Don't make the mistake I did last year - I thought tolls were included in the standard mileage rate so I didn't bother keeping separate records. My accountant told me too late that I could've deducted over $1,200 in business tolls separately! 😭 Definitely track those toll receipts and parking fees separately.

As a tax preparer, I see this confusion all the time! You're absolutely right to keep those detailed EZ Tag records. The key thing to remember is that tolls and parking are specifically excluded from what the standard mileage rate covers, so you can claim both the mileage deduction AND the actual toll costs. For Texas state taxes, you're in luck since there's no state income tax, so you only need to worry about federal deductions. Make sure your records show the business purpose for each toll - like "client meeting at XYZ Corp" or "site visit to ABC project." The IRS loves that level of detail. One tip: consider setting up a separate EZ Tag account just for business if the volume gets high enough. Makes the record-keeping much cleaner come tax time!

One important thing nobody has mentioned yet is that your parents need to be aware of FIRPTA - the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. This only applies if they're not US persons (citizens or permanent residents) and are selling US property, not foreign property. But the reverse situation is important too! Many countries have their own version of FIRPTA that applies to foreign nationals (including Americans) selling property in their country. The foreign country might withhold a percentage of the sale proceeds regardless of actual gain. Your parents should check if the country where they're selling has a withholding requirement, as this could affect their cash flow even if they can later claim it back.

Something nobody's mentioned - if the total value of all foreign financial assets is over $10,000 at any point during the year, your parents likely need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114). Selling a property worth $215-260k would definitely trigger this. There's also Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) which has different thresholds depending on whether they live in the US or abroad and whether they file jointly or separately. The penalties for not filing these forms can be severe, even if no tax is owed! This is separate from the actual tax on the capital gain.

Has anyone here ever actually filed an SS-8? I'm curious because TurboTax prompted me to file one last year for some side gig work, but after reading about how long they take to process (6+ months!), I decided against it and just paid the self-employment tax instead.

I went through this exact situation last year with my wife's postdoc fellowship at a research university. TurboTax kept prompting us for the SS-8 form, but after doing some research and consulting with our university's international scholar services office, we learned it was completely unnecessary. The key issue is that fellowship stipends have a special tax classification that's different from both employee wages and independent contractor income. When you enter fellowship income under the 1099 miscellaneous section, TurboTax's algorithm incorrectly assumes there might be a worker classification issue that needs to be resolved with an SS-8. Here's what we did: we removed the fellowship income from the 1099 section entirely and reported it as "Other Income" on line 8z of Form 1040 with the description "Fellowship Stipend." This immediately stopped the SS-8 prompts. The fellowship income was still taxable for federal income tax purposes, but it wasn't subject to self-employment tax, which saved us quite a bit of money. One important note for your husband's H1B situation: make sure to keep detailed records showing the clear distinction between the fellowship period (January-August) and the W-2 employment period (September-December). The IRS likes to see clean documentation that explains the change in status and income type.

As someone who's dealt with transcript codes before, I can confirm that transcripts absolutely do NOT update multiple times per day. The IRS processes accounts in weekly batches, and your cycle 05 means Thursday updates only. A 570 code typically indicates they need to verify something on your return - could be income matching, identity verification, or they caught an error that needs manual review. I've seen this process take anywhere from 1-3 weekly cycles to resolve. Since you're filing from abroad for the first time, it's quite possible they're just doing additional verification due to foreign address/income reporting. My advice? Stop checking daily (I know it's hard!) and plan to check again next Thursday. The anxiety is real, but checking hourly won't change anything unfortunately.

As someone who's been through this process multiple times, I can confirm that transcripts only update once per weekly cycle. Your cycle 05 means Thursday updates, so unfortunately you'll need to wait until next Thursday to see any changes. The 570 code is frustrating but common - it just means they need to manually review something on your return. Since you mentioned filing from abroad for the first time, that could definitely be a factor as the IRS often does additional verification for international filers. I'd recommend setting a reminder to check next Thursday rather than checking daily (trust me, I've been there!). In the meantime, you might want to gather any documentation related to your foreign income or address changes just in case they need additional verification. The waiting is tough, but the system is pretty predictable once you understand the weekly cycle pattern.

Side note but really important - tell your sister NOT to lie again on next year's taxes thinking she can "balance it out." Each tax year is separate and trying to fix fraud with more weird reporting just compounds the problem. I've seen people dig themselves into huge holes this way.

Your sister needs to understand this isn't just about "getting caught" - it's about doing the right thing. I work in tax preparation and see this kind of situation more often than people think. The stress and anxiety of wondering if/when the IRS will notice often ends up being worse than just dealing with the consequences upfront. A few practical points: First, the IRS has sophisticated matching systems that compare reported income and expenses across different sources. If she claimed Uber expenses but has no 1099s from Uber, that's an automatic red flag. Second, even if she got away with it this year, these things have a way of catching up - the IRS can audit returns up to 3 years later (6 years for substantial underreporting). The amended return route really is her best option. Yes, she'll have to pay back the money plus interest, but that's infinitely better than potential fraud penalties of 75% of the underpayment plus possible criminal charges. The car purchase actually makes this more complicated since she'll need to figure out how to pay back the refund. Bottom line: encourage her to consult with a tax professional immediately and file that amended return. The longer she waits, the worse this could get.