I'm currently dealing with a very similar situation as someone who became a resident alien in 2023. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially the detailed experiences from people who actually went through this process successfully. What strikes me most is how consistent the advice is across different approaches - whether using professional services, AI tools, or handling it yourself, the key seems to be thorough documentation and demonstrating good faith compliance efforts. The fact that you were already filing FBARs correctly really does show you weren't trying to hide anything. I'm leaning toward the approach that Alejandro Castro described - filing amendments with detailed reasonable cause letters and supporting documentation. The timeline he suggested makes a lot of sense: showing when you became a resident, when you discovered the requirement, and how quickly you took action to fix it. One thing I'd add is to keep screenshots or documentation of when/how you discovered the Form 8938 requirement (like if you found it through IRS publications or tax preparation software). This can further support your reasonable cause argument by showing you were actively trying to understand your obligations. The small amounts of unreported income you mentioned ($150-200) really do suggest this was an honest oversight rather than intentional non-compliance. Combined with your prompt action to correct it, I think you have a very strong case for penalty relief.

I'm going through something very similar right now! Just became a resident alien in late 2023 and realized I missed several international reporting requirements. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring. What really helped me was creating a comprehensive timeline document that shows: - When my status changed from student to resident alien - When I first learned about Form 8938 (I screenshot the IRS page where I discovered it) - How quickly I'm taking action to correct everything I'm also documenting that I was filing FBARs correctly, which shows I wasn't intentionally hiding anything - just genuinely didn't know about the additional Form 8938 requirement. The amounts involved in my case are also relatively small (under $300 in unreported foreign income), and like several people mentioned, this clearly shows it was an honest oversight rather than willful non-compliance. Planning to file amendments with detailed reasonable cause letters following the approach that worked for @Alejandro Castro. The key seems to be being completely transparent about the mistake while demonstrating good faith efforts to comply once you learn about the requirements. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's made what felt like a terrifying situation much more manageable!

To answer the original question with some actual data points: - Top 1% of earners (making $540k+) pay about 40% of federal income tax - Top 10% (making $145k+) pay about 71% of income tax - Bottom 50% (making below $41k) pay about 3% of income tax BUT here's where it gets interesting - when you include payroll taxes (Social Security/Medicare), the picture changes because those taxes hit middle and lower incomes harder due to the cap. The problem with these discussions is everyone focuses on federal income tax, but that's just one piece. When you factor in state taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and other fees, the overall tax system becomes much less progressive.

I think we're missing something important here - it's not just about how much each group pays, but what we get in return! I pay around 28% of my income in various taxes (I calculated it last year), and I'm constantly wondering where it all goes. Other countries with similar or higher tax rates have universal healthcare, affordable college, better infrastructure, and longer vacation time. Americans feel overtaxed not just because of the amount, but because many don't feel they're getting good value for what they pay.

Does anyone know if we need to file form 1120 even if we had zero actual income (only stock purchases) and are showing a loss? My CPA wants to charge me $800 to file an "incomeless" return and that seems steep.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my startup! The confusion around stock purchases vs. income is super common for first-time corporate filers. Miguel's advice above is spot-on - the $52.32 from founders purchasing shares goes on your balance sheet as paid-in capital, not as income on your P&L. For your business expenses like Zoom and Google Workspace, those are absolutely deductible as ordinary business expenses. Don't worry about the "startup costs" issue - those rules mainly apply to expenses incurred before you're actually operating (like market research before incorporating). Once you're incorporated and actively running your business, software subscriptions and similar operational expenses are regular deductions. Your Form 1120 will likely show a net operating loss, which is totally normal and expected for a new startup. The IRS sees this all the time - you're definitely not going to raise any red flags by having expenses exceed your minimal activity in year one. Just make sure you do file the return even with zero income, as C-Corps are required to file annually regardless of activity level.

Make sure you're using the CORRECT TAX FORMS for 2021! This is super important - you can't just use current year forms for prior year returns. Go to the IRS website and download the specific 2021 forms or make sure your tax software is generating the correct year's forms. I screwed this up once and had my return rejected because I grabbed the wrong year's form from the IRS website. Wasted weeks of processing time just to start over.

Adding to what others have said about the 3-year refund window - you're actually in decent shape timing-wise! The 2021 tax deadline was April 18, 2022, so you have until April 18, 2025 to claim that refund. That gives you several months to get everything sorted out. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: when you do mail your 2021 return, include Form 8453 (U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return) if FreeTaxUSA generated one. This form is required when you prepared your return electronically but have to mail it instead of e-filing. Also, don't stress too much about the paper filing process - millions of people still file paper returns every year. Just make sure you sign and date everything, include all required attachments, and use certified mail like others suggested. The IRS is used to processing paper returns, it just takes longer than e-filing. For your 2022 and 2023 returns, definitely prioritize getting those done ASAP since you should be able to e-file those through most services. Good luck!

Great question! This confusion about Box 12 codes trips up so many people every year. Just to reinforce what others have said with a slightly different angle: Think of your W-2 as telling a complete story about your year. Box 1 (wages) is already the "final answer" after all deductions and contributions have been applied. The Box 12 codes are just showing you the details of how that final number was calculated. So Code AA (Roth 401k) = "Hey, this amount was included in your taxable wages because you chose to pay taxes now instead of later" And Code DD (health insurance) = "Here's what your employer spent on your health coverage - just FYI, no tax implications" For troubleshooting your refund calculation differences, try this: ignore all the Box 12 codes completely and just use Box 1 for your wages. If your calculations still don't match between paper and software, the issue is probably somewhere else entirely (maybe different treatment of standard deduction, tax tables, or other income sources). The fact that TaxAct and your paper calculations differ suggests you might be double-counting or missing something unrelated to these retirement codes.

Adding to all the great advice here - I just wanted to share my experience as someone who made this exact mistake a few years ago. I was manually subtracting my Code AA amount from Box 1 wages because I thought "retirement contributions should reduce taxable income," not realizing that Roth contributions work the opposite way. The IRS sent me a lovely letter explaining that I had under-reported my income and owed additional taxes plus penalties. That's when I learned that Code AA contributions are already properly included in Box 1 wages - no adjustments needed! For anyone still feeling uncertain about these codes, here's a simple rule of thumb: if you're not a tax professional and the IRS instructions don't specifically tell you to enter a Box 12 code somewhere on your return, then you probably don't need to do anything with it. The codes are mostly there for informational purposes and to help employers/the IRS track certain types of benefits. Your Box 1 wages are already the "tax-ready" number after all the proper adjustments have been made by your employer's payroll system.