Has anyone tried Drake Tax Software for S-Corps? My CPA uses it and suggested I might want to try the prosumer version for my small S-Corp.

I've been filing S-Corp returns for my consulting business for about 3 years now and have tried most of the major software options. Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: For your first year, I'd actually recommend starting with TurboTax Business despite the higher cost. Yes, it's more expensive, but the interview process is really thorough and educational. It explains WHY certain deductions apply to S-Corps and helps you understand the underlying concepts, not just fill out forms. Once you're comfortable with S-Corp tax concepts (probably by year 2 or 3), then switch to TaxAct to save money. I made that transition and it worked well because by then I understood what I was looking for. One critical tip regardless of software: make sure you're paying yourself a "reasonable salary" through payroll before taking distributions. This is the #1 mistake I see new S-Corp owners make, and it can trigger an audit. The software won't necessarily warn you about this ratio, so it's worth discussing with your tax advisor even if you're filing yourself. Also, keep detailed records of all business expenses throughout the year - don't wait until tax time to organize everything. Both TurboTax and TaxAct are only as good as the information you put into them.

I went through this exact situation when I sold my home in Texas last year, and I want to reassure you that the process is much more straightforward than it initially seems! Yes, the title company will absolutely issue you a 1099-S showing the full gross proceeds from your sale - in your case, likely that $450-500k amount. But here's the key thing everyone needs to understand: this form is NOT a tax bill or even a calculation of what you owe. It's simply a report to the IRS of the transaction that occurred. The title company has zero knowledge of your purchase price, improvements, or any other factors that determine your actual tax liability. They're just reporting "Hey IRS, this person received X dollars from a real estate sale." That's it. When you file your taxes, YOU calculate your actual gain by taking the sale proceeds, subtracting your selling expenses (realtor commissions, closing costs, etc.), then subtracting your adjusted basis (original purchase price + qualifying improvements + certain purchase closing costs). Based on your numbers - $285k purchase + $40k improvements = $325k basis - you're looking at a gain of maybe $125-175k depending on final sale price and expenses. The beautiful part? Since you've lived there as your primary residence for over 2 years, you can exclude up to $250,000 of that gain under Section 121. You'll likely owe ZERO federal tax on this sale despite what that 1099-S shows! My advice: start organizing your documentation now (purchase docs, improvement receipts, etc.) so you're ready for tax season. The anxiety you're feeling is totally normal, but you're actually in great shape!

I just want to add something that might be helpful for your specific situation - since you mentioned you're selling in the next few months, this is actually perfect timing to get everything organized properly! One thing I learned from my own home sale experience is that it's worth double-checking which of your improvements actually qualify as "capital improvements" versus regular maintenance. Your kitchen renovation and bathroom update definitely count, but make sure you're not accidentally including routine repairs or maintenance items in that $40k figure. Also, don't forget that you can include certain costs from your original purchase in your basis calculation - things like title insurance, attorney fees, recording fees, and survey costs from 2018. These might seem small individually, but they can add up to a few thousand dollars that will further reduce your taxable gain. Given your numbers ($285k purchase + $40k improvements + original closing costs), you're almost certainly going to fall well under the $250k Section 121 exclusion even after accounting for your gain. The 1099-S will look scary when you get it, but remember - it's just a reporting form, not a tax calculation! Start gathering those documents now while you have time, and you'll be in great shape when tax season rolls around. Sounds like you made some smart investments in your home over the years!

Has anyone used TurboTax for calculating these education credits? I'm trying to figure out if it automatically optimizes how scholarships are allocated or if I need to manually figure it out first and then enter it that way.

For anyone still confused about the allocation flexibility, here's a practical example that might help clarify things. Let's say you have $10,000 in scholarships and $15,000 in total college expenses broken down as: $8,000 tuition, $3,000 room/board, $2,000 books, and $2,000 personal expenses. Since only tuition and books ($10,000 total) are qualified expenses for AOTC, you could allocate your $10,000 scholarship to cover the $3,000 room/board + $2,000 personal expenses + $5,000 of tuition. This leaves you with $3,000 of tuition + $2,000 books = $5,000 in qualified expenses that you paid out-of-pocket, which you can then use for your AOTC calculation. The key insight is that you get to choose how to allocate unrestricted financial aid, and it's usually best to apply it to non-qualified expenses first to maximize your tax credits. Just remember that any scholarship money used for non-qualified expenses (like room/board) becomes taxable income to you - but for most students, the tax benefit from a larger education credit outweighs this.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you're tracking your quarterly estimated tax payments for 2025! I got hit with an underpayment penalty my first year with affiliate income because I didn't realize I needed to make quarterly payments. Since you're not having taxes withheld from this income like you would with a regular job, the IRS expects you to pay as you earn throughout the year. If you wait until April 2026 to pay taxes on all your 2025 earnings, you could face penalties.

Just a tip that helped me with my small Etsy business income - keep a separate spreadsheet tracking ALL your income and expenses throughout the year. Update it monthly at minimum. PayPal's reporting is okay but not great for tax purposes. I export my PayPal activity every month to CSV, clean it up in Excel, and add it to my tracking spreadsheet. This makes tax time so much easier because I'm not scrambling to figure out what all these random deposits were from 10 months ago.

I went through something very similar last year with a temp agency! What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything while I sorted it out. I listed all three of my W-2s with the income amounts and withholding from each job, then used the tax tables in IRS Publication 15 to estimate roughly what I should owe. Turns out my other two jobs had withheld enough to cover most of what I owed on the temp agency income, so the final bill wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. The key is to look at your total tax situation for the year, not just that one problematic W-2 in isolation. Also, when you do call the staffing agency again, ask specifically to speak with someone in payroll rather than just general customer service. Payroll departments usually understand these withholding issues better and can actually look up what happened with your W-4 processing. I found out mine had been entered as "exempt" due to a data entry error on their end. One more tip: if you end up owing money and can't pay it all at once, the IRS payment plan application is actually pretty straightforward online. The interest rate isn't great, but it beats stressing about a large lump sum payment.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now and wanted to share what I've learned so far. I had three jobs last year too, and one of my W-2s also has a completely blank Box 2. After reading through all these responses, I called my employer's payroll department directly (great advice from previous comments!) and found out exactly what happened. Turns out when I filled out my W-4, I accidentally wrote "Exempt" in the wrong box because the new form layout confused me coming from the old allowances system. The payroll person was actually really helpful and walked me through what I had submitted versus what I probably meant to submit. What's been helpful for me is using that IRS withholding calculator someone mentioned earlier to figure out what my withholding should have been. Then I compared that to what was actually withheld from my other two jobs. In my case, my other employers had overwitheld enough to mostly cover the gap, so I'm not looking at a huge tax bill. The key thing I learned is to not panic and get all your facts straight first. Pull all your paystubs, call the employer's payroll department, and calculate your total tax picture before assuming the worst. Most of the time these situations aren't as catastrophic as they seem at first glance. Also, definitely check your paystubs going forward at any new job - I wish I had caught this issue back when it was happening instead of discovering it at tax time!