One practical consideration that might help with your GP/LP decision: look at who will actually be managing the property day-to-day. The IRS generally expects the GP to have meaningful involvement in operations, so if one of you is naturally going to handle tenant relations, maintenance coordination, and financial management, they're probably the better choice for GP. Also, since you mentioned this is a 50-50 split between siblings, make sure your partnership agreement clearly spells out decision-making procedures for major decisions like capital improvements, tenant selection, and eventual sale. Even with one GP, you'll want to define what requires unanimous consent versus what the GP can decide independently. For a $425K property generating $3,200/month, the self-employment tax difference between GP and LP could be around $4,000-5,000 annually (roughly 15.3% of half the net rental income), so factor that into your decision alongside the liability and control considerations others have mentioned.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the impact of passive activity loss rules on your partnership structure. Since rental real estate is generally considered a passive activity for tax purposes, any losses from the property might be limited in how they can offset other income. However, if one partner qualifies as a "real estate professional" under IRS rules (which requires 750+ hours annually in real estate activities and more than half of their personal services), they might be able to treat rental losses as non-passive. This could be a significant factor in deciding who should be the GP, especially if one of you works in real estate or property management. Also, consider looking into cost segregation studies for a property of that value. With a $425K rental property, you might be able to accelerate depreciation on certain components (flooring, fixtures, landscaping) which could create substantial tax benefits in the early years. The GP typically makes these kinds of tax elections, so factor that decision-making authority into who you want in that role. Given the monthly income you're expecting, make sure you're also planning for quarterly estimated tax payments. The GP will need to factor in both regular income tax and self-employment tax when calculating these payments.

If anyone is still following this thread, I just wanted to add that I had a similar issue with TaxAct (not FreeTaxUSA) and RIC foreign income. The solution for me was to make sure I entered the correct country codes for each foreign tax paid rather than using "various" as the country. Once I did that, e-filing worked fine. Maybe try that approach in FreeTaxUSA too? Sometimes these tax software issues have simple workarounds if you get the right guidance.

I just went through this exact same nightmare with FreeTaxUSA and RIC foreign income from my mutual fund investments. After reading through all these suggestions, I want to share what finally worked for me. The key was getting the Form 1116 allocations exactly right. I had foreign income from three different countries through my Vanguard international fund, and FreeTaxUSA kept rejecting my e-file because I was lumping everything together. Here's what I had to do: 1. Separate each country's foreign taxes paid into individual entries rather than using "Various" or combining them 2. Make sure the passive income category was selected correctly for each foreign source 3. Double-check that the foreign tax credit amounts matched exactly with what was on my 1099-DIV The whole process was incredibly frustrating because FreeTaxUSA's error messages were completely unhelpful - they just said "foreign income not supported for e-filing" without explaining what specifically was wrong. But once I got the allocations right, it went through immediately. For anyone still struggling with this, don't give up on FreeTaxUSA if you've already entered everything. The software CAN handle RIC foreign income for e-filing, it's just very picky about how you enter the information.

I went through this exact same situation last year as a University of Alberta student who did an internship in Boston! The Sprintax university issue is super frustrating - I ended up having to abandon it entirely. What worked for me was using FreeTaxUSA's non-resident option. It's much more flexible about international students and doesn't get hung up on the university selection. You can manually enter your Canadian school info without any problems. The interface walks you through the 1040NR pretty clearly, and it automatically applies the US-Canada tax treaty benefits when you indicate you're a Canadian resident. One tip: make sure you have your Social Insurance Number (SIN) from Canada handy, as some forms ask for your home country tax ID. Also, if you made under $12,950 (which you did at $12K), you might not owe any federal taxes anyway, but you'll still want to file to get back whatever was withheld from your paychecks. The whole process took me about 2 hours once I found the right software, versus the days I wasted fighting with Sprintax. Good luck!

I'm in almost the exact same boat! Canadian student at UBC who did a software internship in San Francisco last summer. The Sprintax university issue drove me absolutely crazy - spent hours trying to find a workaround before giving up. I ended up using TurboTax's non-resident filing option, which was much more flexible. It has a section for "other" educational institutions where you can manually enter your Canadian university details without any validation issues. The software automatically detected that I qualified for treaty benefits and walked me through claiming them properly. One thing that really helped was calling my internship company's payroll department directly. They were able to confirm exactly how much was withheld and whether they had applied any treaty benefits during the year. Turns out they hadn't applied the full treaty reduction, so I got back almost $1,800 between federal and California state refunds. Also, make sure you keep track of any state taxes you pay - you can claim those as foreign tax credits when you file your Canadian return next year. The whole dual-country filing process is a pain, but the refunds usually make it worth the hassle!

Great question! I went through something similar last year. Personal loans from foreign sources aren't taxable income as long as there's a genuine obligation to repay - which you clearly have since you're already making payments. The IRS cares about the substance of the transaction, not the geographic location. However, you should be aware of potential reporting requirements. Since you received €15,000 (roughly $16,000-17,000 depending on exchange rates), you might need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if this money went through foreign accounts that you had signature authority over and your total foreign account balances exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year. Also keep good documentation - payment records, any written communication about the loan terms, and evidence of your repayment schedule. This will be helpful if the IRS ever questions whether it's truly a loan versus a gift. The fact that you're actively repaying it strengthens your position significantly.

I've been following this thread closely since I had a very similar situation with a €20,000 loan from my partner's family in Germany last year. Just wanted to share a few additional points that might be helpful: 1. **Currency fluctuation considerations**: Since your loan was in euros, keep track of the exchange rate on the date you received the funds versus when you make repayments. While this doesn't affect the loan's tax treatment, it's good documentation to have. 2. **State tax implications**: While federal tax law is clear that loans aren't taxable income, some states have their own quirky rules. Most follow federal guidelines, but it's worth double-checking your state's position if you're in a state with income tax. 3. **Documentation is key**: I created a simple written agreement after the fact (even though the loan was informal initially) that outlined the repayment terms, zero interest rate, and acknowledgment from both parties that it's a legitimate debt. This helped me sleep better at night knowing I had proper documentation. The consensus here is spot-on - it's not taxable income federally, and you likely don't need to worry about FBAR since it went directly to your US account. But definitely keep good records of your repayment schedule as evidence of the loan's legitimacy!

Does anyone use tax software instead of an accountant? I'm using TurboTax Business for my Schedule C and wonder if the subscription cost is handled the same way. Would I deduct my TurboTax subscription cost on this year's return or next year's?

Great question! I went through this same confusion when I started my consulting business. The key principle everyone's mentioned is correct - you deduct tax prep fees in the year you actually pay them, regardless of which tax year the return covers. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet is to keep really good documentation of when you pay these fees. I create a simple spreadsheet each year tracking the date, amount, and what the payment covers (2023 tax prep, estimated payment penalties, etc.). This has been super helpful during tax time and gives me confidence I'm being consistent year over year. Also, if your accountant offers payment plans or lets you pay in installments, each payment gets deducted in the year you make it. So if you paid $400 in December 2023 and $450 in March 2024 for the same tax return, you'd split the deduction across those two tax years accordingly.