I've been dealing with oil and gas K1s for several years now, and I completely understand your frustration. The tax benefits are real, but they're often misunderstood by general tax preparers who don't specialize in these investments. Here's what you should specifically look for on your K1: Box 13 is where most of the magic happens. Look for code "V" which represents your share of intangible drilling costs (IDCs) - this is typically the largest deduction and can often be taken in full in the first year. You might also see code "W" for depletion allowances. Don't forget that some oil and gas partnerships also provide separate statements or schedules that break down the tax treatment of your investment. The partnership should have sent you supplementary information explaining how your investment dollars were allocated between IDCs (immediately deductible), tangible drilling costs (7-year depreciation), and lease acquisition costs (recovered through depletion). If your current accountant isn't familiar with these specialized deductions, it's worth getting a second opinion from someone who regularly handles oil and gas investments. The tax code has specific provisions for these investments that many general practitioners simply aren't familiar with.

I went through something very similar with my oil and gas K1 last year. The key thing I learned is that you really need to understand the different "buckets" your investment gets divided into for tax purposes. Most drilling partnerships allocate your investment roughly like this: 60-80% goes to intangible drilling costs (IDCs) which are immediately deductible, 15-25% to tangible equipment that gets depreciated over 7 years, and the remainder to lease costs recovered through depletion allowances over time. The IDCs are the big win - they should show up in Box 13 of your K1 with code "V" and can typically offset your regular income dollar-for-dollar in year one. This is probably what the promoter was referring to when they talked about tax benefits. One red flag: if your accountant isn't familiar with oil and gas investments, they might be treating everything as subject to passive loss limitations, which would be incorrect for IDCs. The tax code has special provisions (Section 469(c)(3)) that exempt IDCs from these limitations. I'd suggest asking your accountant to specifically look at Box 13 codes V and W, and if they're not comfortable with oil and gas taxation, definitely get a second opinion from someone who specializes in energy investments. The tax benefits are real, but you need someone who knows where to find them on the K1.

I ran into this same issue when I was doing my quarterly business tax reconciliation. The key thing to remember is that the IRS transcript uses different terminology than their public-facing tools. The 846 code with its associated date IS your DDD - it's just not labeled that way on the transcript itself. I've found that most major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) typically post these IRS direct deposits in the early morning hours (usually between 12:01 AM and 6:00 AM) on the 846 date. For your Q1 reconciliation purposes, you can confidently use that 846 date as your expected deposit date in your financial records.

Just wanted to add my experience from this tax season - I had the same confusion about finding the DDD on my transcript! Like others mentioned, the 846 code date is indeed your direct deposit date. What helped me was understanding that IRS internal systems use different language than their taxpayer-facing tools. My transcript showed code 846 with March 12th, and I got my refund deposited at 4:23 AM that exact day. For anyone doing business reconciliation like the original poster, I've found it helpful to screenshot both your transcript (showing the 846 code/date) and your bank statement when the deposit hits - makes it much easier to match everything up for your records later.

One thing to consider - if you don't file your taxes with this 1099-NEC income reported, and your family member already submitted it to the IRS, you're gonna get a lovely letter from the IRS eventually asking why the income they know about doesn't match what you reported. Trust me, you don't want that headache!!

The bottom line is you need to report this income since your family member is treating it as payment for services (which it sounds like it was - you mentioned doing "odd jobs" for them). The $8,000 you received is definitely over the $600 threshold that requires a 1099-NEC. Since they've already filed their taxes and issued the 1099, the IRS has a record of this income being paid to your SSN. If you don't report it on your return, you'll get an automated notice from the IRS asking about the discrepancy, and that usually comes with penalties and interest. The good news is that as a contractor, you can deduct legitimate business expenses - things like gas to get to their place, tools you bought for the work, etc. This can significantly reduce what you actually owe in taxes on that $8,000. Don't panic about being behind on filing - the IRS would much rather you file late and pay what you owe than not file at all. You might face some penalties for late filing, but it's way better than ignoring it completely.

I actually did exactly this last year - cashed out at about a 20% loss to pay down debt. The mental relief of getting rid of the credit card debt was honestly worth way more than waiting for my investments to maybe recover someday. Plus the guaranteed "return" of not paying 22% credit card interest beats whatever I might have made in the market. Just my two cents!

Just wanted to add that you should also consider the timing of when you sell within the tax year. Since you're already at a loss, selling before December 31st means you can claim that loss deduction on this year's tax return, which could help offset any other income and potentially get you a bigger refund or lower tax bill. Also, once you pay off that credit card debt, try to resist the urge to rack it up again! The guaranteed savings from eliminating 20%+ interest rates is way better than any potential market gains. You're making a smart financial decision here - sometimes cutting losses and focusing on guaranteed debt reduction is the right move.

Has anyone here done the math on whether it's better to max 401k or do some in 401k and some in a Roth for this income level? I'm trying to figure out the best split now that my income is higher.

Congratulations on your promotion! I went through a similar situation a couple years ago when my income jumped significantly. One thing that really helped me was calculating my estimated effective tax rate vs marginal rate - the effective rate increase isn't as scary as it first seems. With your combined income of $215k, you're right that some will hit the 32% bracket, but your effective rate will still be much lower. At your income level, definitely consider maxing the 401k ($23,000 for 2024) - every dollar you put in saves you 32 cents in taxes on the portion above $182,100. Also worth noting: make sure to update your W-4 with HR soon. The withholding tables might not automatically adjust properly for such a big jump mid-year, and you don't want to be surprised with a big bill next April. The IRS withholding calculator someone mentioned earlier is really helpful for this. One more tip - if you have an HSA option through your health plan, definitely max that out too ($4,300 individual/$8,550 family for 2024). It's the only triple tax advantage account we have!