is it weird that my accountant just puts a plug number on line 5 to make line 8 match schedule k line 18? he says "everyone does it that way" but it seems kinda sketchy to me...

I've been doing S-corp returns for small businesses for over 15 years, and Schedule M-1 reconciliation is definitely one of the most confusing areas for new filers. Here's my step-by-step approach that might help: 1. Start with your book income (line 1) 2. Add back any federal income tax expense you recorded on books (line 2) - S-corps don't pay entity-level tax 3. Add excess capital losses and charitable contributions that exceeded limits (line 3) 4. This gives you line 4 - your adjusted book income Then for deductions not on books: 5. Add non-deductible expenses like 50% of meals, penalties, etc. (line 5) 6. Add income that's on your tax return but not your books (line 6) 7. Add other deductions on return not on books (line 7) Finally: Line 4 minus line 7 should exactly equal Schedule K line 18. If they don't match, work backwards - there's always a specific reason. Don't ever use "plug" numbers to force a balance. Each adjustment should be traceable to actual transactions or differences in how items are treated for book vs. tax purposes. The key is being methodical and documenting every adjustment you make.

Don't overthink this. I had the same issue with Voyager when they went under. I just reported my loss based on my own records (I had screenshots of my purchases thankfully) and included a brief statement explaining the situation. Filed last year, got my refund, no questions asked. The reality is, the IRS is so backed up and understaffed that they're not going to audit every crypto trader claiming losses from bankrupt exchanges. They're looking for people hiding huge gains, not documenting losses. Just make sure your records pass the "reasonable" test - meaning if someone looked at them, would they seem like legitimate documentation of what you paid? As long as you're not claiming some crazy cost basis that makes no sense with market prices at the time, you'll probably be fine.

This is exactly the situation I was dreading when I heard about all these exchange collapses. I've been putting off dealing with my crypto taxes because I wasn't sure how to handle the missing records from a smaller exchange that went under. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful. It sounds like the consensus is that personal records are acceptable as long as they're reasonable and well-documented. I have most of my bank statements and some screenshots, but I'm missing a few transaction details. One question - has anyone dealt with the IRS asking for additional documentation after filing? Like, do they ever come back months later asking for more proof of your cost basis, or is it usually just accepted if it seems reasonable? I'm trying to decide whether to spend more time trying to reconstruct missing records or just go with what I have. Also, for those who used services like taxr.ai or got through to IRS specialists - did you do that before filing your taxes, or after you were already selected for audit? Trying to figure out if it's worth the cost upfront or if I should wait to see if there are any issues.

Has anyone used TurboTax for this? Do they handle HSA excess contributions properly? I'm in a similar situation with about $45 in excess contributions.

I went through something very similar last year with multiple HSA accounts due to employer changes. For your $16 excess, you're absolutely making the right call to just pay the 6% tax - it's only going to cost you about $0.96. One thing to keep in mind: if you don't correct the excess contribution, you'll technically owe that 6% tax each year until the excess is removed. However, given how small the amount is, even paying it for several years would cost less than the time and hassle of trying to coordinate distributions from closed HSA accounts. For future reference, if you ever have a larger excess contribution, you can also "absorb" it by contributing less than your annual limit in a subsequent year. The excess essentially gets offset against your unused contribution room. But again, for $16, just paying the tax is definitely the path of least resistance. Make sure to keep good records of this excess contribution and the tax payments in case the IRS ever asks about it down the road.

I went through a very similar situation with a life insurance payout from Ireland about 6 months ago. The W-8BEN form was confusing at first, but here's what I learned: For your situation, you'll mainly need to complete Part I (personal information) and Part II (claim of tax treaty benefits). On line 9, you'll want to claim the benefit under Article 17 of the US-UK tax treaty, which covers life insurance proceeds. Write something like "Article 17 - Life insurance proceeds exempt from withholding tax." One thing that caught me off guard was that even though the payout isn't taxable income in the US, you still need to report it on Form 3520 if the total foreign gifts/inheritances you receive in a year exceed $100,000. Your $67,000 payout alone won't trigger this requirement, but keep it in mind if you receive other foreign inheritances. The insurance company should process your payment without UK tax withholding once they receive the properly completed W-8BEN. Mine took about 2 weeks to process after submission. Best of luck with everything, and sorry for your loss.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - my grandmother passed away in Canada and left me as beneficiary on her life insurance policy. The Canadian insurance company sent me a W-8BEN form and I was completely overwhelmed by all the treaty language. Reading through everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful, especially the specific guidance about citing Article 17 for the US-UK treaty benefits. I need to look up what the equivalent article would be for the US-Canada tax treaty. One question I have - did anyone need to provide additional documentation beyond the W-8BEN? The insurance company mentioned they might need proof of my US citizenship, but I'm not sure if that means a passport copy or if there are other acceptable documents. Also, has anyone dealt with currency exchange considerations? My payout will be in Canadian dollars and I'm wondering if there are any reporting requirements related to the exchange rate on the date of payment versus when I actually convert it to USD. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences - it's making this difficult process much more manageable during an already tough time.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through this exact situation twice now! Code 971 with $0.00 appeared on my transcript both last year and again this filing season. The first time I was absolutely panicking and spent hours researching what it could mean. Turns out it was just a CP14 notice letting me know they had received my return and it was processing normally - completely routine. This year when I saw the same code, I knew not to worry. Sure enough, got another informational notice about 10 days later confirming everything was on track. The key thing I've learned is that $0.00 amount really does mean no financial changes to your return. If there were actual problems with taxes owed, adjustments to your refund, or penalties, you'd see specific dollar amounts listed. The waiting period is definitely anxiety-inducing, but try to remember that this code combination is actually pretty common and usually indicates standard IRS correspondence rather than anything serious. Keep checking your mail over the next week or two and you should get clarity soon!

I'm currently experiencing this exact same situation! Code 971 with $0.00 appeared on my transcript about 5 days ago and I've been checking my mailbox religiously ever since. Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly reassuring - it sounds like this is way more common than I initially thought. The consistent theme seems to be that the $0.00 amount is actually good news since it means no financial changes to your return. I'm feeling much more optimistic now about whatever notice is coming my way. It's really helpful to see the variety of notice types people received (CP01A, CP05, CP11, CP12, CP49, etc.) but that they were all relatively routine. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences - this community knowledge is invaluable when trying to navigate IRS processes! I'll update this thread once I receive my notice to add another data point for future people dealing with this same concern.