I went through a very similar situation last year when I wanted to help with my neighbor's daughter's private school tuition. After consulting with my CPA, here's what I learned: The direct payment to the school (as Luca mentioned) ended up being the cleanest approach for me. Even though kindergarten tuition might be under the $18k gift tax threshold, paying directly to the institution means it doesn't count against your annual exclusion at all - which preserves that $18k for other gifts you might want to make to the family. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: some private schools have "angel donor" programs where you can contribute to a fund that awards need-based scholarships. While you can't guarantee your specific friends will receive it, schools often work with donors to ensure their contributions align with their intentions within legal boundaries. Also, don't overlook the tax benefits of simply claiming the child as a dependent if the family qualifies and agrees - though this gets complicated with custody arrangements. The emotional satisfaction of helping this family is probably worth more than any tax deduction anyway. Sometimes the simplest approach (direct payment) is the best one, even without the tax benefit.

I've been following this thread with interest because I dealt with something very similar when I wanted to help fund a scholarship at my local community college. One approach that worked well for me was creating what's called a "field of interest" fund through my local community foundation. Essentially, you can establish a fund that supports education in your specific geographic area or for students meeting certain broad criteria (like "students facing financial hardship in [your city]"). The community foundation handles all the administrative work, ensures compliance with tax regulations, and awards scholarships based on legitimate selection criteria. The beauty of this approach is that you get the full charitable deduction since you're donating to a 501(c)(3) organization, but you can influence the focus area in a way that increases the likelihood your friends' child could benefit in the future (though there's no guarantee). Most community foundations will work with you to design criteria that align with your charitable intent while maintaining legal compliance. The minimum to establish such a fund varies by foundation but is often around $10,000-$25,000. If that's beyond your immediate budget, many foundations also have existing education funds you can contribute to that serve similar purposes. This won't help with this year's kindergarten costs, but it could be a long-term solution that provides ongoing educational support to kids in similar situations in your community.

Hey quick question - are you guys using any particular software to track which 7216 consents you've received from which clients? We're switching to CCH Axcess this year and I'm curious if it has good tracking features for this.

Paolo, I feel your pain on the sudden volume increase! Three firms in 6 months is a lot to absorb. For 7216 consents, I'd definitely recommend keeping them separate from engagement letters - it gives you more flexibility and ensures clients actually read what they're consenting to regarding their data. One thing that's helped us tremendously is batch processing the consents. We send them out in waves based on client complexity (simple returns first, then more complex ones) rather than trying to handle everything at once. This way you can focus your team's limited bandwidth more strategically. Also, don't underestimate the power of setting clear expectations upfront. We now tell clients during the initial call that they'll receive both an engagement letter AND a separate consent form for data sharing, and we explain why both are necessary. This has cut down on the "why am I signing two things?" questions that used to eat up so much admin time. Have you considered bringing in temporary seasonal help specifically for document management and client communication? Sometimes an extra pair of hands just for tracking paperwork can free up your core team to focus on the actual tax prep work.

Does anyone know if wash sale rules apply to crypto trading? I've been doing some active trading this year on Coinbase and Binance and I'm not sure if I need to track wash sales the same way as with stocks.

Great question about handling brokerage fees! I went through this exact same confusion when I first started tracking my cost basis properly. Just to reinforce what Max mentioned - you're absolutely right that purchase fees get added to your cost basis ($135 + $12.50 = $147.50), but selling fees come off your proceeds instead of being added to cost basis. One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure you're tracking ALL fees, not just the obvious commission charges. Some brokers have regulatory fees, exchange fees, or other small charges that can add up over time. These all follow the same rule - purchase-related fees increase your basis, sale-related fees reduce your proceeds. Also, if you're doing more active trading now, definitely keep detailed records throughout the year rather than trying to reconstruct everything at tax time. Your broker's 1099-B should show the fees, but it's good to have your own records as backup, especially if you're trading across multiple platforms. The IRS is pretty clear on this treatment in Publication 550 if you want to read the official guidance, but the way Max explained it is spot on for your situation.

Been dealing with this exact same issue! The about:blank screen has been plaguing the IRS website for weeks now. What's really frustrating is that it happens randomly - sometimes the site works fine, other times you get that blank white screen no matter what you do. Since incognito mode worked for you, it's definitely a browser cache/cookie issue rather than server problems. Pro tip: bookmark the direct transcript URL and try accessing it during off-peak hours (like early morning 6-7 AM) when the servers aren't as hammered. Also, if you're on mobile, the desktop version tends to be more stable. Hope you get good news about that $3,789 refund! 🤞

Same thing happened to me yesterday! The about:blank screen is so frustrating when you're trying to check on a big refund like that. Since incognito mode worked for you, definitely keep that in your back pocket for future logins. Another trick that's helped me is switching from wifi to mobile data (or vice versa) - sometimes it's just weird network routing issues with the IRS servers. Also try the "Where's My Refund" tool on irs.gov as a backup - it doesn't give you the detailed transcript info but at least shows basic status updates. 3 weeks is still pretty normal timing wise, but I totally get the anxiety when it's almost $4K! Keep us posted on what your transcript shows 👍

Have we collectively considered how inefficient this system really is? In 2024, we're still waiting for paper letters that may or may not arrive, with codes that may or may not tell us what's happening with our money? The community wisdom here is clear: don't panic about 971 codes, but do be proactive. Check for companion codes on your transcript. Sign up for Informed Delivery. Make sure your address is current with the IRS. And perhaps most importantly, document everything. When did the code appear? What other codes appeared with it? This documentation becomes valuable if you need to prove timelines later.

Just want to add my experience to help ease some anxiety here. I had a 971 code appear on my transcript last February with a notice date of 2/15, and the letter didn't arrive until 3/2. It was a CP12 notice about a small math error that actually increased my refund by $89. The key thing I learned is that the IRS notice generation system is completely separate from their mailing system. So when you see that 971 code with today's date, it means they've queued up a notice to be printed and mailed, but it hasn't necessarily left their facility yet. I'd give it at least 7-10 business days before getting worried. In the meantime, definitely check if you have any other codes on your transcript that appear with the 971 - those will give you much better clues about what type of notice is coming your way.