I've been dealing with RSU taxation for several years now, and one thing that really helped me was understanding that the IRS treats RSU vesting as a taxable event regardless of whether you sell the shares or not. Your situation looks pretty standard - the $56,150.60 should appear as supplemental wages on your W-2 (often in Box 14 or combined with your regular wages in Box 1). The key is making sure your tax software or preparer knows that this income was already taxed when calculating your capital gains/losses. For future reference, some brokers offer better RSU tax reporting than others. If you're planning to stay with your current employer and continue receiving RSUs, it might be worth asking HR if they can switch to a broker that provides clearer tax documentation. I switched from E*Trade to Schwab a few years ago and the difference in reporting quality was night and day. Also, consider setting aside cash for taxes on future RSU vestings rather than always selling shares to cover. If you believe in your company's stock, you can avoid the immediate sale and potential regret if the stock price goes up later. Just make sure you have enough liquid funds to cover the tax bill!

I've been through this exact RSU mess before! One thing that really helped me was requesting what's called a "supplemental 1099-B" from my broker specifically for RSU transactions. Some brokers will provide this if you ask directly - it shows the correct adjusted cost basis that accounts for the compensation income already reported on your W-2. If your broker won't provide that (sounds like they already said no), you'll need to manually adjust on Form 8949. The key is using code "B" in column (f) and writing something like "RSU - basis adjustment per Pub 525" in column (g). Then adjust the basis to reflect that you've already paid ordinary income tax on the full vesting value. For your 137 remaining shares, definitely keep good records showing your $255.23 per share basis. I use a simple note in my investment tracking that says "RSU vest 8/2024 - basis adjusted for W-2 income" so I don't forget years later when I sell. The most important thing is making sure your total tax burden is correct - you should only pay ordinary income tax once (at vesting) and then capital gains tax later (when you sell) on any appreciation above the vesting price.

Has anyone found a good way to adjust withholding to make it more accurate? I'm tired of giving the govt an interest-free loan every year with my massive refund, but I'm also afraid of owing a bunch.

This is such a great question! I went through the exact same confusion when I started trying to understand my paychecks better. One thing that really helped me was realizing that withholding tables also have to account for the timing of when you get paid. If you're paid weekly, the system has to estimate your annual income based on just one week's pay, then figure out how much to withhold from that single check to cover your whole year's taxes. It's kind of like if someone asked you to guess how much you'll spend on groceries for the entire year based on just one shopping trip - you'd have to make a lot of assumptions! The withholding system has to make similar assumptions about your total income, deductions, and tax situation. The good news is that it all gets sorted out when you file your return. The withholding is just meant to get you in the ballpark, not be perfect. That's why most people either get a refund or owe a little bit - it's really hard for the system to get it exactly right with limited information.

Has anyone used TurboTax for reporting ESPP and RSU sales? I'm wondering if they have any built-in tools for calculating the correct cost basis. I transferred my shares to Fidelity last year and now I'm worried I might mess up my taxes.

One thing I'd add to all the great advice here - make sure you understand the "look-back" provision that many ESPPs have. This can significantly affect your cost basis calculation and whether you have a qualifying disposition. Many ESPPs allow you to purchase shares at a discount based on the LOWER of either the stock price at the beginning of the offering period OR the stock price at the end of the offering period. If your plan had this feature, your actual purchase price might be different than what you think, and this affects both your cost basis and the amount of discount that gets taxed as ordinary income. I learned this the hard way when I sold some old ESPP shares and discovered my cost basis was actually lower than I calculated because of the look-back provision. Check your original ESPP plan documents or contact your former employer's benefits team to confirm if your plan had this feature. Also, don't forget that some brokerages will automatically apply incorrect cost basis adjustments when you transfer ESPP shares. Make sure to review and correct these before you sell, or you might end up paying taxes on money you've already been taxed on.

bruh why they gotta make everything so complicated with all these codes n dates? 🤡 irs needs to get with the times fr

Based on your transcript, you're looking at a solid refund! Your Code 150 shows $2,545 in tax liability, but your credits (766 + 768) total $12,143, so you should get back around $9,598. The processing date of 02-24-2025 is actually really good - means they're working on it early. With EIC involved, expect maybe 2-3 weeks from that processing date for direct deposit. The CMCOTMCTT TAA is just internal IRS accounting stuff, don't worry about that part. Your cycle date 20250605 shows normal processing sequence. Keep checking your transcript every few days for a 846 refund code with your actual refund date!

I've been dealing with LLC tax filing for 3 years now and can confirm what others have said - the "attach" feature in FreeTaxUSA is super confusing and often causes double-counting issues. For anyone still struggling with this, here's the simplified approach that works: Since your 1099s were issued to your SSN (not your LLC's EIN), you're dealing with a disregarded entity situation. Report ALL your 1099 income on Schedule C as business income, but when FreeTaxUSA asks about "attaching" the 1099s to your business, select NO. This prevents the double-counting that's causing your tax bill to spike. The key thing to remember is that your LLC doesn't have a separate tax identity - everything flows through to your personal return via Schedule C. You can still claim all your business expenses and use your LLC name on the schedule. The income is only reported once this way, but in the right place. Also, make sure you're paying self-employment tax on this income since you're self-employed. That might be part of why your tax bill seems high compared to W-2 income you might be used to.

As someone who's dealt with LLC tax filing for several years, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're keeping detailed records of which clients issued 1099s to your SSN versus your EIN (if you have one). This becomes really important for tracking purposes and can help avoid confusion in future tax years. Also, since you mentioned this is only your second year with the LLC, you might want to consider getting an EIN from the IRS (if you don't already have one) and requesting that clients issue future 1099s to your LLC's EIN instead of your SSN. While it doesn't change the tax treatment for a single-member LLC, it can make the paperwork cleaner and reduce confusion with tax software. One last tip - if you're planning to grow your business significantly, you might want to consult with a tax professional about whether electing S-Corp status could save you money on self-employment taxes. It's not right for everyone, but it's worth exploring as your income increases.