14 If there's been no IRS contact yet, you might qualify for abatement under First Time Penalty Abatement, but I'm not sure if that applies to Form 5472 specifically. Worth asking whoever helps you prepare the forms.

I went through almost the exact same situation with my foreign-owned C-Corp last year. We had missed Form 5472 filings from 2020-2022 and were terrified about the penalties. Here's what I learned: The IRS absolutely can and will assess penalties for all the missed years once they become aware of the situation. Each Form 5472 carries a $25,000 penalty, so the exposure adds up quickly. However, we successfully got all penalties abated by filing the missing forms with a detailed reasonable cause statement. The key was demonstrating that our failure to file was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. We documented our good faith efforts to comply with tax obligations, our lack of awareness of the specific Form 5472 requirement, and our prompt action once we discovered the issue. The IRS accepted our reasonable cause argument, and we paid zero in penalties despite owing potentially $75,000. The most important thing is to act quickly and document everything properly. Don't wait - the longer you delay, the harder it becomes to argue reasonable cause. I'd strongly recommend getting professional help with this. The reasonable cause statement is critical and needs to address specific IRS criteria for penalty abatement.

Just wondering, does anyone have experience with using services like Gusto for S corp payroll? I'm considering the switch but worried about the complexity of running payroll for just myself.

I made the S corp switch at around $85K and it's been worth it, but I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned much here: timing your election properly is crucial. If you're thinking about this for next year, remember that Form 2553 (S corp election) generally needs to be filed within 75 days of incorporation OR by March 15th for the tax year you want it to take effect. Miss that deadline and you're stuck waiting until the following year, which could cost you thousands in additional self-employment taxes. Also, don't forget about estimated quarterly taxes once you switch. As an S corp owner, you'll need to make estimated payments on your distributions since there's no withholding on those. I use the safe harbor rule (pay 110% of last year's tax liability) to avoid underpayment penalties, but it requires more cash flow planning than when I was just a sole proprietor. The administrative burden is real, but if you're organized and use good tools (like the Gusto suggestion above), it's manageable. Just make sure you're truly ready for the additional complexity before making the jump.

I've seen this exact situation with several clients this year. The "RETURN NOT PRESENT" message is misleading - it doesn't mean your return is lost or missing. What's happening is that your return has been received and is in the IRS processing queue, but it hasn't been fully processed yet. The Head of Household status showing up is likely from your previous year's return that's still on file. Since you filed in February and it's now April, you're at about 8-10 weeks which is unfortunately becoming normal this year. The IRS is dealing with massive backlogs - they're about 3-4 weeks behind their usual processing times. E-filed returns with certain credits (like EIC, CTC, or ACTC) are taking even longer due to fraud prevention measures. My recommendation: Give it another 2-3 weeks before taking action. If nothing changes by early May, then definitely call the IRS directly. The transcript will update once they actually process your return, and you'll see all the proper codes and your refund information appear. Until then, the "RETURN NOT PRESENT" status is just their confusing way of saying "we got it, but haven't gotten to it yet." Keep checking weekly but try not to stress too much - delays like this are extremely common this filing season.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed my 2023 return in early March and seeing that same confusing "RETURN NOT PRESENT" message while it also shows my Head of Household status. It's been driving me crazy trying to figure out what's going on. Reading through all these responses has been super helpful though. Sounds like this is just the IRS being the IRS - received our returns but haven't actually processed them yet. The fact that so many people are experiencing the same thing makes me feel a lot better about it. I'm going to try to stop checking my transcript every other day and just wait it out for a few more weeks. If nothing changes by mid-May, I'll look into calling them or using one of those services people mentioned to get through to an actual agent. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's reassuring to know this is normal (even if it's frustrating)!

Does anyone know if Cash App will be adding support for Form 1116 anytime soon? I'm in the exact same boat with around $700 in foreign taxes but I really like using their software.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's dealt with this exact situation! You absolutely can choose to only claim the $600 simplified credit and forfeit the remaining $182. The IRS doesn't require you to claim every credit you're entitled to - it's your choice. I've been doing this for the past two years with my international index funds because my tax software doesn't support Form 1116 either. Never had any issues with the IRS. The simplified method is specifically designed for situations like yours where the paperwork complexity isn't worth the extra credit. Just make sure your foreign taxes qualify for the simplified procedure (sounds like they do since they're from mutual funds). You're definitely not the only one who'd rather keep things simple and leave a little money on the table!

Does anyone know if the "lookback rule" applies here? I think there's some rule where you can make IRA contributions for the previous year up until the tax filing deadline, but I'm not sure if it affects how you report it on an amended return.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and totally understand the panic! The good news is that filing an amended return for a missed IRA contribution is really straightforward and won't cause any issues with the IRS. Since you made the contribution before the April deadline for 2023, you're absolutely entitled to claim it. The IRS actually prefers when people voluntarily correct their returns - it shows good faith compliance. A few things that might help ease your anxiety: - This is considered a "taxpayer favorable" amendment since you're likely reducing your taxable income - The IRS processes thousands of these amendments every year for the same reason - You have up to 3 years to file an amended return, so there's no rush or penalty For TurboTax, just log into your account and look for "Amend a Return" - the software will walk you through it step by step. The whole process took me maybe 30 minutes once I had my IRA contribution documentation ready. You'll likely get an additional refund if the contribution was deductible, which is a nice bonus for doing the right thing!