This is such a complex situation, but you're definitely asking the right questions! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of understanding the "tie-breaker rules" if you and your girlfriend both have a potential claim to her child as a dependent. Even if you've been providing more than half the support for your girlfriend's child since moving in together, the IRS has specific tie-breaker rules when multiple people could potentially claim the same child. Since you're not married and you're not the biological parent, your girlfriend would generally have the stronger claim as the parent, regardless of who provided more support. However, there's an exception if your girlfriend agrees to let you claim her child by not claiming them on her own return. This is where the strategic filing approach mentioned earlier becomes really important - you'd want to run the numbers to see if it's beneficial for her to "give up" her right to claim her child so you can claim them instead. Also, don't forget that if you do get married before December 31st, 2024, it changes everything - you'd be able to file jointly and wouldn't need to worry about these dependency complications since you'd be considered one tax household. Given the potential for thousands of dollars in credits and the complexity of blended family situations, I'd really recommend getting professional help this year to make sure you're optimizing everything correctly and staying compliant with all the rules.

This thread has been incredibly thorough and helpful! I'm in a somewhat similar situation (supporting my partner's kids) and wanted to add one more consideration that might be relevant - make sure you understand the implications for next year's advance Child Tax Credit payments if those resume. Whatever dependency claims you make on your 2024 return will likely determine who receives those monthly payments starting in 2025. If you and your girlfriend split the children as dependents (which seems like it might be optimal based on the discussion above), make sure whoever claims each child has their banking information updated with the IRS. Also, since you mentioned the adoption is in progress, once that's finalized you'll want to update the dependency arrangements accordingly. The adopted child would then qualify as your "qualifying child" rather than "qualifying relative," which could change the optimal filing strategy. One practical tip - consider opening a separate savings account just for tracking child-related expenses (daycare, medical, clothing, etc.) for each child. It makes the support calculations much clearer and gives you bulletproof documentation if needed. I learned this the hard way after scrambling through a year's worth of receipts! Good luck with everything - it sounds like you're being really thoughtful about optimizing this complex situation!

Has anyone successfully used their ITIN instead of an SSN for the TikTok verification? I'm not a US citizen but live here on a visa, and I'm stuck on the verification page.

As someone who works in tax preparation, I want to emphasize that using your SSN for TikTok's Creator Fund verification is completely legitimate for minors. The key thing to understand is that a TIN (Tax Identification Number) is just the umbrella term that includes SSNs, ITINs, and EINs. For your 17-year-old brother, he should use his SSN as his TIN. When he starts earning from the Creator Fund, he'll need to track that income and report it on his tax return if it exceeds the filing threshold. Even if it doesn't, it's good practice to file anyway since TikTok will likely send him a 1099 form. One important consideration: if he expects to earn over $400 from TikTok this year, he'll owe self-employment tax on that income, which means he should consider making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. This is something many young creators don't realize until tax time. The Montana LLC idea is definitely unnecessary and creates more complexity than it solves. Keep it simple and legitimate with his SSN!

Great thread! I wanted to add one more important consideration for your specific situation, Lena. Since you mentioned you're expecting about $1 million in taxable income from your partnership, you should be aware of the Section 179 income limitation. For 2025, the Section 179 deduction begins to phase out when you purchase more than $3.05 million in qualifying property during the year, and it's completely eliminated if you exceed $4.27 million. But more importantly for most people, your total Section 179 deduction cannot exceed your taxable income from all active businesses. In your case with $1M in income, this shouldn't be a problem, but it's something to keep in mind. Also, since you mentioned you own two accounting firms, make sure you're considering the aggregate income from both businesses when calculating your eligible deduction amount. One last tip: If you're considering multiple vehicle purchases, remember that the $28,900 SUV cap applies per vehicle, not per taxpayer. So if you bought two qualifying SUVs, you could potentially take up to $57,800 in Section 179 deductions (subject to your business use percentage for each).

