Definitely don't ignore that 1099-B! Even though $1,200 might not seem like a lot, the IRS will eventually send you a CP2000 notice if you don't report it properly. I learned this the hard way with a small 1099-B I thought wasn't worth dealing with - ended up owing penalties and interest on top of the original tax. When you call MetLife tomorrow, have the 1099-B in front of you and ask them specifically what type of account or transaction this relates to. They should be able to tell you if it was from employer stock, a life insurance policy with investment features, or some other benefit program. Also ask if they have the cost basis information - if it's not on the form, you'll need to get that from them to calculate your actual gain or loss. The good news is that once you know what it is, reporting it on Schedule D isn't too complicated. Most tax software will walk you through entering the 1099-B information step by step.

Just wanted to add that if you're dealing with employer stock transactions through MetLife, there might be some specific tax implications depending on how the stock was originally granted to you. If these were incentive stock options (ISOs), the tax treatment can be different from regular stock sales - you might need to deal with Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) considerations. Also, when you call MetLife tomorrow, ask them for a detailed breakdown of the transaction dates. If you held the stock for more than a year before it was sold, it would qualify for long-term capital gains treatment which has more favorable tax rates. If it was held for less than a year, it's treated as short-term gains and taxed at your regular income tax rate. One more tip - if this was part of a company acquisition like some others mentioned, the acquiring company sometimes provides a tax information packet to employees explaining exactly how to report these transactions. You might want to check with your current or former employer's HR department to see if they have any additional documentation about the stock sale.

I completely feel your pain with TurboTax this year! I had a similar disaster with their investment import feature - it somehow doubled my dividend income and completely missed several stock splits from my portfolio. What really got me was that I discovered these errors AFTER filing, so now I'm stuck dealing with an amended return. The most frustrating part is that I specifically upgraded to their Premier version because they advertised "seamless investment reporting" - what a joke! I ended up downloading all my tax documents and cross-referencing everything manually, which took an entire weekend. For next year, I'm seriously considering just going with a local CPA who specializes in investment taxes. At least then if something goes wrong, I have someone accountable to work with instead of waiting hours on hold just to be told to buy a more expensive support package.

This thread is incredibly eye-opening! I'm a new community member but had to share my experience because it sounds like TurboTax issues are way more widespread than I thought. I've been putting off doing my taxes because I kept hearing horror stories from friends, but reading all these detailed accounts makes me realize I need to just skip TurboTax entirely this year. I have a fairly complex situation with rental property income, some stock trades, and freelance work - sounds like exactly the type of scenario where their system breaks down. Can anyone recommend which alternative software handles rental property depreciation calculations well? I'm leaning toward just finding a local CPA at this point, but if there's reliable software that actually works correctly, I'd love to save the money. Thanks for all the detailed experiences everyone has shared - this is exactly the kind of real-world feedback you can't get from company websites!

For those who want a quick rule of thumb, many CPAs suggest salary should be at least 1/3 of S Corp distributions for service-based businesses. So if you want to take $90k in distributions, your salary should be at least $30k. This isn't foolproof but supposedly comes from patterns in what triggers IRS scrutiny. Just passing along what my CPA told me!

The confusion around S Corp profit distribution formulas is totally understandable - there really isn't one "correct" equation because the IRS deliberately keeps "reasonable compensation" somewhat subjective. What I've found helpful is thinking of it in terms of what you'd pay to replace yourself. If your S Corp couldn't function without you, then most of the profit should probably be salary. But if you've built systems, have employees, or significant capital investments generating revenue, you can justify a higher distribution percentage. A practical approach: Start with market salary data for your role/industry (sites like PayScale, Glassdoor, or BLS.gov), then adjust based on your actual hours worked and responsibilities. Document your reasoning - if the IRS ever questions it, you want to show you made a good faith effort to be reasonable. One thing that's helped me is tracking what percentage of revenue comes directly from my personal work versus other factors (equipment, employees, systems, etc.). The higher your personal contribution, the higher your salary should be relative to distributions.

Quick tip from someone who's been through this: keep REALLY good records of this whole process. Save all statements showing your original contribution, the exact earnings calculation from your broker, and the full withdrawal. The IRS sometimes sends automated notices for retirement account distributions even when you've reported everything correctly. Having clear documentation makes it much easier to respond if you get a letter. I learned this the hard way and had to dig through old emails to find confirmation of exactly when I made the correction.

Just wanted to add my experience since I went through this exact same situation last year as a married filing separately filer. The advice here is spot-on, but I'll share a few additional details that might help. When you call your broker for the earnings calculation, ask them to provide it in writing (email is fine). Some brokers can be slow to respond or give you different numbers if you call multiple times. Having it documented helps ensure consistency. Also, don't panic if your tax software doesn't have a specific category for "excess Roth contribution earnings" - many don't. You'll manually enter it on Schedule 1, Line 8z as others mentioned. I used TurboTax and had to override some of their automated suggestions because it kept trying to categorize it as a regular early distribution. One thing that surprised me was that my state (Texas) didn't have any additional requirements, but definitely check your state's rules as others have mentioned. The whole process was much less scary than I thought it would be once I got organized with the documentation. Good luck with your filing - you caught the mistake and you're handling it correctly, which is the important part!

I completely understand the frustration with small dividend amounts - it feels like bureaucratic overkill for such tiny sums! But unfortunately, you really do need to report all dividend income regardless of amount. The IRS receives copies of your 1099-DIV forms, so omitting them will likely trigger an automated notice down the line. Here's the silver lining though: those qualified dividends ($340) will be taxed at the lower capital gains rate rather than your ordinary income rate, which could save you money. And that $42 in section 199a REIT dividends might qualify for a 20% deduction under the QBI rules, potentially saving you another $8-9 in taxes. So while it's annoying to deal with, you're not just avoiding trouble - you might actually be saving money by properly reporting everything. Most tax software handles this pretty seamlessly once you have your 1099-DIV in hand.

I went through this exact same situation last year with about $320 in dividends and was so tempted to skip reporting them! But I'm really glad I didn't after reading all these responses. What helped me was realizing that the 15 minutes it took to enter the 1099-DIV information actually SAVED me money because of the qualified dividend tax treatment. My effective tax rate on those dividends ended up being only 15% instead of my regular 22% income tax rate. Also, don't let the section 199a REIT dividend terminology intimidate you - it sounds way more complicated than it actually is. Your tax software will handle all the calculations automatically once you input the numbers from your 1099-DIV form. The form clearly labels everything in the different boxes, so you just need to transfer the numbers over. The bottom line is that reporting is required regardless of amount, but in your case it will likely benefit you financially too. Better to spend a few extra minutes now than deal with IRS notices later!