Does anyone know if minivans like the Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey qualify? They have tons of cargo space but I'm not sure about the weight requirements.

Most minivans don't qualify for the heavy vehicle Section 179 deduction because they typically have a GVWR under 6,000 pounds. The Toyota Sienna has a GVWR around 5,500-5,600 pounds, and the Honda Odyssey is similar. You need to look for vehicles specifically marketed as trucks or SUVs with a GVWR over 6,000 pounds. Even then, make sure the vehicle is primarily used for business (>50%) and keep detailed mileage logs. Also, the business usage percentage in the first year determines how much of the purchase price you can deduct under Section 179.

The 2023 limit for SUVs is $28,900, but you can still take bonus depreciation on the remaining amount, so you might still be able to deduct most of the purchase price in year 1 depending on your situation.

I didn't even think about that! Do you know if I can have both a Simple IRA through my employer AND contribute to a separate Traditional IRA? Is there any impact to the deductibility of Traditional IRA contributions if you also have a workplace retirement plan?

You can definitely have both a Simple IRA and a Traditional or Roth IRA. However, being covered by a workplace retirement plan (like your Simple IRA) does affect the deductibility of Traditional IRA contributions based on your income. For 2023, if you're covered by a workplace plan, the deduction for Traditional IRA contributions starts to phase out at $73,000 for single filers and $116,000 for married filing jointly. If your income is above those thresholds, you might want to consider a Roth IRA instead (which has its own income limits) or a non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution that could potentially be converted to a Roth later (the "backdoor Roth" strategy).

My company does this too! We specifically asked about it a few years ago because several employees wanted to max out their retirement contributions, and now they just automatically process the last paycheck of the year earlier. It might be worth asking - the worst they can say is no.

That's a great idea! I just called my payroll department and asked about this. They said they normally don't change their schedule, but since there are several employees in my situation, they're going to bring it up with management to possibly process the final 2023 payroll on December 29th instead of waiting until January. Fingers crossed this works out - thanks for the suggestion!

Did they convert all your foreign currency amounts or did you have to do that yourself? And did you get asked for any kind of proof of the exchange rates you used?

I did the currency conversions myself using yearly average exchange rates from the Treasury Department's website. The auditor didn't ask for proof of the exchange rates I used, but I had included a note in my file explaining which conversion method I was using and why. If you're dealing with significant currency fluctuations, you might want to use monthly average rates instead of yearly, especially if that works in your favor. The key is being consistent and having a reasonable explanation for your method. They didn't scrutinize the actual conversion calculations much - they were more concerned with verifying the base expenses were legitimate.

Thanks for sharing this. So many of us expats are perfectionist rule-followers when it comes to taxes because we're already in such a weird situation filing from abroad. It's reassuring to hear that reasonable approaches are acceptable!

Makes sense in theory, but isn't it a nightmare to track all those tiny staking deposits? I get rewards like every day or week depending on the platform. How do you possibly keep track of the cost basis for each one?

It would be an absolute nightmare to track manually, which is why I use specialized crypto tax software. It connects to your wallets and exchanges through APIs and automatically grabs all transactions, including those tiny daily or weekly staking rewards. Each reward is recorded with its fair market value at the time of receipt, establishing your cost basis. When you sell, the software can use methods like FIFO (First In, First Out) or specific identification to determine which batch of crypto you're selling and calculate the appropriate gain or loss. Worth every penny come tax season.

Yes, the same general principles apply. When you receive rewards in a different token, you'll be taxed on the fair market value of the rewards token at the time you receive it. This creates your cost basis for the rewards token. If you later sell that rewards token, you'll pay capital gains tax on any appreciation since you received it. The original staked ETH isn't directly part of this tax calculation (though of course it has its own separate cost basis and potential capital gains when you eventually unstake and sell it).

Is there a specific format you recommend for this viewing log? Should it be detailed or just basic info like date, title, and purpose? I'm trying to get better about documentation but don't want to overcomplicate things.

Nothing fancy needed! A simple spreadsheet or even a note on your phone works well. Include: 1) Date watched, 2) Title, 3) Platform (Netflix, theater, etc.), 4) Brief purpose (e.g., "Studied accent work for upcoming role" or "Researched period movement for 1920s play"), and 5) Approximate time spent. This doesn't need to be elaborate - just enough to show the IRS that you're tracking business versus personal use. Most of my professional actor friends spend about 5-10 minutes per week updating their viewing logs. The key is consistency rather than extensive detail.

Were there any red flags that triggered your audit? I'm curious if it was the streaming services specifically or something else in your return that caught their attention.