This is such a comprehensive discussion! I wanted to add one more consideration that might be relevant for your situation, Lena. Since you're dealing with a high-value luxury vehicle like the Mercedes EQS SUV, you should also be aware of the luxury auto limitations that can interact with Section 179. Even though the Section 179 SUV cap is $28,900 for 2025, if your vehicle falls under the luxury auto rules (which vehicles over $64,300 typically do), there are additional depreciation limitations that can affect your total first-year deduction when combining Section 179 with bonus depreciation. For luxury vehicles in 2025, the first-year depreciation cap (including Section 179 and bonus depreciation combined) is around $21,560 for passenger automobiles, though SUVs over 6,000 lbs GVWR are generally exempt from these luxury auto limits - which is actually another advantage of choosing qualifying heavy SUVs. Since your Mercedes EQS SUV meets the weight requirement, you should be able to take the full $28,900 Section 179 deduction plus 80% bonus depreciation on the remaining business-use portion without hitting the luxury auto caps. This is one of the key reasons why many business owners specifically choose SUVs over 6,000 lbs - they avoid both the luxury auto limitations and can access the more favorable depreciation treatment. Just make sure to confirm the exact GVWR specification with the dealer, as sometimes different trim levels of the same model can have slightly different weights that might affect eligibility.

This might be a dumb question, but why is everyone saying "2% shareholder" specifically? Is there something special about 2% or is that just a term for any family member regardless of the actual percentage?

I went through this exact situation a few years ago when my sister-in-law joined our family's S-Corp. What really helped us was getting clear documentation from our CPA about how to properly handle the W-2 reporting. One thing that wasn't mentioned yet - make sure you're consistent with how you treat ALL family members subject to the attribution rules. The IRS will look for consistency across your family employees during an audit. We learned this the hard way when they questioned why we were handling health benefits differently for different family members who should have been treated the same under Section 318. Also, don't forget that if your wife is considered a 2% shareholder, this affects more than just health insurance - it also impacts other fringe benefits like group term life insurance over $50K, parking benefits, and dependent care assistance. The attribution rules create a package deal for tax treatment. The self-employed health insurance deduction does help offset the income inclusion, but as others mentioned, you'll still pay the extra FICA taxes. We found it was worth running the numbers both ways to see the actual cost difference.

Hey @Abigail Spencer! Congrats on the new job! 🎉 This is such a common question for new grads - definitely not silly at all! I just went through this exact same situation a few months ago when I started my first full-time position. After reading through all the great advice here, I'm totally convinced that going with your parents' address is the way to go, especially since you mentioned you're moving next month and aren't sure how permanent the new apartment will be. I made the mistake of using my apartment address initially and then stressed for months about whether my mail would actually reach me when I inevitably moved again (which I did!). The reliability factor that everyone's mentioned is so important. I ended up switching to my parents' address after my first paycheck because I realized how much peace of mind it would give me during tax season. My parents are way better at keeping track of important mail than I am anyway! 😅 Definitely ask about electronic W-2 delivery too - that seems like it's becoming the standard and would solve this whole dilemma. Some of the payroll platforms like ADP make it super easy to opt in. One small tip: if you do go with your parents' address, maybe give them a heads up about when to expect tax documents (usually late January/early February) so they know to watch for them. You're being really smart by thinking this through ahead of time instead of just randomly picking an address. Shows you're going to handle this whole transition to working life really well! Good luck with everything! 😊

This has been such an incredibly helpful discussion to read through! As someone who's also navigating the post-graduation "real world" transition, I can't tell you how reassuring it is to see that so many people have faced this exact same dilemma. The consensus here seems really clear: reliability and stability trump everything else when it comes to tax documents. After reading about @Liam Mendez's experience with his W-2 getting sent to his old apartment and the hassle of getting a replacement, I'm definitely convinced that using a stable address (like parents') is the smart move during this transitional phase of life. What really stands out to me is how many people mentioned the electronic W-2 option - I honestly had no idea this was becoming so common! It seems like the perfect solution for avoiding address concerns altogether. I'm definitely going to make that one of my first questions when I start looking for jobs. @Abigail Spencer - based on everything I've read here, it sounds like you really can't go wrong either way as long as you choose the address where you're most confident about receiving your documents. But given that you're moving next month and aren't sure about long-term stability, your parents' address seems like the safest bet! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and advice. This is exactly the kind of practical guidance they should teach in college but never do. It's amazing how supportive this community is for helping us figure out all these "adulting" challenges! 🙏