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I'm in the same boat! Just realized my PayPal hit about $2500 from selling old furniture and electronics. Quick question - what tax software are people using that handles 1099-K from personal sales well? I tried using FreeTaxUSA last year and it kept treating all my sales as business income.
I was in a very similar situation last year and want to share what I learned from my tax preparer. The key thing to understand is that the 1099-K is just an information document - it tells the IRS that you received payments, but it doesn't automatically mean all of that money is taxable income. For personal items sold at a loss (which is most household goods), you'll want to: 1. Keep a simple spreadsheet listing each item sold, what you estimate you originally paid, and what you sold it for 2. Report the 1099-K income on Schedule 1, Line 8z "Other Income" 3. Then subtract your cost basis (what you originally paid) right below it as a negative adjustment The IRS knows that people don't keep receipts for personal purchases from years ago. They accept reasonable estimates based on what similar items would have cost when new. Just be honest and conservative in your estimates. For your situation where you received $2,700 but estimate you originally paid $8,000, you'd show the $2,700 as income and then subtract $8,000 as cost basis, resulting in no additional tax owed since you sold everything at a loss. The important thing is to address the 1099-K on your return rather than ignoring it, since the IRS has a copy too.
This is really helpful, thank you! I'm curious about the "reasonable estimates" part - is there any guidance on how to estimate what you paid for items years ago? I'm worried about being too high or too low with my estimates and triggering questions from the IRS. Should I try to find similar items online to see what they would have cost back then, or is there a simpler approach?
If ur doing this yourself, the actual calculation is pretty simple. The employer contribution is a business expense that reduces ur net income. So if ur in the 24% bracket, a $10k contribution saves u $2,400 in federal taxes plus whatever state tax u have. Just make sure u follow the limits - employer contribution can't exceed 25% of compensation for an S-corp. So with $62k salary, ur max employer contribution would be $15,500, plus ur employee contribution. Hopefully that helps!
This is exactly the kind of question I was wrestling with when I first elected S-corp status for my LLC! The key thing to understand is that employer contributions to your solo 401k are treated as a business deduction, which reduces your S-corp's net income before it flows through to your personal K-1. So in your case, that $10k employer contribution would reduce your business profit from $98k to $88k for tax purposes. This means you'll save taxes at your marginal rate on that $10k - so if you're in the 24% bracket, that's $2,400 in federal tax savings, plus any state tax savings. One thing to double-check: with your $62k salary, your maximum employer contribution would be 25% of that, which is $15,500. So your planned $10k contribution is well within limits. The employer contribution is definitely more tax-efficient than taking it as a distribution since it reduces your taxable income entirely, whereas a distribution would still be taxable income (though not subject to self-employment tax thanks to your S-corp election). I'd recommend running the numbers both ways - with and without the contribution - to see the exact impact on your tax situation. It's usually a no-brainer from a tax perspective!
This is really helpful, thanks! I'm just starting to understand S-corp taxation myself. Quick question - when you say the employer contribution reduces the business profit before it flows to the K-1, does this happen automatically when I make the contribution, or do I need to specifically categorize it as a business expense on my books? I want to make sure I'm handling the accounting side correctly so there are no issues come tax time.
This whole Mega Backdoor thing seems way too complicated. Wouldn't it be simpler to just max out your 401k and Roth IRA, then put the rest in a taxable account? I'm always suspicious of these "backdoor" strategies - feels like asking for an audit flag.
The Mega Backdoor Roth is actually completely legitimate and recognized by the IRS. It's just using existing rules in the tax code. The name makes it sound sketchy but it's not. The big advantage over a taxable account is tax-free growth forever. With a taxable account, you're paying taxes on dividends and capital gains every year, which really eats into returns over time. Plus when you eventually sell in a taxable account, you pay capital gains tax. With Roth money, it's all tax-free.
This is a great question that I struggled with too! The good news is that for Mega Backdoor Roth conversions of after-tax contributions, you can withdraw your original contribution amounts at any time without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. The penalty only applies to earnings on those contributions if withdrawn before age 59½. Here's why this works: Since you already paid taxes on the after-tax contributions going into your 401k, converting them to Roth doesn't create a taxable event. The IRS treats these converted contributions as "basis" that you can access penalty-free. However, make sure your 401k plan allows in-service distributions or in-plan Roth conversions - not all employers offer this flexibility. Also keep detailed records of your conversions and their dates, as you'll need this for tax reporting. Given your strong financial foundation (maxed HSA, 8-month emergency fund, low debt), the Mega Backdoor Roth strategy makes a lot of sense. The tax-free growth potential over time significantly outweighs keeping excess funds in a taxable account, especially since you maintain access to the contribution portion if needed.
