This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm 63 and just started collecting early Social Security while also needing to make some IRA withdrawals for home repairs. I was panicking thinking I'd lose my benefits, but now I understand the earned vs. unearned income distinction. One thing I'd add for others in similar situations - make sure to keep good records of all your income sources throughout the year. Even though IRA withdrawals don't count toward the earnings limit, you'll still need to report them correctly on your tax return. The IRS will send you a 1099-R for any IRA distributions, and while they won't affect your SS benefits, they will impact your overall tax liability. I'm planning to use some of the resources mentioned here to double-check my situation, especially since I also have a small pension that started this year. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to decode the official SSA publications on my own!

Great thread everyone! I'm 64 and have been dealing with this exact confusion for months. What really helped me understand this was realizing that the Social Security Administration basically treats "work income" (wages, self-employment) completely differently from "retirement income" (IRA, 401k, pensions, investments). The earnings test is specifically designed to limit benefits for people who are still actively working and earning wages - not for people who are accessing their own retirement savings. Makes sense when you think about it that way. One tip I'd add: if you're still working part-time AND taking IRA withdrawals, make sure your employer isn't withholding Social Security taxes from income that pushes you over the earnings limit. You might want to adjust your withholdings since you know some of your benefits will be reduced anyway. I wish I'd thought of this earlier in the year - could have helped with cash flow planning. Also worth noting that once you hit your full retirement age, this whole earnings test goes away completely. So this is really just a temporary consideration for those of us who chose to take benefits early.

FYI - just checked the latest info for ya. For 2024 tax season, here's the deal with refund advances: - Credit Karma advance: ONLY thru TurboTax - H&R Block advance: ONLY if you file with them - Jackson Hewitt: Same deal, their advance only w/ their service - Liberty Tax: Yep, same story Basically, no tax prep company offers advances unless you file thru them. It's how they get customers. Most have minimum refund reqs (usually $500+) and most do some kind of credit check even tho they don't always admit it upfront.

Just went through this nightmare myself! Yes, you absolutely have to file through TurboTax to get the Credit Karma refund advance now. It's frustrating because Credit Karma used to be more independent, but since Intuit bought them, everything's tied together. I ended up switching to FreeTaxUSA this year - no advance option, but their filing fee was only $15 for state returns (federal is free) compared to what TurboTax wanted to charge me. If you really need the money upfront, you might want to compare the total cost of TurboTax + their fees vs. just waiting for your regular refund and maybe getting a small personal loan if absolutely necessary. Sometimes the math works out better that way.

As someone who's been through this process twice as an executor, I'd strongly recommend getting professional help for your first estate return, especially with that business liquidation involved. The business assets create complexity around depreciation recapture, inventory valuation, and proper timing of income recognition that can really trip you up. Here's what I'd suggest: get a consultation with a CPA who specializes in estates (not just any CPA - make sure they regularly handle Form 1041). Many will do an initial consultation for $200-300 where they can review your situation and give you a firm quote. With assets totaling around $640k including a business, you're looking at potential tax consequences that make professional guidance worthwhile. The peace of mind factor is huge too - as executor, you have fiduciary responsibility to handle things correctly. I made some costly mistakes on my first estate return trying to DIY it, and learned the hard way that estate tax rules are very different from personal tax rules. For subsequent years if the estate has ongoing simple income, then you might consider handling it yourself, but for this first year with the business complexity, invest in getting it done right.

I went through something very similar when I was executor for my dad's estate last year. With those asset values and especially the business liquidation, I'd definitely recommend starting with a CPA consultation. The business liquidation is where things get tricky - you'll need to deal with depreciation recapture, potential Section 1231 gains/losses, and proper valuation of business assets at the time of liquidation. These aren't things TurboTax walks you through very well, and getting them wrong can be expensive. What I did was hire a CPA for the first year (cost me about $1,100), and they also prepared a detailed memo explaining all the decisions made and why. This gave me a roadmap for understanding estate tax principles. Now that the estate is in its second year with just simple investment income, I feel confident handling it myself with TurboTax. One thing to keep in mind - estate returns are due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the tax year (usually April 15th for calendar year estates), but you can get an automatic 5.5 month extension. Don't rush into a decision, but also don't let deadlines sneak up on you. The business liquidation timing could affect which tax year certain items need to be reported in.

Does anyone know if virtual staging is treated the same as physical staging for tax purposes? It's way cheaper but I'm not sure if the IRS views it differently.

As a CPA who works with several real estate investors, I can confirm that staging costs are indeed deductible, but the documentation is crucial. Beyond just keeping receipts, I recommend my clients create a simple spreadsheet tracking each property's staging expenses with the property address, staging company, dates, and amounts. One thing I've seen trip up investors is mixing personal and business staging expenses. If you use the same staging company for your personal residence and investment properties, make sure those invoices are clearly separated. The IRS will scrutinize any expenses that could be considered personal use. Also, if you're doing multiple flips per year, consider whether you qualify as a "dealer" versus an "investor" for tax purposes - this affects whether your gains are treated as ordinary income or capital gains, which impacts how beneficial those staging deductions really are. For your Houston clients specifically, make sure they understand that staging costs reduce their taxable profit, but they still need to have realistic profit margins. I've seen some investors get so focused on tax deductions that they forget the primary goal is making money on the flip!

This is exactly the kind of situation that can cause a lot of stress, but you're handling it the right way! I've dealt with similar K-1 corrections before and can confirm what others have said - for SSN-only corrections, you typically don't need the full 1065X process. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned much: make sure to double-check ALL the other K-1s in your return while you're at it. I've found that when I make one data entry error like this, there's sometimes others lurking that I missed. Better to catch them all now rather than having to do multiple corrections later. Also, since you mentioned this is stressing you out - completely understandable! But this is actually one of the easier tax corrections to handle. The IRS deals with SSN corrections all the time, and as long as you're proactive about it (which you are), it should resolve smoothly. Your partner will appreciate you catching and fixing this quickly.

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago with our LLC that's taxed as a partnership. You're absolutely right that you don't need to file a 1065X for just an SSN correction - that would be overkill for this type of error. Here's what worked perfectly for me: I created a new K-1 with the correct SSN, wrote "CORRECTED" in red ink at the top, and included a simple one-page letter explaining that only the SSN was incorrect and no dollar amounts were changed. I referenced our EIN and the tax year, then sent everything via certified mail to the same IRS processing center. The whole thing was resolved without any issues. My partner never heard anything from the IRS about it, and when I followed up a few months later, everything was properly updated in their system. One tip that really helped: I made sure to give my partner the corrected K-1 immediately so they could reference it if any questions came up on their personal return. Fortunately they hadn't filed yet, so it didn't complicate things on their end. Don't stress too much about this - it's really a straightforward correction and the IRS handles these SSN fixes all the time!