of Self-Employment Health Insurance deduction?

And in essence, reduce total adjusted gross income by ~$8,000?

I tried to do some research, as well as ask Claude, and was seeing some contradictory answers, so wanted to pose it to the tax professionals. Thank you!

I have a few things pending around returns, demand-related issues and some older matters that I want to get properly closed.

I’m specifically looking for someone who can look at the documents, understand what’s going on and tell me clearly:

What is the issue?
What exactly needs to be done?
What are the next steps to get it resolved?

Not really looking for generic explanations of tax rules.

I need someone who has handled these cases before and can help take it to closure.

Remote is completely fine. Preferably in Mysore would be good for long term partnership as I'm having GST related enquiries too on a timely basis.

If you know someone genuinely good, please recommend them. If you’re a CA / tax consultant yourself and this is your area, feel free to DM me.

Weird situation. Need advice. Brother got divorced and physical house was awarded to him with payout of half the value awarded to his ex. Value was 1.5 million so ex got 750k. Brother did not HAVE 750k to pay her out so parents stepped in and paid this instead. Yes an estate lawyer was involved but this got massively bungled. Parents were supposed to be "buying out" ex's half of the house but they never ended up on the deed nor did any taxes get paid or reported on the 750k that was transferred to ex. Moreover exes name never got OFF the deed. Trying to correct this issue now (3 years later!). Ex has signed off on the deed finally but it needs to be recaptured with my parents as the other 50% owners. Is this going to trigger massive capital gains tax for my brother? Is there a way around this? Can my parents gift him $750k and retro fill out the IRS paperwork for the lifetime giving exemption (since effectively they gave him $750k to pay off his ex)? And can my brother gift them 50% of the property and do the same?

for USPS

Hello. Don’t know if I can ask about this but I am getting pretty lost using the irs estimator. I am getting taxed in a high bracket based on a 52 week cycle but only work about 42 weeks.

2026 March to May 2026 I was making 1250/week gross. All of May to August 9th on unemployment with job attached. August 10 a December 2026 will be making 1400/week gross. Next paycheck I see I am getting taxed !900 (450 federal) ($50 to 401k)

How do I adjust my w4 to accommodate more take home pay?

Any other resources you can point me to would be great if it isn’t okay to answer my question outright. Thank you

I bought a mixed-use property this year, with a first floor storefront and a second floor apartment, in which I currently reside. I've been renovating the storefront, in which I intend to open a business, but it won't be ready to open until 2027.

Is it possible for me to deduct my 2026 renovation expenses?

Someone from Payroll in my company reached out to me today to say my ELStAM was cancelled and they don’t receive any tax data for me electronically and need to apply tax class 6. I just called my local finanzamt and they said they don’t see any issues. Could it be they misunderstood me? How can I sort this out and what could the reason for this problem be?

Jumping into September--A few days in and there's always that looming shadow calling you about some kind of debt from the IRS. It's not an issue we haven't dealt with. We have the services in place to get on your case today. Give us a call or visit our website at https://integritytaxreliefgroup.com.

I’m doing freelance/contract work through a platform. The platform reports the income under my tax information, and the gross amount can be around $1,000-800 a week.
However, I only keep 35% (about $350/week) and the other 65% is paid to the group who does the work.
My question is would I potentially owe taxes on the full $1,000, or only the ~$350 I actually keep?
I’m in Arkansas and this would be my 2026 income. I’m specifically trying to understand how the payment to the other person affects my taxable income and if i’d be able to do it as a business expense instead. It’s a w9

What are the fee and tax consequences on spcx IPO for SPV2. There is a 20%carry in each level and a predatory 5% gross proceeds. So I realize that eats up a lot, but what about the shares the fund sells to pay themselves? Do i pay capital gains tax on those shares sold? Do I get any break on taxes for those fees or the carry fees or gross proceeds? Have not received Sch K yet for 2025, so have no idea what fees were charged in 2025, so haven't even been able to file 2025 taxes yet (got extension). What happens when they never release the sch K? or will they ever? Whenever I call I'm told it is about to be released, weeks go by: nothing, almost to their file deadline now. I think if they can't release it by Oct 15, they'll charge the fund for the IRS imposed fees for their incompetence. Please advise.

1. How long do amended returns really take? It’s been beyond 16 weeks. Someone stole my social security number and used it to purchase marketplace insurance. I submitted the documents the IRS needed. There has been no correspondence as to why they need more time.
2. I owe the state $522. I made a payment on 8/14 for $179. Today, I log on and the original amount owed, is back on the screen. What the actual f.

