Has anyone used TurboTax for calculating QBI? It seems to be confusing me more than helping. The software keeps asking me about W-2 wages paid when I've already indicated I have no employees. Is there a better tax software for sole proprietors claiming QBI?

Great question about QBI! As someone who's been through this with my consulting business, here are a few key points that helped me: 1. At your income level ($85k), you're definitely below the phase-out threshold, so you get the full 20% deduction without any wage limitations. 2. For documentation, keep your Schedule C records clean and organized - that's really all you need at your income level. The W-2 wage stuff your accountant mentioned only matters for much higher earners. 3. One thing that caught me off guard: make sure you're not double-counting any expenses between your regular business deductions and anything that might affect QBI calculation. The Form 8995 (the simple version) is what you'll likely use, not the more complex 8995-A. If you're using tax software, it should handle this automatically once you enter your Schedule C information correctly. Don't overthink it - at your income level, it's pretty straightforward. Just focus on maximizing legitimate business deductions on Schedule C, and the QBI will flow naturally from there.

Just a quick note on timing - don't wait too long to challenge this! Council tax demands typically have a 28-day appeal window. If you've already missed that, don't panic, but you should act ASAP. When I had a similar issue, I initially ignored the letters (they were going to my old address too), and by the time I dealt with it, they had already sent it to a collection agency which made everything 10x more complicated. Even a simple email or phone call saying "I'm disputing this and will provide evidence" can stop the escalation process.

I went through something very similar last year and the key thing that helped me was getting documentation sorted quickly. Since you mentioned you had individual room agreements rather than a joint tenancy, that's actually really important - it means you should only be liable for council tax proportional to your room, not the entire property. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1) Contact the council in writing (email is fine) stating you're formally disputing the charge and requesting a breakdown of how they calculated the full property liability when you only rented one room, 2) Gather evidence of your move-out date (job contract, utility bills at new address, anything showing when you actually left), and 3) Request they apply the single person discount for any period where you were the only non-student. The fact that they've been sending notices to your old address when they knew you'd moved is also worth challenging - councils have a duty to use your current address for official correspondence. Don't let them intimidate you with the large amount - individual room liability in a 6-bed house should be significantly less than £1,350!

25 Don't forget that the annual gift tax exclusion is PER RECIPIENT. So if you're married, you and your spouse can each give $17,000 to the same person (your dad in this case), meaning you could give $34,000 per year without filing Form 709. Just something to consider for future planning.

This is exactly the kind of situation where proper documentation and understanding the rules upfront can save you a lot of headaches later. Since you've already sent the $50,000, you'll definitely need to file Form 709 with your 2023 tax return, but as others have mentioned, you won't owe any actual gift tax unless you've exceeded the lifetime exclusion limit. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - make sure you keep documentation not just of the wire transfer, but also any communication with your father about the purpose of the gift. If questions ever come up, having clear records that this was genuinely a gift for family support (not payment for services, loan repayment, etc.) can be helpful. Also, while you're thinking about this year's filing, it might be worth considering setting up a more structured approach for future family support. Some people find it helpful to make regular smaller gifts throughout the year rather than one large transfer, which can help with both record-keeping and staying under annual exclusion limits.

This is definitely a payroll error that needs immediate attention. As others have mentioned, FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are mandatory and cannot be eliminated by changing your federal income tax withholding on your W-4 form. Here's what likely happened: When you increased your withholding, someone in payroll may have accidentally miscoded your tax setup or employee classification. I've seen cases where employees get temporarily classified as contractors or exempt employees by mistake, which would stop FICA withholding. You should contact your payroll department immediately because: 1. You're legally required to pay these taxes 2. Your employer is also required to withhold and match them 3. The longer this goes unfixed, the more complicated it becomes to correct When you speak with HR/payroll, ask them to: - Verify your employee classification in their system - Check that your tax setup wasn't accidentally changed when you updated your withholding - Provide you with corrected pay stubs showing the proper FICA withholding - Adjust future paychecks to make up for any missing contributions Don't wait on this - payroll tax issues can create problems for both you and your employer if not addressed quickly.

I just wanted to add one more important point that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure to keep detailed records of this payroll error for your own protection. Save copies of both pay stubs (the incorrect one showing $0 for FICA taxes and the corrected ones once HR fixes it), along with any email correspondence about the issue. Even though this is clearly an employer error, the IRS ultimately holds both you and your employer responsible for ensuring the correct amount of Social Security and Medicare taxes are paid. If there are any discrepancies when you file your taxes next year, having documentation of the payroll error and how it was corrected will be invaluable. Also, double-check your Social Security Administration account online (ssa.gov/myaccount) periodically to make sure your earnings are being reported correctly. Sometimes payroll errors can affect not just your current withholding but also how your wages get reported to SSA, which could impact your future Social Security benefits. The good news is that since you caught this early, it should be a straightforward fix for your payroll department!

Just want to add one more important point that might not be obvious to newer investors: the order of loss application can sometimes work in your favor tax-wise, even though you can't control the timing. Since capital losses must be applied against gains before you can take the $3,000 ordinary income deduction, having gains in subsequent years actually maximizes the tax benefit of your losses. This is because capital gains are often taxed at preferential rates (0%, 15%, or 20% for long-term gains depending on your income), while the $3,000 deduction against ordinary income saves you money at your marginal tax rate (which could be 22%, 24%, 32%, etc.). So in your scenario, Isabella, using that $7,000 loss against your $20,000 in gains in 2024 likely saves you more in taxes than if you could somehow spread it out as $3,000 deductions against ordinary income over multiple years. The system is actually designed to be more beneficial this way, even though it might not feel like you have control over the timing. This is why some tax professionals actually recommend "tax loss harvesting" strategies where you intentionally realize losses in down years to offset future gains - the losses are often more valuable when applied against gains rather than ordinary income.

This whole discussion has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation but with a twist - I have capital loss carryovers from 2022 AND 2023, plus I'm expecting some gains this year. One thing I'm still unclear on: do the losses get applied in a specific order? Like, do my 2022 carryover losses get used up first before my 2023 losses, or does it all just get lumped together? I want to make sure I'm tracking this correctly on my records. Also, for anyone who's been through multiple years of carryovers - does the IRS ever audit these calculations? I'm paranoid about making mistakes with the math, especially since I'm using multiple brokerages and some crypto exchanges. The thought of having to explain complex carryover calculations to an auditor makes me nervous!