You might be onto something! I just checked our records and we paid approximately $26,200 in state taxes this year. That's pretty close to the $24,500 discrepancy I was seeing. How exactly should I handle this on the forms to make them reconcile properly?

You'll need to add the state tax amount back on your M1 form in the section for additions. Most state forms have a specific line for "Taxes paid to other states" or "State, local, and foreign income taxes." This addition reconciles the difference between your federal taxable income and state taxable income. Make sure you're only adding back income taxes though - other taxes like property tax or payroll taxes are generally deductible on both returns. Once you add this adjustment, your reconciliation between Schedule K line 18 and M1 line 8 should be much closer, if not exact.

Yes! This is super important. The $850k distribution OP mentioned won't show on the M1, but it MUST be tracked for each shareholder's basis. If their basis goes below zero because of distributions, they could end up with unexpected capital gains. I recommend keeping a basis worksheet for each shareholder from year to year.

Do you have any suggestions for a template or example of a simple agreement that worked? I'm not sure what should be included besides the basics.

A basic promissory note doesn't need to be complicated. Include the names of both parties, the loan amount, when and how payments will be made, and any consequences for late payments. Even if you don't plan to enforce it strictly, having it written down prevents misunderstandings. You should also consider including what happens if you lose your job or have an emergency - would they allow you to pause payments? Will the term be extended? Better to discuss these scenarios upfront when everyone's happy. I found some free templates online that worked great - just search for "family loan agreement template" and customize one to your situation.

Did you have any issues with taxes or the IRS because of the no-interest part? Did either of you have to report anything on your tax returns?

Did you have any issues with either employer finding out about the other job? I'm thinking about doing this but worried my main job might consider it a conflict of interest or something.

I didn't have any direct issues because the jobs were in completely different industries (office admin work during weekdays and retail on evenings/weekends). Neither company had policies against outside employment. However, I did almost get caught once when I had to call out sick from my weekend job and my manager there tried to reach me during a weekday meeting at my main job. I'd definitely recommend checking your employment contracts first. Some companies do have clauses about outside employment, especially if it could be considered a conflict of interest or if they think it might affect your performance.

I tried using that IRS calculator thing and got super confused. It asked for way more information than I had available. Is there a simpler way to figure this out?

Thanks for mentioning this! I'm using the regular method since my actual expenses are higher than what I'd get with the simplified option. My office is about 120 sq ft in a 950 sq ft apartment, so I'm tracking that percentage for shared expenses like utilities too. Do I need to take photos of the space to document that it's exclusively used for work?

Yes, taking dated photos of your office space is actually a great idea. Document that it's clearly set up as a workspace with no personal/non-business items visible. Having a floor plan showing measurements is also helpful documentation. With your measurements, you're looking at about 12.6% of your home being used for business, which seems reasonable and less likely to trigger extra scrutiny than higher percentages.

Bad advice. Yes the audit risk might be low but it's still important to have proper documentation. A friend of mine got audited specifically on home office deductions and they absolutely asked for receipts and proof of payment.

Voting barely matters tho. Both parties spend crazy amounts on military and corporate subsidies no matter who wins. The choices we get are so limited and once they're in office they do whatever lobbyists want anyway.

Voting absolutely matters, but you need to look beyond just the presidential race. Congressional, state and local elections have huge impacts on how your tax dollars are spent. In fact, a much higher percentage of your state/local taxes go to things that directly affect your daily life. You're right that there's bipartisan agreement on some big spending categories, but there are still significant differences in budget priorities between parties and individual candidates. The key is getting involved in primaries and supporting candidates who align with your spending priorities. Democracy isn't a spectator sport - it requires active participation beyond just complaining.

I actually did this last year! I wrote to my representative about wanting more transparency in tax spending. Got a form letter back with general budget info. Not super helpful but at least they logged my concern.