Has anyone had success claiming the Section 199A deduction with multiple properties under an LLC? I'm wondering if organizing my two rentals into an LLC would make qualifying any easier or provide better documentation for the "trade or business" requirement?

I'm in a very similar situation - W2 employee with one rental property managed by a property management company. I've been claiming the 199A deduction for the past two years without safe harbor, and my tax preparer assured me it's legitimate as long as I can demonstrate business involvement. What I've been doing is keeping a simple spreadsheet tracking all my rental-related activities - reviewing monthly statements, approving repairs over certain amounts, annual lease renewals, researching local market rates, and even time spent learning about tax law changes that affect my rental business. It probably adds up to way more than 250 hours annually when you include all the decision-making and oversight activities. The key insight my CPA shared is that the safe harbor was created to provide certainty, not to be the exclusive path to qualification. Many established rental property owners were already qualifying under general business principles before the safe harbor even existed. I'd suggest documenting your ongoing involvement going forward - even if it's just a simple log of activities and time spent. The fact that you're actively researching these tax implications and making informed decisions about your rental business already demonstrates the kind of regular, continuous involvement the IRS is looking for.

According to IRS.gov and several tax professional forums I've researched, cycle codes follow a specific pattern: - First digit (0) = Processing year (2024) - Next two digits (60) = Week of the year - Last digit (1) = Day of the week (1=Friday, 2=Monday, 3=Tuesday, etc.) The technical documentation on IRS.gov states that Friday cycles (ending in 1) are typically weekly processing cycles, while daily cycles (ending in 2-5) process more frequently. If you're seeing a 0601 code, your return is being processed in the weekly batch from the 60th week of the fiscal year, which would put you in the current processing window. https://www.irs.gov/irm/part3/irm_03-012-003r has more details on this for those interested in the technical aspects.

Based on my experience with cycle code 0601, it's actually a pretty standard processing cycle. I had the same code last year and my refund was deposited exactly 10 days after it appeared on my transcript. The fact that you're filing jointly for the first time might add a day or two for verification, but nothing major. I'd suggest checking your transcript every few days for the 846 code (refund issued) rather than stressing about the cycle code itself. The 3-week wait you've already experienced is typical for this time of year, especially with the volume they're processing. Hang in there - you should see movement soon!

One thing to consider - if your employer offers any kind of tuition reimbursement program, that might be a better route than trying to deduct it yourself. My company reimburses CDL training costs if you stay with them for at least a year. Worth asking your HR department if they have something similar before going through the tax deduction headache!

Hey Ashley! I'm in a similar boat - got my CDL about 6 months ago and paid for the training myself. After reading through all these responses, I'd definitely recommend looking into the Lifetime Learning Credit that Oliver mentioned. I initially overlooked it because I thought it only applied to traditional college courses, but it turns out vocational training like CDL school can qualify too. The key thing I learned is that even though we can't deduct the training costs directly as W-2 employees (thanks to the 2018 tax law changes), the credit can still save you real money - up to 20% of qualified expenses. Since your training was $8,100, you could potentially get back up to $1,620 if you qualify income-wise. I'd suggest gathering all your CDL school documentation - receipts, loan statements, curriculum info - and either use one of those analysis tools people mentioned or talk to a tax professional who knows transportation industry stuff. Don't give up on getting some tax benefit from this investment!

dont get ur hopes up about updates. been stuck on the same message since february lmaoooo

I had this exact same issue last week! The "daily limit" error is super frustrating when you know you only tried once. What worked for me was logging out of the IRS website completely (if you had it open), clearing all browser cookies for IRS.gov, then waiting about 30 minutes before trying the app again. The system seems to share login attempt counters between the website and app, so even having the website open in a browser tab can sometimes trigger this. Also make sure you're using the exact same credentials - any typos count as failed attempts too.

For your sister's situation, here's what the IRS told me when I called about my Scentsy 1099-MISC last year: If Line 3 is for prizes, awards, or incentive payments related to your sales activity, it still goes on Schedule C but on Line 6 (Other business income). This keeps it associated with your business but separates it from your main nonemployee compensation. The most important thing is to make sure your self-employment tax calculation only includes the Line 7 amount, not the Line 3 amount.

I'm a bit late to the discussion, but I want to add that this whole thing depends on WHAT the Line 3 payment actually is. I had a similar situation with my Tupperware business where Line 3 was for a referral bonus. In that specific case, my tax preparer put it on Schedule C but made sure to mark it as "not subject to self-employment tax" by making an adjustment on Schedule SE. She said different types of "other income" might be handled differently, so knowing exactly what the payment was for is crucial.