Great question and glad you're planning ahead! Just wanted to emphasize what others have said - you're absolutely correct that you can e-file your 1040 and separately mail your Form 709. I did this exact thing two years ago when I helped my daughter with a house down payment. One additional tip that might help: when you're using your tax software to prepare your 1040, it might ask if you filed or need to file any other forms. You can indicate that you filed Form 709 separately, but this won't affect your ability to e-file the 1040. The software is just gathering information for completeness. Also, keep copies of both your e-filed 1040 confirmation and your mailed Form 709 (including certified mail receipt if you choose to send it that way) for your records. The IRS processes these independently, so having clear documentation of both filings can be helpful if any questions come up later.

This is such a timely question! I just went through this exact situation a few months ago when I gave my nephew $25,000 for his wedding expenses. I was worried I'd have to mail everything together, but I'm happy to confirm that you can absolutely e-file your 1040 as usual and mail the Form 709 separately. One thing I wish I had known earlier is that you should prepare both forms around the same time even though you're filing them separately. This helps ensure consistency in how you report things like your personal information and makes sure you don't forget about the Form 709 deadline while focusing on getting your regular return filed early. Also, don't stress too much about the gift tax implications - unless you've already used up a significant portion of your lifetime exemption from previous large gifts, you likely won't owe any actual gift tax. The Form 709 is mainly just a reporting requirement to track the reduction in your lifetime exemption. Good luck with your filing!

Quick question - does anyone know if H&R Block software saves the IP PIN from year to year? I'm using it for the first time after switching from TurboTax and wondering if I need to find my letter before I start.

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now! Got assigned an IP PIN in 2022 after someone tried to file with my SSN, and like you, everything worked fine for 2022 and 2023. This year - no letter in the mail and constant rejections. What finally worked for me was going to IRS.gov and using their "Get an IP PIN" tool. You have to verify your identity through ID.me (which is honestly a pain), but once you're in, you can see your current year PIN immediately. Turns out they changed my PIN for 2024 but the letter got lost somewhere in the mail. The frustrating part is that nowhere in their original IP PIN assignment letter do they clearly explain this is now a permanent annual requirement. I thought it was just for that one year too! Now I know to check online in January every year instead of waiting for mail that may never come. Hope this helps - the online portal is definitely your best bet for retrieving it quickly.

Has anyone had issues with Robinhood's 1099 having errors? My dividends were reported incorrectly last year and it was a whole thing trying to get it fixed. Wondering if I should double-check everything against my monthly statements before I fill out my forms.

Great thread! For anyone dealing with manual filing and Robinhood dividends, here's a quick checklist I wish I had when I first started: 1. You DON'T need to mail any 1099 forms to the IRS - just use the numbers from your Robinhood 1099-DIV 2. For $27 in dividends, you can report directly on Form 1040 (no Schedule B needed since it's under $1,500) 3. Check Box 1a vs 1b on your 1099-DIV - qualified dividends (1b) go on line 3a of your 1040 and get better tax treatment 4. Any backup withholding (Box 4) needs to be included as tax paid on your return 5. Double-check your 1099 against monthly statements - I've seen discrepancies before The key thing to remember is that with such a small dividend amount, the reporting is pretty straightforward. Just make sure you distinguish between qualified and ordinary dividends since they're taxed differently. Keep that 1099 with your records but don't stress about needing physical IRS forms - the PDFs you print work fine for paper filing.

I'm having a similar issue but with a PTIN renewal rather than a new application. Has anyone successfully renewed after being locked out? My access code from last year isn't working.

I went through this exact same PTIN lockout situation last month and it was incredibly stressful! Just want to reassure you that this won't affect your personal tax refund at all - the PTIN is only required if you're preparing taxes for other people as a paid preparer. For the lockout issue, I found that double-checking the exact format of how your name appears on all your documents is crucial. Sometimes it's as simple as including or excluding a middle initial, or how suffixes like "Jr." are formatted. The IRS system is very particular about exact matches. One thing that helped me was calling the PTIN hotline at 877-613-7846 during off-peak hours (early morning worked best). They can sometimes tell you what specific field is causing the mismatch without you having to go through the full paper application process. The wait times can be long, but it's worth trying before going the notarization route. Also, make sure you don't have any credit freezes in place - that was actually my issue and lifting it temporarily solved everything immediately. Hope this helps and try not to stress too much about the refund timing!

Has anyone here actually maxed out both the employee AND employer portions of their solo 401k? I'm trying to figure out if I can really contribute up to $66,000 for 2025 (I'm under 50) between both parts. My CPA says my employer contribution is limited by my net business profit and I'm trying to calculate exactly how much income I need to earn to max out the entire thing.

Great thread! I want to add one important detail that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're using payroll software to process your solo 401k employee contributions (which some people do to maintain proper documentation), make sure your payroll is processed and the contribution is actually deducted from your pay by December 31st, not just scheduled. I learned this the hard way last year when I scheduled my December payroll to run on January 2nd thinking it would still count for the prior tax year. The IRS considers the contribution made when it's actually deducted from compensation, not when you schedule it or when the funds hit the 401k account. Also, for anyone using a solo 401k loan feature - loan repayments don't count toward your annual contribution limits, but they do need to be made on schedule to avoid being treated as taxable distributions. The loan repayment schedule isn't affected by the December 31st deadline since it's not a new contribution.