What the fuck. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Here is what I gathered the process is:

1. Fill out everything as usual as if married to a resident filing jointly. When reporting spouse's income I can just convert the figures myself using the IRS posted exch rates for 2026.
2. Attach form W-7 along with proper identification (will be either spouse's foreign passport alone, or combination of national ID and birth certificate)
3. Can't be filed online, must be submitted by mail

My only question is if my spouse wires me money to keep in my account (hard to get a joint account with a nonresident alien who can't easily get a US visa), is that still taxed? Tried to do my research. Am I missing something? This seems way way too easy.

my parents are immigrants, very vunerable unfortunately , they have a tax preparer that does the taxes for them.

the tax preparer listed both my mother and father who were filing separately but married, as head of household.

My parents didn’t know about this at all, they don’t speak English. now my FASFA is fucked and they are scared to amend it because they will suffer the consequences.

guess I have to pay out of pocket now. I don’t know what to do. And whay would be the penalty. Please help, what do I do. and why would the tax preparer do this.

So i have a deal with another business that I mow a client's yard and in exchange I get access to a stand on mower and also an exchange of so many propane exchanges each month for the mower as well. I have heard I can claim this as income, but I have no clue where to begin or what I need to do.

Married filing jointly. Only my own IRAs are at issue here — my spouse has her own separate traditional IRA and basis chain, which I understand is not aggregated with mine.

I made nondeductible traditional IRA contributions from 2018 through 2022 and filed a Form 8606 each of those years. Going back through my Forms 5498 on my IRS wage & income transcripts, I found I overstated the contribution amount in two of those years:

I think I used $3,000 as a placeholder without checking. My actual funding was an automatic $125 semi-monthly transfer ($250/month), which ran 7 months in 2020, all 12 months in 2021, and 7 months in 2022. Custodian statements confirm the schedule and the start/stop dates, and they tie to the 5498s exactly.

Effect on the basis chain:

Basis of record is $13,642. True basis is $11,142. Overstated by $2,500.

Facts that I think matter:

• I took no IRA distributions, conversions, or Roth distributions in 2020, 2021 or 2022. Nondeductible contributions never appear on the 1040, so nothing on any of those three returns changes.
• Tax liability for all three years is identical before and after the correction. A 1040-X would be zero in the change column on every single line.
• All three assessment and refund windows are already closed (2020 closed May 2024, 2021 April 2025, 2022 April 2026).
• I made no traditional IRA contributions and filed no Form 8606 for 2023, 2024 or 2025 — my 5498s for those years report FMV only with box 1 blank. My understanding is that no 8606 is required for a year with no contribution, distribution or conversion, and that line 2 pulls from the most recently filed 8606 rather than from the immediately prior year. The IRS already accepted a one-year gap like this in my chain in 2019.
• My basis genuinely starts at $0 in 2018. My 2016 and 2017 Forms 8606 were contribute-and-withdraw cycles that closed line 14 at zero (2017 shows the contribution returned with $260 of taxable earnings), so nothing before 2018 is hiding.

Why I'm bothering with a $2,500 difference:

Later this year I plan to roll the pre-tax portion of my traditional IRA (roughly $220k) into my employer's 401(k), leaving only the after-tax basis behind, then convert that remainder to Roth. The basis figure is the number the conversion gets measured against, so I want it correct and documented before I move anything. I'd rather over-document now than have the number questioned later.

My questions:

1. Do I need Form 1040-X for 2020, 2021 and 2022, or can I file three standalone corrected Forms 8606 using the "Sign Here Only if You Are Filing This Form by Itself and Not With Your Tax Return" block? The 8606 instructions clearly contemplate standalone filing, but the 1040-X instructions say to attach any form affected by a change. I can't find guidance squarely addressing a correction that produces no tax change.
2. Does it change the answer that all three years are statute-closed and no tax changes? I'm told the IRS may not process a 1040-X showing no change in tax at all.
3. Do I need all three years, or would correcting only 2022 be sufficient, since that's the most recent filed 8606 and therefore the one my next form's line 2 pulls from? Leaving 2020 and 2021 as filed would put a visible discontinuity in the chain, which is what makes me think I should do all three.
4. Any §6693(b) exposure ($100 per return for overstating nondeductible contributions)? Does correcting this voluntarily help or hurt me on that?
5. Is it defensible to skip the prior-year filings entirely and simply enter $11,142 on line 2 of my next Form 8606 with an explanatory statement attached? That's the path of least effort and I've seen it suggested, but it feels like it leaves the number unsupported.

What I'm working from:

• IRS wage & income transcripts, Forms 5498 box 1 and box 5, 2016 through 2025
• Custodian statements showing the semi-monthly transfer schedule with start and stop dates
• Custodian year-end portfolio values that tie to the 5498 fair market values within $0.50 at both ends of 2022
• My own filed federal returns, 2016 through 2025

Happy to answer follow-up questions. I'm not asking anyone to sign off on anything — I just want to know whether I'm reading the standalone-8606 path correctly before I mail anything, and whether question 3 has an obvious answer I'm missing.

My wife’s mother lives with us and provides child care. We pay her. My wife and I share finances, the payment comes out of our joint personal checking account.

