I'm an admin for a plumbing company and we handle this exact situation with our on-call techs. We use what's called the "commuting rule" where we only add $1.75 per one-way commute to their taxable income instead of the full lease value of the van. We also have a written policy that prohibits using the van for personal purposes (other than minimal personal stops on the way home). As long as your employer has that policy in writing and enforces it, they shouldn't be taxing you on the full value of the vehicle - just the minimal commuting value. Maybe share this with your HR or payroll department?

Based on what you've described, your employer may be incorrectly calculating your taxable benefit. Since you're required to take the van home specifically for on-call emergency response (not as a perk), and your van has permanent business modifications like built-in shelving and company logos, you likely qualify for either the "qualified nonpersonal use vehicle" exemption or at minimum the reduced "commuting rule" taxation. Under the commuting rule, you should only be taxed $1.75 each way ($3.50/day) rather than the full fair market value of the vehicle. For the qualified nonpersonal use vehicle exemption, vehicles with permanent business equipment that make personal use unlikely can be completely exempt from fringe benefit taxation. I'd recommend documenting that: 1) taking the van home is mandatory company policy for on-call techs, 2) the van has permanent business modifications, and 3) personal use is prohibited by company policy. Present this to your payroll department with references to IRS Publication 15-B sections on these specific exemptions. Your situation sounds like a textbook case for reduced or eliminated vehicle benefit taxation.

This is a great strategy! I'm in a similar situation with W2 income and side business income. One thing to keep in mind is that your Solo 401k contribution limit will be based on your net self-employment income (after expenses and self-employment tax), not the gross $27k. The calculation gets a bit tricky - you'll need to factor in half of your self-employment tax as a deduction. So if your net profit is $27k, your actual contribution limit will be somewhat less. The employee contribution portion is limited to 100% of compensation, and the employer portion is around 20% of net self-employment income after adjustments. Also, make sure to set up the Solo 401k before the end of the tax year if you want to make contributions for that year. The account needs to be established by December 31st, though you have until the tax filing deadline (plus extensions) to actually make the contributions. Rolling over your old 401ks into the Solo 401k is definitely a smart move for keeping your Backdoor Roth strategy clean. Just make sure whatever provider you choose has good investment options and reasonable fees since you'll potentially be consolidating a lot of money there.

This is exactly the kind of strategic retirement planning that can really pay off in the long run! Your approach of using the Solo 401k to keep your Traditional IRA balance at zero for clean Backdoor Roth conversions is spot on. One additional consideration I'd mention is loan provisions. Unlike Traditional IRAs, Solo 401ks allow you to take loans against your balance (up to 50% or $50,000, whichever is less). This can provide additional flexibility if you ever need access to funds before retirement age, though obviously it should be used carefully. Also, since you're consolidating multiple old 401ks, this might be a good time to review and optimize your overall asset allocation. Having everything in one place makes it much easier to rebalance and avoid overlap in your investment strategy. The fact that your current employer doesn't offer a 401k actually simplifies things significantly - you won't have to worry about coordinating contribution limits across multiple plans or dealing with the complexity of multiple plan administrators.

I went through a CP81 notice situation about 8 months ago and want to share what I learned that might help others here. The most important thing is that this notice doesn't mean you're in trouble - it's literally just the IRS saying "we can't find your return in our system, can you help us locate it?" What I found really helpful was creating a timeline of my filing process. I wrote down the date I completed my return in TurboTax, the date it was transmitted, and the acceptance date from my confirmation email. This helped me organize my thoughts and gave me confidence that I had actually filed properly. One thing that surprised me was that my state return had been processed fine, but somehow my federal return got lost in the system. So even if your state refund came through or your state taxes were processed normally, you could still get a CP81 for federal taxes. My advice: gather your TurboTax acceptance confirmation, write a brief letter explaining when you filed, and respond promptly. I sent mine via certified mail and got resolution in about 3 weeks. The key is having that electronic filing acceptance proof - it's basically undeniable evidence that you filed on time. Don't let the official government language intimidate you. This is really just a clerical issue that gets resolved once you provide proof of filing. You've got this!

I just want to add another perspective as someone who recently dealt with a CP81 notice - don't overlook checking your IRS online account first before doing anything else. I was all ready to mail in my TurboTax confirmation when I decided to log into my IRS account online just to see what it showed. Turns out, my return WAS in their system and had been processed, but there was some kind of internal flag that triggered the CP81 notice anyway. When I called the number on my notice (got through after about 45 minutes on hold), the agent was able to see my return immediately and cleared the notice right over the phone. She said this happens sometimes with their automated notice system - it sends out CP81s even when the return is actually there. So before you go through the whole process of mailing documentation, definitely check your IRS online account at irs.gov. Look under "View Account Information" and see if your 2023 return shows up there. If it does, you might be able to resolve this with just a phone call rather than waiting weeks for mail correspondence. Not saying this will be the case for everyone, but it's worth checking since it could save you a lot of time and stress. The online account will show you exactly what the IRS has on file for you, which gives you a better sense of whether your return truly wasn't received or if it's just a system glitch.

Just wondering what software your preparer used? I'm asking because some tax software won't even let you e-file as a paid preparer without entering a valid PTIN. So either they're paper filing (which is unusual these days), using consumer software and pretending they're not a paid preparer, or somehow bypassing verification systems.

This is actually a really important question that @Freya Andersen raised. When I had my returns done, they were definitely e-filed - I got the electronic confirmation and everything. But now that you mention it, I never really paid attention to what software they were using or how the process worked on their end. If the software requires a valid PTIN to e-file as a paid preparer, then either they somehow got around that requirement or they're filing under someone else's PTIN. Both scenarios are pretty concerning and suggest this might be more serious than just forgetting to renew their registration. I'm definitely going to ask them directly about this when I confront them about the PTIN issue. The fact that they've been able to e-file for years without a valid PTIN suggests there might be some deliberate deception going on rather than just an oversight.

One more question - if I wasn't a dependent in 2023 but my dad claimed me anyway, can I file an amended return for myself? I just realized he did this last year and I probably left money on the table.

This is such a frustrating situation but you're absolutely in the right here! I went through something very similar with my parents when I was 26. The key thing to remember is that dependency status is determined by IRS rules, not house rules or family dynamics. Based on what you've described - being 28, having two jobs, and paying for all your own expenses except housing - you almost certainly don't qualify as a dependent. Even if we factor in the fair rental value of your housing (which should be calculated based on your portion of the home, not the entire house value), you're likely providing more than half of your own support. I'd suggest documenting all your expenses for the year - every grocery bill, gas receipt, phone payment, etc. This will help you calculate exactly what percentage of your total support you're providing yourself. With two steady jobs, I suspect you'll find you're well over the 50% threshold needed to be considered self-supporting. Don't let family pressure override tax law. File as independent and claim your full refund - you've earned it!