One important thing to keep in mind is that you need to receive Form 1098-T from your daughter's school to claim education credits. The school should send this by January 31st showing tuition and fees paid during the tax year. However, don't just rely on the 1098-T amounts - sometimes the form shows payments received by the school rather than what you actually paid. You should use your actual payment records (receipts, bank statements, etc.) to determine the correct amount of qualified expenses. Also, remember that room and board don't qualify for education credits, only tuition, fees, and required course materials like textbooks. Some people mistakenly try to include housing costs which can trigger IRS scrutiny later.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with my son starting his sophomore year. One thing I learned the hard way is to keep detailed records throughout the year, not just wait until tax time. I created a simple spreadsheet tracking all education payments - tuition, fees, required textbooks, lab fees, etc. - along with dates and payment methods. This made it so much easier when I needed to verify amounts against the 1098-T form. Also, if your daughter buys textbooks from sources other than the school bookstore (like Amazon, used book sites, etc.), make sure those receipts clearly show they were required for her courses. The IRS can ask for documentation proving the books were actually required, not just recommended reading. One last tip: if you're paying tuition in December for spring semester, those payments count toward the current tax year's education credits, not the following year when the classes actually happen. The timing is based on when you pay, not when the education occurs.

This has been an incredibly educational thread! As someone relatively new to partnership taxation, I've been struggling with mineral royalty reporting and this discussion has really clarified things for me. One area I'd love more insight on is the documentation aspect. Several of you mentioned including detailed supporting statements, which makes perfect sense for defending the position. But I'm wondering about the practical mechanics - do you attach these as separate PDF schedules to the electronic filing, or do you include them as text in the "Additional Information" sections of the tax software? Also, I'm curious about how you handle the partnership agreement language. Do you recommend that clients include specific language about the passive nature of royalty activities in their partnership agreements, or is this more of a facts-and-circumstances determination based on actual operations? Finally, for those dealing with multiple properties across different states, do you find any states have particularly aggressive positions on partnership-level taxation of royalty income that might influence the federal reporting strategy? Thanks to everyone who has shared their expertise here - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that makes all the difference in building confidence with these complex returns!

This discussion has been incredibly thorough and helpful! As someone who handles a mix of partnership returns including several with mineral interests, I really appreciate seeing the consensus around treating passive royalty income as portfolio income on Schedule K rather than business income on page 1. One practical question I haven't seen addressed - for partnerships that receive multiple 1099-MISC forms for royalty payments throughout the year, do you typically reconcile these to a separate royalty income schedule on the return? I've been summarizing them in a supporting statement, but I'm wondering if there's a preferred method for showing this reconciliation, especially when dealing with partnerships that have dozens of small royalty payments from different operators. Also, has anyone dealt with the situation where a partnership receives both royalty payments and bonus payments for new leases in the same year? I assume the bonus payments would also be treated as portfolio income, but I wanted to confirm this treatment is consistent with the royalty income approach. The revenue ruling reference and software recommendations have been particularly valuable - it's clear I need to upgrade my research resources and possibly consider more specialized tax software as this area of my practice grows. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real-world experience!

11 Does anyone know if attorney fees for these cases are deductible? I got a settlement too but almost 40% went to the lawyers. Do I report the full amount or just what I actually received?

Just to add another perspective - I went through something similar with a different class action settlement last year. The key thing I learned is that you absolutely need to keep detailed records of everything related to the settlement. Make copies of your settlement check, any correspondence from the law firm, and especially any documentation that describes what the settlement was for. Even if GM doesn't send you a 1099, having this paperwork will be crucial if the IRS ever questions the reporting. Also, if you're unsure about the tax treatment, consider making quarterly estimated payments on at least a portion of it. Better to overpay slightly and get a refund than to owe penalties for underpayment. The IRS safe harbor rule generally protects you if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability (110% if your prior year AGI was over $150,000). One more tip - if this settlement pushes you into a higher tax bracket, you might want to look into whether you can spread the recognition of this income over multiple years, though that's typically only available in very specific circumstances.

3 Has anyone actually been audited over their Accountable Plan? I've been reimbursing employees for home office equipment, internet, and occasional coffee shop visits for years with no issues. As long as they provide receipts and a business justification, I've approved them under our Accountable Plan per Treas. Regs. §1.62-2(d).

The distinction between repairs and improvements is crucial here, and I'd be very conservative with both scenarios you've described. For the HVAC system, this is clearly a capital improvement that increases the home's value permanently. Even though 12% is used for business, the IRS will likely view this as primarily benefiting the employee as a homeowner. I'd avoid reimbursing this under your Accountable Plan - it's exactly the type of expense that gets flagged in audits and reclassified as taxable compensation. For the coffee shop visits, the key question is business necessity. Can the employee document why they couldn't work from their home office that day? "I like the atmosphere" won't cut it - you need legitimate business reasons like client calls requiring a quiet background, internet outage at home, or specific work that benefits from a different environment. Even then, food/beverage costs are subject to the 50% meal limitation and need detailed documentation. My recommendation: Create a clear written policy defining what qualifies before approving any reimbursements. For home office expenses, stick to supplies, equipment, and utilities rather than improvements. For alternative workspace costs, require written justification for each occurrence explaining the business necessity.

has anyone used the wheres my refund tool on the irs website? it usually tells u if theres an issue with ur refund or if they adjusted anything. i always check it when my refund seems off!!!

There's another possibility that might explain your situation - check if you moved to a different state or if your state changed its tax laws. Sometimes people focus so much on federal taxes that they miss state-level changes that can affect your overall refund picture. Also, double-check if you had any side income last year that you might have forgotten about - things like gig work, freelancing, or even small amounts from apps like cashback rewards that issued you a 1099. Even small amounts can push you into different tax brackets or affect certain credits. One more thing - if you're really stuck, consider looking at your prior year tax transcript from the IRS website. You can compare line-by-line with this year's return to see exactly where the differences are. The transcript will show any adjustments or corrections that might have been made to your previous return that could explain why that refund was unusually high.