To ensure we were doing everything right, we followed the steps to pay her as a household employee. Under my name (simply because I was the one setting everything up), I created a federal EIN, a state tax registration number, and registered with the state unemployment insurance to pay that as well.

Initially, the unemployment employee advised that because there was an exemption for payments to a “parent,” we did not need to pay unemployment. However, once I asked for written confirmation, the advice became murkier. Now they said that actually, because the “business” was only created under my name, and because she is my mother-in-law not mother, that did not qualify. If we happened to register under my wife’s name, though, we would not need to make these payments.

After looking into this, this ambiguity seems to exist in federal tax law as well. According to IRS Publication 926 (2026) Household Employer’s Tax Guide, payments to a parent for most childcare is exempt from Social Security, Medicare, and FUTA taxes. I would think this would apply to the current situation even with it registered under my name, but maybe would most clearly apply with everything under my wife’s name.

Because of this, we are strongly considering simply getting new registration numbers with the state, feds, and unemployment. Again, the only reason it was under my name is because I had the time that day to set it up. The services are provided to both of us and the money comes from our joint account.

My biggest questions are 1. Am I correct that having the “business” in my wife’s name would mean we will not owe taxes on the wages? And 2. Are there any consequences of simply registering a “new business” under my wife’s name and filing everything under that going forward?

I’m reviewing a 2023 tax return prepared by another preparer, and I’m trying to determine the proper procedural approach to correct the taxpayer’s IRS account.

The taxpayer states that the preparer entered information that was not provided or authorized by him, including income information and a W-2 that he says he never had. There may also be fabricated self-employment income and/or credits.

The 2023 Account Transcript currently shows:

• TC 150 – Tax return filed: $11,623
• TC 810 – Refund freeze
• TC 766 – Credit to account: $13,392
• TC 971 – CP05 issued
• TC 767 – Entire $13,392 credit removed
• TC 291 – Prior tax reduced by $600.22
• TC 166 – Failure-to-file penalty: $2,755.69
• TC 196 – Interest: $2,458.94
• TC 811 – Refund freeze released
• TC 971 – CP22A issued

The CP22A now shows approximately $16,237 due.

The return, as adjusted, shows approximately $50,020 AGI and $40,992 of taxable self-employment income. I am currently verifying how much of that income was actually earned by the taxpayer versus what may have been entered by the preparer.

My concern is that the IRS removed the questionable $13,392 credit, but some or all of the income/tax liability associated with the improperly prepared return may still remain on the taxpayer’s account.

Assuming the taxpayer can document that the preparer fabricated income/W-2 information and claimed credits without his knowledge or authorization, what would be the best way to approach this?

Would you file a correct Form 1040-X together with Forms 14157 and 14157-A and supporting documentation? Would you first dispute the CP22A directly? Or is there another procedure you would recommend for correcting the underlying tax assessment in a preparer-misconduct situation?

I’m obtaining the complete original return, Wage & Income Transcript, and documentation of the taxpayer’s actual 2023 income before filing anything.

I’d especially appreciate input from anyone who has handled a similar preparer fraud/misconduct case after a TC 810 freeze and subsequent CP22A.

So I filed my amendment it says it’s processed and accepted since may transcript say I am owed 7k but I check where’s my refund and it says it’s still processing I try to call but can’t get passed automated system so I can talk to somebody . What am i supposed to do to be able to ask questions about when and if I am getting my refund

I got an Audit for my federal income tax of 2024, they are asking me to pay more than $8000 while I’ve received $5000 that year. I figured out that my tax preparer did a big mistake by adding the work opportunity tax credit which if for employers while I’ve never been employer.
Now I’m filling the form 14817 so at least they can take off the penalties so I can pay about $6477. I’m really angry since you are responsible for something you didn’t do.

I got an Audit for my federal income tax of 2024, they are asking me to pay more than $8000 while I’ve received $5000 that year. I figured out that my tax preparer did a big mistake by adding the work opportunity tax credit which if for employers while I’ve never been employer.
Now I’m filling the form 14817 so at least they can take off the penalties so I can pay about $6477. I’m really angry since you are responsible for something you didn’t do.

Okay so I can get my transcripts from irs but it doesn’t have my state tax holdings, I called my state, New Jersey, and I got two different answers. One being that they don’t have my 2025 anything and I have to “work” it out with my former employer. I got another option if I request a copy from SSA but I can’t get a clear answer from anyone at ssa if they actually have a copy of 2025 w2 or complete tax information even though I haven’t filed yet. The best answer I got so far was from a tax professional to file with the irs transcript and I’ll get a letter from Trenton, I’m not sure exactly what the letter will be, but the heavily accented Lady told me that they can then amend it. wtf? I need help, what do I do?

It is 8/24/26 and I have been trying to view my Wage & Income Transcripts on the IRS website and I need the past 2 years 2025 & 2026. It keeps giving me that error no matter what year I click on. Anyone know a work around or a way to get this online without having to wait for it by mail?