This is really helpful! I'm in a similar situation where I'm considering the Mega Backdoor Roth but wasn't sure about the early withdrawal rules. One follow-up question - when you mention keeping detailed records of conversions and dates, what specific information should I be tracking? Is there a particular format or system you'd recommend for staying organized with this? I want to make sure I'm prepared for tax season and don't run into any issues down the road.
Just wanted to add some reassurance here - you're definitely not in trouble! The distinction between rental income and cost-sharing is pretty clear in tax law, and your situation sounds like textbook cost-sharing. Since she's living there as her primary residence and you're just splitting actual expenses (not making profit), this isn't considered rental income. The fact that she's paying $1100 toward your $2350+ total housing costs shows you're not profiting - you're actually still covering more than half yourself. This is exactly what the IRS expects to see in legitimate roommate arrangements. For future peace of mind, you might want to keep some basic records showing the split of expenses (like rent receipts and maybe a simple text/email trail of her payments), but you definitely don't need to file any landlord paperwork or claim this as income. You're just two people sharing living expenses, which is completely normal and not taxable.
This is such a relief to read! I've been in a similar situation with my roommate for the past year and was starting to worry I'd been doing something wrong. Your explanation about keeping records is really helpful - I've just been relying on Venmo transactions but maybe I should start keeping track of our actual rent receipts too. It's good to know that as long as we're both living here and just splitting real costs, the IRS treats it as expense sharing rather than me being a landlord. Thanks for the clear breakdown!
I went through almost exactly the same situation last year! My friend stayed on my couch for about 6 months and contributed $900 toward my $2200 rent. I was so worried about the tax implications that I actually consulted with a tax professional, and they confirmed what others are saying here - this is definitely cost-sharing, not rental income. The key thing that put me at ease was learning that the IRS looks at whether you're making a profit and whether the person is living there as their primary residence. Since your friend is paying less than half your total housing costs and is using your couch as her main living situation, you're clearly just splitting expenses rather than running a rental business. I kept simple records (just screenshots of her Venmo payments and copies of my rent receipts) but never had to report anything as income. The fact that you're still covering the majority of the costs yourself makes it pretty clear this isn't a profit-making rental arrangement. You should be totally fine!
This is so helpful to hear from someone who actually went through the same thing! I'm curious - when you consulted with the tax professional, did they mention anything about needing to document the arrangement in writing? Like, did they recommend having any kind of informal agreement about the cost-sharing, or were the payment records and rent receipts enough? I'm wondering if I should write up something simple with my friend just to have it on file, even though it sounds like our situation is pretty straightforward.
The tax professional I spoke with said that while a written agreement isn't required for the IRS, it can be helpful documentation if you ever need to explain the arrangement. They suggested something really simple - just a basic note or text exchange that shows you're splitting actual living expenses rather than charging rent. Something like "Hey [friend's name], just to keep things clear - your $1100 monthly contribution goes toward our shared housing costs of $2350 rent plus utilities, so we're splitting expenses as roommates." Even a text like that can help establish the cost-sharing nature if anyone ever questions it. The payment records and rent receipts are definitely the most important documentation though. The written agreement is more of a "nice to have" than a requirement. Your situation sounds exactly like mine was - totally legitimate cost-sharing that doesn't need to be reported as income!
Adaline Wong
Did you file married filing jointly? Sometimes if you're the secondary person on the return it goes to the primary person's account only.
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Noah huntAce420
ā¢Nope, filed as single so that's definitely not the issue.
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Daniel Price
I'm going through the exact same thing with Commerce Bank! My transcript shows refund sent on May 8th and still nothing in my account. Called Commerce twice and they keep saying no pending deposits, but based on what everyone's saying here it sounds like we just need to wait a few more business days. The timing with weekends really throws everything off. I'm trying not to panic but when you're counting on that money it's so stressful. Let me know if yours shows up - I'll do the same!
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